“A person needs to commit to observing the laws of the country and the Constitution,” said Pavel Krasheninnikov / E. Razumny / Vedomosti

Today, the State Duma held an open session on the text of the oath taken when acquiring Russian citizenship. By the time of the committee session, the Duma had received about 20 versions of the text, but the committee has so far published only two – the texts of LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Duma Deputy Chairperson Irina Yarovaya (United Russia).

After the discussion, the deputies developed six principles on which the text should be based: the oath should be personal, voluntary, laconic, public, solemn, and it should include legal responsibility. "If we approve the principles, it will be easier for us to write the law. The text should include questions of history and culture, it is necessary for a person to commit to observing the laws of the country and the Constitution," said Pavel Krasheninnikov (United Russia), Chairman of the Committee on State Building.

The State Duma is composing an oath for candidates for the Russian Federation

Politics / Democracy

The Chairman of the Culture Committee, Stanislav Govorukhin, emphasized that the options of Yarovaya and Zhirinovsky are unacceptable, in his opinion, since they contain obligations that a person is not capable of fulfilling independently (for example, maintaining the unity of the country).

Historian and journalist Nikolai Svanidze also emphasized that the texts should be "shorter and drier": "Why should we force our guest to lie under oath about his love for Russia, which he does not yet have? We must avoid profanation, this must be a real oath." In his opinion, the text should be extremely dry: "I swear to observe the Constitution and not to violate the laws of the country." Member of the Public Chamber Lidiya Mikheyeva also agreed with the need for the oath to be short: "If we recall the Constitution, then everything desirable is concentrated in this word."

The deputies also argued over what meanings should prevail in the oath: legal content, legal responsibility, or the moral and ethical side. Deputy Elena Yampolskaya suggested taking the oath at the age of 14 when receiving a passport, but Krasheninnikov objected that when receiving a passport, a person is already a citizen and this is a "different situation." Communist Yuri Sinelshchikov supported Yarovaya's project, suggesting that it be taken as a basis. Socialist Revolutionary Mikhail Yemelyanov considered that the words about the "solemnity" of the oath should be removed: "This is from our pioneer childhood."

The oath must contain certain legal consequences, the SR noted. "There must be emotions and obligations, if a person is not ready to join our culture, if there is no certain emotional component, then there is no point in the oath. Protecting national interests and being a patriot - these points must be reflected," Yemelyanov convinced everyone. Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Igor Lebedev (LDPR) agreed that the faction's texts are pompous and, perhaps, too emotional: "But we believe that the text should be different from other oaths, it should have some zest."

Irina Yarovaya told the audience that the struggle should be for meanings, and she turned to the meanings that are embedded in the Constitution. "We should not be guided by those oaths that are no different from each other. We need to stop being ashamed of praying for the glory of the fatherland," Yarovaya said. Krasheninnikov noted that he does not support the idea of renunciation of a second citizenship in the text: "We have many deputies with dual citizenship."

The deputies must prepare the text by the end of the spring session: "There are deadlines, but not at the expense of quality," said the head of the working group, United Russia member Vladimir Vasilyev. The deputies noted that they are waiting for proposals from all those who wish.

The State Duma has composed six principles of the oath of a citizen of Russia