Will the Constitution be changed?

The 10th anniversary of the adoption of the modern Russian constitution and the results of the parliamentary elections that took place shortly before this again intensified the debate about the need and possibility of changing the Basic Law of the country.

The starting point of the discussion was President Putin's statement at a meeting with representatives of the Federal Assembly on 9 December. "It's time to stop all talk about the need to change the Constitution. It has become the basis of stability in society and has absolutely not exhausted its positive potential," he said.

A more specific justification for this thesis was voiced by First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Dmitry Kozak: "This kind of action [changing the Constitution - ed. ] can lead to much greater negative processes . "

The chairman of the Constitutional Court, Valentin Zorkin, invariably spoke about the harmful consequences of changing the Basic Law throughout December.

However, despite the "signal sent from the Kremlin," as the media dubbed the presidential statement, many public politicians and publicists did not change their point of view. Moreover, basically their proposals boiled down to the need to change the presidential term and enlarge the regions (link).

Already on December 11, the host of the Postscript program, Alexei Pushkov, said: “I think that today there is no need for a third term for President Putin. And Vladimir Vladimirovich himself has repeatedly said that he will not run for a third term, that the Constitution in this part is not it is necessary to change it. Another thing is that his term in power may be somewhat extended ... "

On the same day, in an interview with Izvestia, Mikhail Gorbachev said that if the second term of the current Russian president is successful, "then the question may arise of the possibility of extending Putin's powers *You can find an opportunity to run for a third term or find other options" [highlighted in the text - *ed. ]

Alexander Rahr, a German political scientist who constantly publishes in Russian newspapers, believes that the tasks facing V. Putin are so voluminous that he simply will not physically have time to carry out vital measures in the remaining four years. In addition, he predicts that already at the end of 2005 a fierce struggle for the right to become Putin's successor will begin, which cannot but affect the stability in the country. That is why A. Rahr considers it not only possible, but also necessary to change the Constitution of Russia in this section from the American to the German version: In Germany, a country no less democratic than the United States, the Federal Chancellor can be elected indefinitely. Helmut Kohl ruled the country for 16 years, and it is not for nothing that he will go down in German history as a politician who created one of the most successful eras in the country's history."

And finally, Dmitry Belovetsky, editor-in-chief of the Rossiya newspaper, "bluntly and boldly" allowed himself to disagree with the president. "There is nothing absolute, settled once and for all, forever given," writes in an editorial dated December 18, 2003. he the decade marked its obvious mistakes and gaps, the consequences of which will have to be corrected today . D. Belovetsky is sympathetic to the "moral aspect of presidential statements" , to his "unwillingness to escalate the domestic political situation in the country" , but courageously declares that "the mutual connection of constitutional norms and new socio-political relations is not a hidden, camouflaged revision of the main law of the country but a reasonable reform of the Constitution in accordance with the requirements of the present time" . However, D. Belovetsky does not make any specific proposals, apart from again increasing the presidential term.

Putin will not rewrite the Constitution // Izvestia. 1003. 10 December.
To the bottom. What for? [Interview with the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Russia V. Zorkin] // Rossiyskaya Gazeta. 2003. December 9th.
**[Words. Alexey Pushkov] // Russia. 2003. December 11th.

Mikhail Gorbachev offers Putin a third term // Izvestia. December 11, 2003.*
Rar A. Western business is calm // Russia. 2003. December 16.
Belovetsky D. Changes for the better // Ibid. 2003. December 18.