The current Constitution of the Republic of Russia was adopted by national referendum on December 3, 2007. It replaced the Cherkassov-era constitution of 1992, which itself replaced the Constitution of the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic of 1946.
- Declaration of adoption
"We, the people of the Republic of Russia, united by a common fate on our land, establishing human rights and freedoms, civic peace and accord, preserving the historically established state unity, proceeding from the universally recognized principles of equality and self-determination of peoples, revering the memory of ancestors who have conveyed to us the love for the Motherland, belief in the good and justice, reviving the sovereign statehood of Russia and asserting the firmness of its democratic base, striving to ensure the well-being and prosperity of Russia, proceeding from the responsibility for our Motherland before the present and future generations, recognizing ourselves as part of the world community, adopt the Constitution of the Republic of Russia.
Article 1: Fundamentals of the Constitution.
Article 2: Rights and Liberties of Man and Citizen
Article 2 deals with all liberties and rights granted to all citizens and others given to all mankind. The article has 12 main clauses.
- Clause 1- This clause prohibits impeding the free exercise of religion, infringing on the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.
Clause 2- This clause limits the right of the people to keep and bear arms. This clause has many sub-clauses dealing with the strict gun-control and monitoring.
- Clause 3- This clause guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, along with requiring any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause. However, the 9th clause allows for the RNNS or the Armed Forces to violate this clause provided that a situation arises in which national security is threatened (i.e the RNNS can detain and interrogate suspected terrorists).
- Clause 4- This clause protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure.
- Clause 5- This clause sets forth rights related to criminal and other legal prosecutions. For example, the accused, save those arrested under the 9th clause, may not be held in the custody of the civil authority (the militia) for more than 7 days without a preliminary court trial. Also the prosecution may not, unless with a plausible reason, delay the trial for more than six months. However, a trial may be delayed by the overseeing judge, and only the judge, to secure the presence of an absent witness or for other practical considerations.
- Clause 6- This clause grants all mankind the right to water, food, clothing, shelter and many other basic necessities.
- Clause 7- This clauses defines the privileges granted to all citizens such as free education, free healthcare, free water, electricity, etc.
- Clause 8- This clause defines the rights of the state and also defines the obligations of citizens for the state. This clause defines the national service and the commissioning of the draft.
- Clause 9- This controversial clause, which many international human rights groups have called to be removed from the Constitution, deals the power of the state, exercised by the government, to revoke some of the above mentioned rights and liberties, if the power of the state, or the motherland and the state are threatened by forces outside as well as inside Russia. This clause allows for the RNNS and the military to search, arrest, detain and interrogate anyone who (with a sufficient reason) is believed to be against the state.
Article 3: Legislature power According to the according to the Constitution, legislative power is vested in the Federal Duma. The Duma consists of 804 elected members, who then appoint the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman from among themselves. The 804 seats each represent one of Russia's 804 okrugs, which are formed according to the following principles;
- Apart from the Moscow Oblast, the Petrograd Oblasts, the Kiev Oblast and the Kazan Oblast, all oblasts have eight okrugs. Moscow Oblast has 26 okrugs, Petrograd Oblast has 18, Kiev Oblast has 14 and Kazan Oblast has 12.
- Krais would have either one, two, three or four okrugs depending on the population, size and population density.
Duma members are elected for a six year term by popular vote. According to the Constitution all candidates must be at least 18 years of age, should not have any serious criminal record, and should be a resident citizen who has lived in Russia for the last 5 years.
Aricle 4: Executive power
Aricle 5: Judicial power
Aricle 6: President of Russia
Aricle 7: Federal Government of Russia
Aricle 8: Federative system
Aricle 9: Constitutional Amendments and Revisions
Ayaa 12:08, April 4, 2011 (UTC)