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Following the formation of the Federation Council (Ed. the
upper chamber of the Russian parliament) in accordance with the
new principle it ceased to exist as a political body. Now we have
a Russian variant of the House of Lords. But, as we say, the situation
in the country is mirrored by the lords we have. The Federation
Council has been reduced to simply a representative structure
of politicians of different levels. The specifics of the formation
of the chamber has led to a situation where it has become easily
manageable by the authorities. The present contradictions in the
Federation Council reflect the contradictions inside the authorities.
The new Federation Council will probably become a kind of litmus-paper
that discloses the contradictions at a higher level. I don't think
that the Federation Council will subsequently become the beacon
for the electorate.
The legislative contradictions in the upper chamber were hampered
by the Constitution. And the situation will not change today.
The Federation Council acts as a technical controller, which checks
the finished product, but cannot amend it already.
Today the executive and legislative authorities in Russia have
been de-facto merged together, which is bad for democracy. Many
important issues, such as the appointment of a Public Prosecutor-General,
the problems of war and peace, are resolved by the people directly
interested in these issues. It is necessary to form an upper chamber
through direct elections, and I think we shall approach this issue
soon. "YABLOKO and the SPS (Ed. the Union of Right-Wing Forces)
have already prepared a corresponding draft law and will submit
it to the Duma.
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