Press Release, 15.01.2020

I his annual Address to the Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed amending the Russian Constitution, apparently aimed at preserving him at the top of state power even after 2024, when his presidential term expires. Much was said about overcoming poverty in the country, which he has been leading for more than 20 years. Other important topics of the Address, which Yabloko leaders emphasise in their commentaries, are the actual liquidation of supremacy of international law and local self-government in the country.

NIKOLAI RYBAKOV, YABLOKO CHAIRMAN:

Today’s Presidential Address [to the parliament] has finally returned us to the Leonid Brezhnev [stagnation] period [in the USSR]: slow reading of the text written on paper, silent audience but bursting into applause at the right moments.

Certainly, the directors of the event counted on resounding success of the promises of Vladimir Putin. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain why they broadcasted the Address even on the facades of houses. Many social promises have been made, and someone may find them attractive, but it is obvious that they are not able to defeat poverty as a problem and will not affect the real difficulties of the Russians.

If, in the 21st year of his governing, a political leader is discussing reduction of poverty in the country, then it is necessary to discuss first of all the issue of changing such a leader. If the “May decrees” of 2012 [the decrees signed by Vladimir Putin on his inauguration day on 7 May, 2012, that had to improve living standards of Russia’s population virtually in all the aspects] are still not fully implemented, then this is a question to the President and the government – what have they been doing all the previous years?

Vladimir Putin’s proposals regarding amendments to the Constitution and, in particular, fixing there the status and the role of the State Council are, apparently, the beginning of a transit of power, which has been so widely discussed lately. Vladimir Putin can no longer run for a new presidential term and is preparing for himself a new public office.

It is good that the President proposed to vote for a package of amendments to the Constitution in a referendum. An All-Russian Referendum was held in our country only once, almost 30 years ago, in 1993. Then the citizens voted to approve the present Constitution.

There should be more general votes, and Russians should more often participate in resolving systemic political issues.

The Yabloko party has long advocated changing the legislation on referenda: the conditions that should be implemented so that to initiate a referendum should be less tough, and the list of topics that can be put to a universal vote should be expanded.

Although, even in the absence of a referendum, it is now quite easy to observe the attitude of the population to certain events. For example, to today’s Presidential Address. Thus, there are 4,200 likes and 13,100 dislikes at the Russia 24 YouTube channel, and 1,400 likes and 3,100 dislikes of the viewers of the NTV channel. This is the real attitude of the population of our country to Vladimir Putin, his proposals, messages, and the system in general.

It is interesting that amendments to the Constitution concerning the State Council, in fact, introduce a new, the fourth branch of government. The State Council as a new political body represents a redundant structure and is just a possible synecure for Vladimir Putin. The three branches of government, which are represented in Russia by the Federal Assembly, the Government of the Russian Federation and federal courts, are quite enough to govern the state. And the world experience proves this.

The main thing that needs to be done now is to give these branches independence, cease to control the state in manual mode and enable democratic institutions to function independently.

Source: Nikolai Rybakov’s Facebook page

GRIGORY YAVLINSKY, CHAIRMAN OF THE FEDERAL POLITICAL COMMITTEE OF YABLOKO:

Vladimir Putin has spoken with an Address to the Federal Assembly. People want change, the President said. And he proposed to amend the Constitution. So that no international courts, no international law would any longer interfere with the Construction of an isolated authoritarian (that is, sovereign, as Putin thinks) state. So that the State Duma (in the condition it is now) would approve the government, which the President will be able to dismiss at any time. So that the court would look independent from everyone and everything except the President. Well, and changes, obviously, mean the transfer of [now ex PM] Medvedev from the government to the Security Council.

Putin’s Address [to the Federal Assembly] is annual. However, the President did not even mention the events of the past year, which were significant for the life of the country: systematic planting of drugs by the police to inconvenient citizens; helplessness of the authorities in the fight against forest fires and floods in Siberia; the death of fourteen sailors in a fire at a nuclear submarine; the use of the amnesty of capital by the Federal Security Service against business; the killing of soldiers by a fellow soldier in Transbaikalia; a new law under which every citizen of the Russian Federation can be considered a foreign agent; removal of Russia from the Olympics due to doping; the wars in Donbass, Syria and now also in Libya.

These developments demonstrate that the Russian political and economic system has become dangerous for the citizens of the country, has lost effectiveness and is critically lagging behind the world.

The proposed changes to the Constitution have nothing to do with this main Russian problem and will not improve life in the country. Introduction of the State Council into the Fundamental Law and redistribution of powers between the President and parliament is aimed at solving a completely different problem – providing formal transit of power without real changes. These are “checks and balances” that do not lead to a real separation of powers, but create opportunities for manipulations on the top. The mechanism for the removal of judges of the Supreme and the Constitutional Court, as well as the introduction of a special provision that international law, corresponding treaties and obligations are not obligatory for us, reinforce the already existing features of Putin’s authoritarian self-isolating system – exactly what has led to the crisis and the extreme inefficiency of the present system.

A certain “vote of the citizens of the country” for the amendments proposed by Putin in his Address is yet another manipulation that will make it possible to peremptorily refer to “the will of the people” without a real constitutional referendum. Moreover, as the Presidential Press Secretary has explained, “there is no talk about a referendum and actually this doesn’t even imply any kind of adoption by voting”. That is, in fact, this is another plebiscite for Putin, for his personal legitimation.

In his Address on 15 January, 2020, Putin, in fact, proposed not only to preserve this system, but also to make it even more authoritarian, more closed, and finally ineffective. This is the main meaning of the Address to the Federal Assembly and the result of the past two decades of Putin.

