A quick look into Russia's new constitutional changes, amendments and the criticism and opposition towards these changes.
The Constitution of the Russian Federation
As a brief background, the Constitution of the Russian Federation was officially adopted in December 12, 1993 after a nation wide referendum and came into effect in December 25, 1993. It was introduced in the aftermath of the 1993 Constitutional Crisis which gripped the country in late September and replaced the Soviet era constitution, which was adopted in April 12, 1978.
Chapters 1, 2 and 9 of the Russian Constitution (which relate to the Fundamentals of the Constitutional System, Rights and Freedoms of Man and Citizen, and the Constitutional Amendments and Review of the Constitution) can only be amended by the introduction of a new constitution, or through a nationwide referendum.
The rest of the constitution can be amended via the introduction of a special act within Russian legislative bodies (both by the federal assemblies and the regional assemblies as well).
Amending the Russian Constitution has happened before, notably in 2008, when the presidential and Duma terms were extended from four to six years. In 2014, another amendment occurred with the introduction of a clause which would allow the President to choose up to 10% of the Federation Council (Russia's upper house).
Political analysts have stated before hand that another change in the constitution could be a solution for the so called "2024 problem", upon which Vladimir Putin's second term in office would end. Due to the nature of the Russian constitution, Vladimir Putin is barred from running another term in office after 2024.
On January 15, 2020, Vladimir Putin stated in a surprise announcement to the Federal Assembly that there would be new amendments to the Russian Constitution. On January 20, President Putin submitted a bill to the State Duma regarding the constitutional changes, with the Duma approving the bill to the third reading by March 11. On March 13, all 85 federal subjects of the country approved the amendments to the constitution and finally, on March 16, 2020, the Constitutional Court of Russia gave their approval to the proposed constitutional amendments.
The Original Proposals
A few of the major changes in the Russian constitution that Vladimir Putin (during the initial address to the Federal Assembly on January 15, 2020) announced are as follows:
The Russian Constitution would take precedence over international law, international treaties and decisions by international bodies when it comes to Russian law.
International decisions and laws would only apply to Russian internal law if they do not contradict the constitution of the Russian Federation.
Grant the State Duma (Russia's lower house of parliament) the ability to choose and approve the Chairman of the Government (more commonly known as the Prime Minister) along with their deputies and federal ministers.
The introduction of a requirement that high ranking government officials (such as the President, ministers and heads of the Russian federal subjects) should not hold foreign citizenship or foreign residency permits.
Presidential candidates in Russia must have lived in Russia for at least 25 years and not be a current or former holder of a foreign citizenship or of a residence permit.
Currently there is no restriction on holding foreign citizenships running for the presidency.
The current restriction on the amount of years needed to run for the presidency is at 10 years.
The introduction of the State Council as a prescribed body within the constitution.
Presently, the State Council is only an advisory body to the President and has no official constitutional status.
The strengthening of the interaction between municipal authorities and the state.
Appointment of the heads of law enforcement agencies and regional prosecutors must be done with the approval of the Federation Council.
Currently, the president of the Russian Federation can do this without any need for external consultation and approval.
The Federation Council (Russia's upper house of parliament) will have the ability to remove judges from the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court if they commit misconduct which "defames honour and dignity" (upon proposal by the President).
The Constitutional Court will have the right to verify the constitutionality of bills before they are signed (at the request of the President of the Russian Federation).
The proposal to remove the word "contract" from the term of restriction of the term of office of the President of the Russian Federation
This removes the possibility for the position of president to be occupied for more than two terms. At present, the position can be occupied by the same person provided they do not serve more than two consecutive terms in office.
Amendments
Multiple amendments have also been proposed on top of the original ten which was introduced in January of 2020. The first major package of amendments occurred on March 2, 2020 with State Duma, Federation Council and other government officials proposing a whole variety of amendments and revisions.
A few of the proposed amendments are as follows:
The Russian Federation is declared the legal successor (continuity state) of the USSR in its territory.
The inclusion of a reference to God within the constitution, notably with the reference that the "Russian Federation, united by a thousand year history, preserving the memory of the ancestors who transmitted to us the ideals and faith in God as well as the continuity in the development of the Russian state, recognizes the historically established unity of the state"
The designation of the Russian language as the language of the "state-forming people".
The phrase "union of multinational peoples" was also introduced.
