Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Kirill Dvanov
[REGNUM] Five years ago, on July 4, 2020, the updated version of the Russian Constitution came into force. The amendments to the Basic Law — which citizens approved in a nationwide vote and which the president approved by his decision — were not just a “legal fact.”
The main document of the country, adopted back in 1993, now reflects modern realities. But the main thing is that the changes made to the Constitution also change the life of the country, determining its future. Five years after the amendments were approved, this is becoming obvious.
POTENTIAL IS NOT EXHAUSTED, DEVELOPMENT IS NECESSARY
At the beginning of 2020, when a discussion arose in society on the topic of “Is it time to adopt a new Constitution or significantly change the current one?”, Russia faced new challenges. The pandemic tested the country's economy and social security system, and the sanctions pressure of “Western partners” exacerbated the issue of protecting the country's sovereignty. The state and society faced serious tests, which meant that the country's legislative foundation required strengthening.
"More than a quarter of a century has passed since the adoption of the 1993 Constitution. Social and state realities have changed so much since then that at a certain point society demanded that these changes be reflected in the basic law," Pavel Krasheninnikov, head of the State Duma Committee on State Building and Legislation, told Regnum News Agency.
It is therefore not surprising that proposals to update the Constitution became the main topic in the message that Vladimir Putin addressed to legislators on January 15, 2020. The President, we recall, then indicated that a number of political and public associations were raising the issue of a new Basic Law.
"I would like to answer right away - I believe that there is no such need," the head of state clarified." The potential of the 1993 Constitution is far from exhausted, and the fundamental foundations of the constitutional order, human rights and freedoms, I hope, will remain a solid value base for Russian society for many decades to come."
The country's leader then explained how, from his point of view, the Constitution should be developed and strengthened for the sake of "further development of Russia as a legal social state in which the highest value is the freedoms and rights of citizens, human dignity, and well-being." Putin formulated ten proposals for amendments - or rather, for entire blocks of these amendments and additions.
Among the things that the president announced at the time were: guarantees of the priority of Russian laws over international agreements, a ban on foreign citizenship for senior officials (as well as for parliamentarians and judges), and the consolidation of a "link" between authorities and local government. The head of state also mentioned a clear list of powers of the State Council, tougher requirements for candidates for the post of president, and an expansion of the powers of the chambers of parliament.
WE DECIDED IT TOGETHER
But the process of updating the Constitution was not limited to the president's proposals. The main thing that the country's leader pointed out on January 15, 2020, was that the amendments should take shape after discussion in society. On the same day, Putin ordered the creation of a working group, which included not only lawyers and officials, but also public figures and experts in various fields. Any citizen could submit proposals.
Thus, in addition to the changes developed by specialists, "people's amendments" appeared in the project. They secured the special role of family values and the Russian language, they spoke about the inalienability of Russian territories, about the state's responsibility for preserving nature. The supplemented and new articles of the Constitution, which included "people's amendments", significantly changed the appearance of the Basic Law.
"The culture and history of Russia are now under the jurisdiction of the entire state, and not regions or public organizations. Also, thanks to these amendments, Russia affirms traditional spiritual and moral values as immutable and universally binding," noted Irina Velikanova, head of the Public Chamber's commission on culture and preservation of spiritual heritage and general director of the Museum of Contemporary History of Russia, in an interview with IA Regnum.
"The institutions of marriage, labor, and traditional religions should no longer be challenged as correct and the only true ones for the development of society. For the first time in the history of constitutional law in Russia, the Russian people and the Russian language as state-forming values have found their reflection," Velikanova emphasizes.
The project passed its main test on June 25 - July 1, 2020, when the all-Russian vote took place. Of the 67.9%, or almost 58 million Russians who cast their votes, the amendments were approved by an overwhelming majority - 77.9%. The will of the citizens was approved by the president, who signed a decree on July 3, 2020, thanks to which the amendments came into effect the next day.
