Russian President Vladimir Putin in his address of March 25, 2020 outlined that “We need to remember about their personal responsibility for their families, for those who live nearby who need our help and support. By and large it is in this solidarity lies strength of the society, the reliability of mutual assistance, the efficiency of our response to the challenge that we face.”
the History of Russia has repeatedly demonstrated that one of the main advantages of our multinational people is the ability to work together, accumulate all available resources to achieve common goals. The close connection of generations, the care of loved ones, support those most in need has become an integral part of our national identity. Today, without this it is impossible to imagine the development of the individual, civil society and the state.
Social orientation of the entire system of public authority and the commitment of society to the widespread adoption of social solidarity have determined a valid need for relevant amendments to the Constitution of Russia, reflected in the provisions of the Law on the amendment of the Constitution of the Russian Federation “On improving the regulation of certain issues of organization and functioning of public authorities,” which are designed to reflect a broad public consensus and acceptance of the specific content of the social character of the modern Russian state.
And now, when we are faced with a new challenge, we should also remember that the solidarity of people and power is an essential condition to overcome the difficulties. In fact for any person is very important to feel support from the state, to social security and to resort, if necessary, by means of effective restoration of violated rights.
However, it is important to remember, and this is especially emphasized by the President in address to the citizens of Russia of 15 April 2020, what measures of social support, especially in difficult conditions, should really be possible for citizens to obtain. The state in those circumstances that dictates a new challenge that we all face, just can’t afford to create unnecessary and unjustified obstacles and difficulties in order to provide government assistance was provided to those who need it.
the Protection of human rights by the state is a solid basis of everyone’s life, this Foundation creates confidence in the future. From this confidence of every citizen depends on how soon we will be able to overcome the crisis of today, to return to the usual rhythm of life and once again begin to make their plans.
the Need to ensure the confidence of citizens in the future predetermines the relevance of the amendments to the Constitution of Russia. In the amendments, considerable attention is paid to issues of social solidarity, social security, citizens ‘ trust in state institutions. For the state it is essential to see the credibility of the society because the trust of its citizens is a critical indicator that the ongoing power policies are effective and correct. Solidarity, in this context, reciprocal respect for the individual and the state.
the Need to continuously maintain the trust of the society stimulates the power to development, the development of new safeguards and ensure proper execution of existing ones.
the public authority needs to conduct a sound and transparent policy in the interests of its citizens, taxpayers and voters. Only then can the government and society will function on the basis of mutual trust, to act as a unified force. Such a society can be called strong and independent. This is a representative function of public authorities.
the state authorities and Federation subjects, local authorities, civil society institutions, citizens and organizations – all subjects of public relations should act on the basis of principles of solidarity and maintaining mutual trust. It is essential for the overcoming of emerging challenges and threats, and existing in our days, the crisis, in this regard, is no exception.
the State social policy should be based on the principle of social solidarity. Proclaiming itself as a welfare state, Russia assumed the obligation to implement all available and necessary measures to ensure decent living standards, continuous improvement of their quality of life, the inadmissibility of decline of social standards.
the Stability of socio-economic policy is the starting point for further development, so the social guarantees and the measures taken by the state, should not be opportunistic in nature, should not be questioned in times of crisis or be subjected to revision in case of policy adjustments. Maintaining a legitimate expectation of every citizen in the issue of social protections should be sustainable.
meanwhile, a significant issue on the agenda of state building, is the sustainability of political institutions, which, in turn, depends on whether the government lives up to expectations of its citizens. It is therefore quite clear trend is the high level of approval withon the part of society, from citizens to the constitutional amendment, first and foremost, social. In accordance with research conducted by VTSIOM, the amendment on the annual indexation of pensions supports 91 percent of Russian citizens, accessibility and quality of health care to 95 percent. This level of support indicates a high degree of awareness and sense of social solidarity of Russian citizens and also demonstrates the presence of sustained public demand for the implementation of integrated social policy.
the Social nature of the Russian state is manifested in the assumption of positive duties to the citizens, expressed in measures of a public law nature, based on the principles of justice and equality, as well as in the functioning of the constitutional-legal mechanism, the implementation of which allows to preserve and maintain the balance of the public interest. The principle of the social state at the present stage is one of the key principles that define the content of the policy pursued by Russia.
Anchoring in the Constitution the principle of the social state implies the focus of activities across the state to ensure conditions of decent living standards, including through the creation of favourable working conditions and human capital development. For this the government should take all possible measures, regardless of the economic situation. It also follows that the resulting economic growth should benefit in the first place, be directed at ensuring the growth of welfare of citizens.
Amendments to the Constitution are pronounced social character and aimed at ensuring the interests of citizens, increase the level of welfare of each individual and the creation of additional social guarantees. The amendments are designed to create an atmosphere of trust of citizens in the institutions of public power, the basis of which, first and foremost, there must be respect for the person and his rights.
At the heart of the amendments lies a specific public request. So, in the text of the Constitution introduced a new article 75.1, which specifies that in the Russian Federation the conditions for sustainable economic growth and improve the welfare of citizens, for mutual trust between the state and society, guarantees the protection of the dignity of citizens and respect of human labor, provided the balance of rights and responsibilities, social partnership, economic, political and social solidarity.
an Important step towards the strengthening of public confidence in the authorities is the introduction of the Constitution of the Russian Federation of changes, providing for additional requirements to Candide��there for the positions of state and municipal service. The amendment prohibits a citizen of a foreign state or residence permit or other document confirming the right to permanent residence of citizens of the Russian Federation on the territory of a foreign state, as well as the prohibition to open and hold accounts and deposits, safekeeping of cash and valuables in foreign banks located outside the territory of the Russian Federation.
the Reflection of the relevant legislative provisions in the basic Law will not only raise the level of public confidence in the state, but also to emphasize the importance of safeguarding state sovereignty, non-interference in its internal Affairs, as well as the implementation of publicly significant functions solely in the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens.
