Translated material
Reason for self-determination
A mechanism for changing the status of federal subjects has been developed
The constituent entities of the Russian Federation will apparently soon have the opportunity to self-determinate. The Ministry of Federation Affairs, Regional and Migration Policy has almost completed the development of the draft constitutional federal law “On changing the status of a subject of the Russian Federation,” the head of the department, Alexander Blokhin, said yesterday. However, the minister does not really like the very concept of “the right of nations to self-determination,” since, in his opinion, often “regional leaders who have not realized their ambitions play in this game, ” and “Chechnya showed what can happen.”Mr. Blokhin emphasized that this bill “was in the plan back in 2000,” since Article 66 of the Constitution requires a separate law that will determine the mechanism for changing the status. The Ministry of the Federation developed this mechanism. According to the draft, changes cannot come from above, but only through the expression of the will of citizens (referendum). All changes must be agreed upon with the center and neighbors, and if any “third party,” according to Mr. Blokhin, does not agree with these changes, it can appeal to the Constitutional Court.
Meanwhile, the State Duma Committee on Federation Affairs planned in 2000-2003. develop bills “On the status of a subject of the Russian Federation” and “On changing the status of a subject of the Russian Federation”. Deputy Chairman of the Committee Vladimir Lysenko told a Vremya Novostei newspaper correspondent that these laws “have been developed since the time of Chernomyrdin, but then the Duma refused to consider them.” Today, the deputies also came to the decision “not to touch these issues for now,” since then they would have to admit that not all subjects of the federation are equal, as stated in the Constitution. Republics, for example, are much higher in status than autonomous okrugs. And the law on changing the status, according to the deputy, could destabilize the already turbulent situation, especially in the North Caucasus. As soon as this law is adopted, Vladimir Lysenko believes, “double and multinational republics” - Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, Dagestan - “will begin to divide.”
According to Mr. Lysenko, last year deputies turned to the Ministry of Federation with a request to suspend work on laws on the status of federal subjects. Alexander Blokhin, however, said that “he doesn’t know who in the Ministry of Federation is negotiating with the Duma - just not me.” “The law on changing the status has nothing to do with the division of the republics,” Mr. Blokhin dismissed concerns about the consequences of the adoption of the law.
Mr. Lysenko listed four uses of the new law. Firstly, autonomous okrugs can upgrade their status to at least republican status, which can be beneficial for such rich subjects as the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug. Secondly, it will be possible to implement the recently actively discussed option of returning joint-stock companies to the regions. But only weak subjects will do this voluntarily - the Ust-Orda Autonomous Okrug, for example, is ready to return to the Irkutsk region. Such a law, according to Mr. Lysenko, could be useful when consolidating entities. But this, according to him, is an unrealistic idea; regional leaders will not support it, and the president will be against it. And the last thing: the task of the law, the deputy suggested, is not the unification of regions, but still a divorce, peaceful and on a legal basis.
In any case, the deputy chairman of the Duma committee believes that the bill “On Changing the Status...” is not timely, especially since this law should also spell out the very concept of the status of a subject of the federation. “But if the government introduces a bill to the Duma,” said Vladimir Lysenko, “the deputies will be forced to consider it.”