REPAIR OF THE "FASTENING FRAME"
Next, deputies and senators had to update and “reboot” the current laws.
Over the past 5 years, more than two hundred documents have been adopted that change our legislation, bringing it into line with the new requirements of the Constitution, explained Deputy Krasheninnikov. The latest law, which concerns local self-government, came into force the other day.
"The amendments stabilized the changes that had taken place over the three decades since the adoption of the country's Basic Law. The changes provided an opportunity for further movement forward - slowly and not fragmentarily, as was sometimes suggested, but systematically," the interlocutor emphasizes.
The amendments made the very structure of our legislation clearer - "federal and regional laws complement and develop each other, eliminating legal uncertainty," Krasheninnikov noted. In 2021, he and his colleagues adopted a law that, developing the new section of the Constitution on the State Council, more clearly defined how this "platform" works, where heads of regions and representatives of the federal center discuss how the country's foreign and domestic policy will develop.
The fact that the work of the power mechanism and its “coupling” with society became more coordinated has justified itself both during the COVID crisis and, perhaps even more so, with the beginning of the Cold War. The Western countries that set the Kiev regime against Russia clearly expected to shake the “building” of Russian statehood, but it turned out to be stable thanks to the “repaired” framework. Not least of all thanks to the articles protecting sovereignty, including from various kinds of foreign agents.
At the same time, let us recall that the Constitution prescribed the authorities to support patriotic civil initiatives, public organizations and volunteer movements. Volunteers who worked during the pandemic and those who during the SVO help our new fellow citizens in Donbass and Novorossiya operate in the "field" created by the updated Constitution.
Now, when former “partners” are tightening sanctions, articles that require the state to support domestic science and medicine are playing an increasingly important role.
PEOPLE FELT THE CHANGES THEMSELVES
The updated Constitution not only more clearly defined the “rules of the game” at the level of ministers, deputies and governors (now that they are prohibited from having dual citizenship and accounts abroad, it will no longer be possible to be a “servant of two masters”). The changes also affected ordinary Russians, including those who need special care from the state.
The amendments, which concern increasing the state's responsibility for social guarantees, made annual increases in pensions and benefits mandatory, noted deputy Krasheninnikov. In order to make sure that the amendments are working, it is enough to refer to the data on the government website.
The Basic Law requires pensions to be indexed taking into account inflation. And, for example, in 2020, the social part of these payments was “increased” by 6.1%, in April of last year — by 7.5%, and a year later, in April 2025, by 14.75%.
The same applies to insurance pensions, which are indexed annually: for example, at the beginning of 2024 by 7.5%, and this New Year by another 7.5% (plus a one-time payment of 10 thousand rubles to all pensioners in February).
According to the requirements of the updated Constitution, the minimum wage is linked to the subsistence minimum and pension indexation.
On the government website you can see: if on January 1, 2020 the minimum wage in Russia was 12,130 rubles, then over the past five years this figure has “grown” more than once — by an average of 13% per year. This year the minimum wage is already 22,440 rubles.
THE EXPLOITS OF THE PEOPLE ARE FORBIDDEN TO BE REVIEWED
The state guarantees that it will not abandon people in the most difficult conditions and, what is no less important, the government is obliged to follow the principles that are common to most people. Yes, the Constitution still has an article prohibiting the establishment of a state ideology in Russia.
The correctness of this position was confirmed, among other things, by the fact that on the fronts of the SVO, Russia is equally bravely defended by people of the most diverse views, worldviews and party affiliations. But at the same time, the Basic Law enshrined what is dear to all of us.
"It's been 5 years already! Today we are convinced that our citizens made the right choice. First of all, I would like to talk about the humanitarian amendments, about those innovations that affected the spiritual sphere of society's life, " Elena Velikanova emphasizes. " The country's basic law has finally enshrined a national view of history. Russia, according to the basic law, is now a country with a 1,000-year history, and not a formation that arose out of nowhere in 1991. The essence of Russia's historical existence is the feats of our people, which are prohibited from being revised."
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