Let me shoot

President Dmitry Medvedev submitted to the Federation Council a proposal to give the president the opportunity to make decisions on the use of Russian armed forces abroad. Apparently, the Federation Council will accept this proposal, and in the near future (how could it be otherwise?). Medvedev believes that he needs this right to “protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, maintain international peace and security.” If the Federation Council votes in favor, then Medvedev will no longer need to ask permission from the upper house every time he wants to send Russian soldiers abroad. After the conflict in Georgia, the president, as is known, significantly expanded the list of grounds for the use of Russian troops outside the country. But then it was said that the decision-making procedure would remain the same. Now this is not enough. Kommersant recalls that the amendments to expand the possibilities of using the army abroad caused concern in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which demanded that Russia send the bill to the Venice Commission with the subsequent implementation of all its recommendations. The newspaper cites the opinion of one of the co-authors of the Russian Constitution, Viktor Sheinis, who considers Medvedev’s current proposal “absolutely unconstitutional.”