December 16, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in Russia hold positive views on their country’s 14-year-old Constitution, according to a poll by the Yury Levada Analytical Center. 47 per cent of respondents think the body of law increased the effectiveness of the Russian government.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in Russia hold positive views on their country’s 14-year-old Constitution, according to a poll by the Yury Levada Analytical Center. 47 per cent of respondents think the body of law increased the effectiveness of the Russian government.

Russia’s current Constitution was adopted following a national referendum on Dec. 12, 1993. The document effectively replaced the Soviet-era Constitution from 1978. Only 18 per cent of respondents think the influence of citizens in government decisions has increased since the enactment of the current Constitution, and 36 per cent think the charter has strengthened the influence of political parties.

Vladimir Putin was elected to a second term as president in March 2004 with 71.31 per cent of all cast ballots. In April 2005, Putin ruled out seeking a new mandate, saying, "I will not change the constitution and in line with the constitution, you cannot run for president three times in a row." The next presidential election is scheduled for March 2008.

On Dec. 2, Russian voters renewed the State Duma. United Russia (YR)—whose candidate list was headed by Putin—secured 64.1 per cent of the vote and 315 of the legislature’s 450 seats. Under the country’s recently implemented proportional representation system, only three other political organizations—the Communist Party (KPRF), the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) and A Just Russia—elected lawmakers to the lower house.

On Dec. 12, while celebrating the 14th anniversary of Russia’s Constitution, Valery Zorkina—a judge at the Russian Constitutional Courts—saluted the country’s positive response to the challenges brought by the charter, saying, "Thank God, we have produced a tradition in Russia when the supreme leader of the state, the guarantor of the Constitution, has acted in the way that the Constitution dictates."

Article 61.1 of Russia’s current Constitution forbids the extradition of the country’s citizens. The British government has suggested an amendment in order to allow Andrei Lugovoi—who is suspected by British authorities of murdering former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko on British soil—to be tried in British courts.

Polling Data

Over the past 14 years, when the current constitution was adopted, would you say the effectiveness of the Russian government has increased, decreased or stayed the same?

Increased	47%
Decreased	13%
Stayed the same	23%
Hard to answer	18%

Over the past 14 years, when the current constitution was adopted, would you say the influence of citizens in the decisions of the Russian government has increased, decreased or stayed the same?

Increased	18%
Decreased	22%
Stayed the same	50%
Hard to answer	10%

Over the past 14 years, when the current constitution was adopted, would you say the influence of political parties in Russia has increased, decreased or stayed the same?

Increased	36%
Decreased	16%
Stayed the same	33%
Hard to answer	15%

Source: Yury Levada Analytical Center
Methodology: Interviews with 1,600 Russian adults, conducted from Nov. 20 to Nov. 23, 2007. No margin of error was provided.