Full text in Russian

IVAN BOLSHAKOV, DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF YABLOKO:

Our authorities always produce such “reformatory” messages on the principle of “one step forward, two steps back”. And good initiatives like strengthening the role of parliament are offset by frankly harmful initiatives such as abandoning [the supremacy of] the international law and creating add-ons over all branches of government like the leading and guiding role of the State Council.

Certainly, we are not talking about any parliamentary republic, but the formation of a government by the State Duma even in this system is useful even from the point of view that there will be a person responsible for failures in the social and economic policies. And maybe even economic voting (“we live how we vote” – only vise versa) will gradually become the norm. But this is a big stress for authoritarian regimes and an opportunity for the opposition.

But, as you know, the devil is always in the details. Therefore, we will wait first for specific amendments: at that stage, one can lay so many steps back that there will be no trace of a useful initiative.

Source: Ivan Bolshkov’s Facebook page 

BORIS VISHNEVSKY, DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF YABLOKO:

First, about the changes that should supposedly “guarantee the sovereignty of Russia” and “the priority of the Russian Constitution in our legal space”.

By this Putin understands the following: “the requirements of international law and treaties, as well as decisions of international bodies, can act on the territory of Russia only to the extent that they do not entail restrictions on the rights and freedoms of man and citizen and do not contradict our Constitution”.

On the one hand, it looks like a retelling of the theses of political clowns from the [nationalistic] NOD movement, constantly demanding to cancel the priority of the international law over the national law. And there have already been expressed (in particular, by my friends and colleagues Grigory Yavlinsky and Lev Shlosberg) justified fears that this could turn into isolation of Russia from the system of international law and the impossibility of protecting the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens on the basis of international law in the ECHR.

But on the other hand, if it is true that the amendments, as Putin says, “do not affect the fundamental foundations of the Constitution, which means that they can be approved by the parliament within the framework of the current procedure and the current law through the adoption of relevant constitutional laws” – this means the inviolability of the first two chapters Constitution (they cannot be reviewed by the parliament).

And this means that Article 15 envisaging the priority of international norms and treaties over the Russian laws remains in force. Although the Russian authorities have learned to partially circumvent this article: not implementing the decisions of the ECHR, if the Constitutional Court determines that these decisions are contrary to the [Russian] Constitution. What the court successfully does in cases when these decisions are especially unpleasant for the Kremlin.

So, the question is whether the Russian authorities will now try to de facto ignore the international law even without changing Article 15 (and Putin seems to understand only this as “sovereignty”).

And [the issue is also if] the citizens of Russia whose rights and freedoms are threatened with restrictions mean exclusively “Putin’s friends” who have fallen under international sanctions or other decisions by international courts and other bodies that are unpleasant for them.

Full text in Russian

LEV SHLOSBERG, MEMBER OF THE FEDERAL POLITICAL COMMITTEE OF YABLOKO:

First. Isolation of Russia from the system of international law, that is, the impossibility of protecting the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens on the basis of international law. This virtually means Russia’s withdrawal from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights and, possibly, other international supranational institutions. It also creates the possibility of adoption in Russia of legal norms directly contradicting the international law. This is expressly prohibited by the current Constitution.

Second. Prevention of a “second Putin” as ruling out of a possibility of a “long-term and strong successor”: it is proposed to remove the word “in a row” from the Constitution as regards the terms of the President in office, that is, all subsequent ones will have no more than two terms. The limitation of the President’s powers in appointing officials to senior government posts by strengthening the role of the Federal Assembly also means, first of all, not strengthening the parliament, but limiting the powers of the future President.

Third. The first drawing of a possible place for Putin after 2024 (or earlier, if the presidential election is pre-term): head of the State Council, whose powers will be enshrined in the Constitution. Putin reserves the opportunity to be an architect of the state for some time. This scenario has not been elaborated. What role the Governors will play in the State Council is not said, but it is quite possible that a new collegial body of state power will emerge, consisting of Governors, the Chairman of the Government, and Putin.

Fourth. The announcement of the creation of a unified system of public authority, which in reality may not mean strengthening of local self-government, but embedding it in a single vertical of power. What powers and capabilities it may have is yet unclear. The judiciary remains subordinate to the President. The independence of the judiciary will not be ensured.

Fifth. An attempt to compensate for the destructive social and public consequences of the pension reform through a package of measures for young families and young people in general, measures of support of the demographic policy and education. Recognition of the complete collapse of the state health care reform (“optimisation”). The proposed corrective measures are insufficient.

Important. Proposals for amendments to the Constitution envisage a “popular vote” when it is enough to get a majority of votes at any level of citizen participation, rather than a referendum. Exactly so – by a popular vote, and not by a referendum – the current Constitution was adopted. Moreover, the vote, apparently, will be for a package of amendments, “wholesale”: one mark for all proposed changes, and not for each separately. If this happens, then citizens will not have the opportunity to express an opinion on individual changes during the voting. In general, the majority of constitutional proposals are not detailed and can be “refined beyond recognition” in the process of their development.

Putin proposed a state reform, which would be aimed at preserving the system he created so that the power could suppress the society, rather than developing democracy and strengthening freedoms.

Source: Lev Shlosberg’s Telegram Channel

ALEXANDER GNEZDILOV, MEMBER OF THE FEDERAL POLITICAL COMMITTEE OF YABLOKO:

So much for the social message, friends.

Liquidation of a separate judicial branch of government, local self-government, [supremacy of] international law and rewriting of the previously untouchable first chapters of the Constitution that determine the foundations of the Russian state system.

All is made for the calm old days of a man – and we all know the name of this man.

Source: Alexander Gnezdilov’s Facebook page