The guaranteed indexation of pensions and that the minimum wage should not be lower than the subsistence minimum (regularization of the minimum wage to be above the poverty line).
These policies fall under the proposed amendments regarding social and economic policies.
The idea of "internal threats" was introduced into the constitution, and that the Security Council of the Russian Federation must work to fight it.
The Federation Council will appoint the Chairman (Prime Minister) and the State Duma will appoint the Deputy. Both houses of parliament will appoint the auditors, vice-chairperson and chairpersons on the proposal of the president of the Russian Federation.
Currently, the State Duma appoints the Chairman (Prime Minister) while the Federation Council appoints the Deputy, with both houses appointing half of the auditors.
The government of the Russian Federation will take measures to support civil society institutions, including non profit institutions and ensure their participation within state policy development and implementation.
The President now personally appoints and removes federal ministers from office.
Formerly, this was done with the proposal of the Prime Minister.
The President now also "exercises overall leadership of the government of the Russian Federation".
The President now has legal immunity, even after the end of their term of office.
Courts (whether they be Constitutional, Supreme or Federal) are no longer allowed to independently choose their chairman and deputies. This decision now lies with the President alone.
Two of the most publicly known amendments, and which garnered strong international attention, were the ones involving gay marriage and the resetting of presidential term limits.
The Russian Constitution will officially define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
The Russian government will also implement policies which would preserve "traditional family values".
The abolition of restrictions on presidential terms was also introduced by Valentina Tereshkova on March 10, 2020.
This in effect nullifies Putin's first two terms in the presidency, allowing him (if he chooses) to hold the post of President until 2036.
Reaction and Opposition
Reactions to the introduction of these new constitutional changes among Russians were varied. Polling by the Levada Centre (collected during the period of May 22-24, 2020) indicated that around 44% of Russians were for the amendments, and around 32% were against with a further 24% undecided and unsure. Another polling agency, WCIOM, when taking into account only Russians who were planning to vote, indicated that 61% of voters supported the amendment changes, with only 22% against.
There was some support from some popular figures within Russian pop culture such as singer Stas Mikhailov and TV host Olga Buzova.
However, opposition to the constitutional amendments was widespread among Russia's established opposition forces and Russian academia.
On March 16, 2020, there was a published appeal by around 427 lawyers, journalists, professors and scientists, published in the Moscow Echo Radio Station, which came out against the constitutional amendments. One major criticism levelled was that the cancellation of the presidential terms were unlawful and politically and ethically unacceptable. Multiple figures such as Lev Gudkov (Director of the Levada Centre) and others ranging from poets to TV presenters supported this letter.
"Не допустить конституционный кризис и антиконституционный переворот." (Prevent a constitutional crisis and an unconstitutional coup) - Moscow Echo Appeal
Politically, among Russia's opposition parties, there has been a split in what to do in regards with the new constitutional amendments.
Around 192 regional deputies within the country's federal subjects came out against the constitutional amendments, mostly among smaller opposition parties and opposition figures. Several opposition figures had also committed to creating a public "No!" campaign which garnered some attention creating small protests in some cities across the country. Former presidential candidate, Mikhail Khordokovsky, came out in support of this campaign.
Some political movements such as Left Front, Alexei Navalny and Yabloko, came out to support a boycott of the entire referendum vote. Criticism of certain amendments (regarding the inclusion of god and the phrase "state-forming people") were also voiced by multiple deputies from different political parties such as the Communist Party and A Just Russia. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation had fully committed to a campaign against the constitutional amendments later on, with the basis upon that it was "adopted in a hurry".
Other non political figures had also voiced opposition to certain amendments within the constitution, ranging from the Mufti of Tatarstan, who opposed the phrase "state-forming people" and the mention of God, to several Ingush clans boycotting the vote entirely.
Results and Fraud
By the end of the voting period (which lasted from June 25 to July 1), approximately 74 million Russians had come out to cast their vote on this referendum comprising 67.88% of all registered voters within the country.
78.56% of voters approved the new constitution, with around 21.44% voting against the changes.
Widespread voter fraud was reported to have occurred during the referendum, with coerced voting or blatant falsification occurring during the voting period. Issues regarding the amount of registered online voters raised questions about its validity. One electoral statistician called it a "complete scam".
Sergey Shpilkin, a physicist who had covered election fraud in previous elections, had stated that up to 22 million votes could have been cast fraudulently.
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