As noted by the constitutional Court in its judgment of 10 October 2013, No. 20-P, “legal democracy to be sustainable, needs to be effective legal mechanisms to guard against abuses and criminalization of public authority, whose legitimacy is largely based on the trust of society. Creating appropriate legal mechanisms, the Federal legislator is entitled to set increased requirements to the reputation of persons holding public office, so that citizens are not born of doubt as to their ethical and moral qualities and, respectively, of law and of the unselfishness of their actions as bearers of public authority, including use to achieve these goals, certain restrictions of the passive suffrage”.
Paramount that the amendments to the Constitution of Russia bring a new level of requirements for all representatives of public authorities. In this respect, they clearly follow the logic of public demand for increased confidence in state institutions.
Not less important in the context are outlined and constitutional amendments aimed at ensuring the primacy of the norms of the Basic Law before international law and the consolidation of the rejection of the unconditional fulfillment of international obligations in case of their contradiction of the Constitution. Because any Constitution is somehow the social contract, which establishes the public consensus on most important issues, the admissibility of the application of international law in any case should be consistent with national law. Of particular relevance it acquires in an increasingly visible insolvency of supranational institutions and the negative effects of globalization.
of Course, interstate cooperation is necessary but it should not be based on subordination. States, regardless of their level of economic development and military power are equal subjects of international law, and the dialogue between them should be on an equal footing by consensus. For many years we are seeing a situation in which it pursues its national interests and the lack of decisions that can have a negative impact on our state, entails the application of sanctions pressure.
Fixing absolute priority provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is an important condition for ensuring state sovereignty. The excessive transfer of powers to the supranational level can lead to “atrophy” of the national public institutions in a crisis situation, will not be able to make effective and timely decisions.
of Course, the importance of mutual aid among the States is clearly demonstrated in our day. Humanitarian, financial, informational and other forms of support are provide to minimize the harm to all members of the international community.
But politics, aimed solely at obtaining outside help, refusal of priority development of national institutions can lead the country to a disastrous state and its citizens – to serious difficulties. This again emphasizes the need for interaction on the basis of trust and solidarity between the state and its citizens.
Amendments to the Constitution, among other things, proposed to guarantee a minimum wage not less than the subsistence minimum, regular indexation of social benefits and other social payments, as well as adoption of the basic principles of the pension system, efficiency, universality, equity and solidarity of generations. Appropriate amendments are introduced in article 75 of the Constitution.
the Constitutionalization of these provisions would impose on the state the additional amount of responsibilities for provision of social guarantees, which, given their constitutional nature, to revise the downside is already very difficult.
meanwhile, the provision of constitutional guarantees stable and consistent state-legal development and normal functioning of the entire system of a single public authority will depend on a respectful attitude of citizens to the Constitution and popular support proposed by the President of the Russian Federation amendments to the national vote, and equal with that of solidarity with the activities of public authorities on Federal, regional and local levels, especially in the case of extraor��binarnych situations.
the adoption of specific decisions aimed at overcoming the difficulties associated with the crisis, of course, is necessary to rely on the Constitution.
As we can see, the President of the Russian Federation in the social logic of the amendments proposed a number of anti-crisis measures aimed at maintaining decent living standards for Russian citizens and providing assistance to the most affected economic actors. So, the President of Russia Vladimir Putin in his address of April 15, 2020, measures to stimulate the economy will have a positive impact not only on business activity in the individual most affected by the crisis sectors of the economy, but also on the economy in General and the life of each person.
As emphasized in his address the President of Russia, support, initiated by the government, should really be available for businesses and citizens. In conditions when assistance should be provided without delay, no unreasonable barriers to its receipt need not be created.
the Russian President, when making decisions about the measures to support citizens and entrepreneurs, is the guarantor of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, and ensures the coordinated functioning of a unified system of public power, which is especially important in the period of occurrence of contingency. In turn, the effectiveness of the measures aimed at combating the crisis and its consequences, will depend on including provided by Russian citizens trust the institutions of public authority.
In the circumstances, not only from the state, which in a very short time carries out the development and implementation of measures aimed at improving the overall economic and social situation, but also from the citizens themselves, on their consciousness in the observance of the forced restrictions depends on how quickly we will be able to cope with the consequences of the crisis phenomena, both now and in the future.
the Occurrence of such extraordinary circumstances that represent a serious challenge for the whole society and the state, only actualizes the significance of securing of social rights and guarantees of Russian citizens at the constitutional level, so that even in such difficult for the state and its economy conditions, the fulfillment of social obligations are carried out properly and in full.
Anchoring in the Constitution the relevant social obligations of the state will give the legislator the most important reference point for fine-tuning of the state social security system, will provide additional guarantees to maintain the legal status that has been achieved as of today. This�� depend the overcome crisis situations and to ensure a high level of welfare of citizens, as well as build the Foundation for further development of the Russian state for future generations.
