Introduction
Today, it is impossible to imagine any country without a constitution, also known as the fundamental law, and this legislation piece is a characteristic feature of a civilized world. Numerous nations draw sufficient attention to developing their own constitutions to define how they are governed and how power is exercised. Such documents also exist to demonstrate the basic principles and laws that are applied to the country and its citizens. A significant part of a constitution typically considers the freedoms, rights, and obligations of people. However, this description is idealized, and not every country ensures that its constitution meets the requirements above. Some governments manage to transform their fundamental law, interpret its articles in a specific way, or even ignore it to serve their particular and even corrupt goals. The Constitution of the Russian Federation is a suitable example of how the fundamental law can be misused, bringing benefits to government authorities.
It is necessary to state that power is often associated with misconduct. Ursula K. Le Guin wrote a few words that perfectly describe this fact. In particular, the quote is as follows: “Have you ever thought how danger must surround power as shadow does light?” These words demonstrate that power is always accompanied by danger because people in authority typically feel threatened that they can lose their privilege. Another threat refers to the fact that people can exceed their powers causing negative consequences for others. According to Le Guin, this outcome is as inevitable as the fact that light results in shadows. That is why it is reasonable to consider the Constitution of the Russian Federation as an example to identify what goals are promoted by the fundamental law of this country.
Violation of Constitutional Provisions
One can admit that the Constitution of the Russian Federation serves the state, not the people because some of its provisions are violated. For example, this statement refers to Article 31 stipulating that “citizens of the Russian Federation shall have the right to assemble peacefully, without weapons, hold rallies, mass meetings and demonstrations, marches and pickets.” Even though participating in mass meetings is constitutional freedom, it is challenging to state that Russian citizens can benefit from it. The rationale behind this statement is that the COVID-19 preventive measures result in the fact that people are deprived of this right. However, numerous news reports state that the Russian government considers demonstrations a danger to the political system and uses law enforcement agencies to fight against them.
This information stipulates that some of the constitutional provisions are not protected in the Russian Federation. Although the fundamental law highlights the freedom that should be given to all people, the actual state of affairs is much different. High-ranking officials disregard the article and exercise force to peaceful individuals. That is why it is impossible to state that the Constitution of the Russian Federation serves the citizens. Instead, the government is free to take any actions that violate constitutional provisions and protect its interests. It seems that the government is endangered that demonstrations can be used as a means to overthrow its power. This potential hazard makes authorities ignore the constitutional provision and deprive people of freedom that is granted to them by the fundamental law of the country. That is why one can assume that the Constitution serves the government’s corrupt interests.
Vague Wording
As has been mentioned above, a constitution is typically used to explain how a state is governed, and the division of powers into legislative, executive, and judicial branches is a significant part of this phenomenon. However, the fundamental law of the Russian Federation failed to draw sufficient attention to this aspect. In particular, these inefficiencies refer to Articles 10 and 11. On the one hand, Article 10 mentions that “state power in the Russian Federation shall be exercised on the basis of its division into legislative, executive, and judicial authority.” However, Article 11 introduces the concept of Presidential power, and any explanation as to how these powers correlate is absent. Simultaneously, Article 10 stipulates that all the three branches are independent. Even though this statement is not harmful on its own, adverse consequences can arise because the fundamental law fails to explain how and whether the three contribute to the unity of power. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the branches can balance one another to prevent the misuse of power. These inefficiencies can adversely impact the Russian Federation, which will be presented below.
The identified drawbacks can adversely affect the entire governance system in the Russian Federation. The failure to offer an exhaustive explanation of how the power is divided in the state can result in the fact that the individual branches can witness conflicting issues. It is probable that people’s liberties are not protected in the Russian Federation because the Constitution does not clarify how the legislative and executive branches should correlate their actions when mass demonstrations are under consideration. For instance, the legislative agencies can guarantee freedom, but ministries from the executive branch can consider these events illegal. That is why the absence of specific wording in the Constitution of the Russian Federation results in the fact that human rights are violated in the country.
Conclusion
When it comes to summarizing the purposes and effects of a constitution, the given essay can produce two-fold conclusions. On the one hand, the generalized interpretation refers to the fact that this legislation document is the fundamental law of every nation, meaning that it is impossible to overestimate its significance. A constitution is significant because it highlights people’s rights and freedoms, how the country should be governed, and many others. This description of a constitution is generalized, and it should be relevant for every nation. In particular, the rationale behind this statement is that the fundamental law of a country is under consideration, which denotes that it mentions valuable information that is beneficial for people and the government.
On the other hand, the role and significance of this fundamental law depend on a specific country, and the example of the Russian Federation is suitable to demonstrate that the Constitution can serve corrupt needs. Firstly, the essay has revealed that the Constitution guarantees specific freedoms and rights, but they can be violated in the Russian Federation. For example, the right to assemble peacefully is given, but the Russian government does not always respect it because law enforcement forces are sometimes allocated to combat mass demonstrations. Secondly, it has been found that the Constitution of the Russian Federation fails to draw sufficient attention to defining the division of powers. This failure can result in the fact that individual branches do not find agreement regarding the same issues, and the case with mass demonstrations is an example.
It is possible to assume that this state of affairs is present because, as per Le Guin’s quote, Russian authorities feel endangered and try to protect themselves from losing power. This condition makes them disregard some of the constitutional principles, while vague wording provides them with the freedom to do it. Consequently, if one wants to identify what the Constitution of the Russian Federation is used for, it is more suitable to rephrase the query. The Constitution is not used to protect some human rights and formulate the division of powers.
Reference
Le Guin, Ursula K. A Wizard of Earthsea. Parnassus Press, 1968.
Constitution of Russian Federation. 1993, Revised 2014.