The Constitution of the Russian Federation as the Constitution of a Defeated State

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

In the course of it, the analysis of the content of the Constitution of Russia was carried out in comparison with the world constitutional experience. The texts of almost all were used, with the exception, mainly, of a number of small island states, of the constitutions of the countries of the world.

The genesis of a system, as is known, determines to a large extent its content. Accordingly, the content of the Constitution of Russia was determined by the conditions of its adoption. There are three main models of the genesis of constitutions: a. national liberation revolution; b. social transformation and c. defeat in the war. The Russian Constitution of 1993 was the final chord that summed up the Cold War that the USSR had lost. (Fig. 1)

Rice. 1. Historical grounds for the adoption of the Constitutions of the countries of the world

The classic development of state policy - values - ends - means - result. However, the establishment of values at the state level in the Russian Federation is taboo. State ideology, as an accumulator of the highest values of the state, is prohibited by Article 13 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. But if there are no values, there can be no goals, and if there are no goals, there can be no result.

In cases where the state does not declare its own values, latent value substitution can occur. The values of an external political actor are taken. Values and goals appear, but they turn out to be not subjective in relation to their own state administration. Through this substitution, the state is desovereignized. In the Constitution of the Russian Federation, an appeal to the values of an external political actor is revealed through an appeal to the category of “generally recognized principles and norms of international law” incorporated into the system of national legislation (preamble, article 15, article 17, article 55, article 63, article 69). Putting forward its own ideological project of the state is prohibited, while simultaneously legitimizing the principles of external, positioned as a global design. (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Constitution and external ideological design

How widely recognized are the “generally recognized principles and norms of international law”? Most of the constitutions of the countries of the world do not contain appeals to generally recognized principles. Such appeals, with minor exceptions, are present in the constitutions of post-socialist states. (Fig. 3). At the same time, the context of the use of the relevant provisions and their semantic content is fundamentally different from the Russian case.

Rice. 3. Generally recognized principles and norms of international law

The Russian Constitution appeals to generally recognized norms and rights six times. This is more than in any other constitution of the countries of the world (with the exception of Georgia). In the overwhelming majority of cases, the provision on generally recognized principles and norms of international law belongs to the sphere of foreign policy of states. This implies the inviolability of borders, non-interference in each other's internal affairs.

The Russian Constitution not only speaks of the existence of "generally recognized" principles and norms, but, unlike other constitutions of the countries of the world, incorporates them into its own legislative system and refers to domestic politics

In such formulations as in Russia, the provision on generally recognized norms and principles is presented only in the Austrian Constitution and the Basic Law of Germany. The corresponding provisions appeared in the constitutional law of these states after the defeat in the First World War and were reproduced after another defeat after the end of the Second World War. They were historically a fixation of the limited sovereignty of the defeated states. Borrowing these precedent provisions for the Constitution of the Russian Federation directly indicates that Russian legislation is also derived from the fact of defeat. (Fig. 4)

Rice. 4. Historical and legal roots of the Russian Constitution

Article 2 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation legitimizes the categories of the highest state values. Pointing out that the highest value of the Russian state exists, it thereby recognizes the existence of state ideology. The Constitution of the Russian Federation defines "a person, his rights and freedoms" as the highest value. In this definition there is no place for the existence of Russia itself, or for the sovereignty of the Russian state, family, national historical traditions. According to the logic of the adopted definition, the sacrifice of the defenders of the Fatherland is unacceptable, since priority is given not to the Fatherland, but to the person, with his rights and freedoms.

Ideologies, as you know, differ precisely in the priority of certain values. The ideology declaring the highest value of human rights and freedom is the ideology of liberalism. This is how liberalism is defined in most textbooks and reference books. Thus, Article 2 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation establishes a liberal state ideology in Russia. A conflict arises between Article 13, which prohibits state ideology, and Article 2, which approves it.

The prohibition of state ideology while affirming the de facto ideology of liberalism means that the liberal choice is not revised. This choice is stated not as a definite ideology, but as a given. In fact, a ban on state ideology in Russia means a ban on revising the ideology of liberalism. Liberalism, on the other hand, appears as adherence to “generally recognized principles and norms,” that is, as a matter of course for all mankind. The constitution establishes, in fact, a model of external administration. Above the entire pyramid of value-setting of the Russian state, the position is "generally recognized principles and norms of international law." From them, the value of “human rights and freedoms” is projected as the highest value. And in order to prevent possible attempts to revise an external ideological project, a ban is established on the promotion of one's own identical ideology. (Fig. 5).

Rice. 5. The system of external control in the Constitution of the Russian Federation

Let us now turn to the world constitutional experience. With the introduction of a ban on state ideology in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the situation appeared as if Russia was switching to the type of life arrangement characteristic of the "civilized", "legal" states of the world. However, an analysis of the constitutional texts shows that this appeal was based on false information. An outright ban on state ideology exists only in the constitutions of Russia, Bulgaria, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Moldova. The constitutions of Ukraine and Belarus prohibit the establishment of any ideology as mandatory. In contrast to the Russian constitution, this is not about the inadmissibility of a value-targeted choice for the state, but about the inadmissibility of restricting civil liberties - another formulation of the problem. The wording "the state is based on democratic values and can not be bound by either an exclusive ideology or religion" state ideology is, in fact, prohibited in the Czech Republic. Similarly, this prohibition is formulated in the Slovak Constitution. But in this case, too, it is less imperatively expressed than in the Russian constitution. The appeal to democratic values in the Czech constitution indicates that no group can have the exclusive right to impose its ideology on the people, but not at all a ban on value choices based on popular consensus. In any case, the ban on state ideology is limited to a cluster of post-communist states. The acceptance of this prohibition as a consequence of the corresponding ideological defeat is obvious. Some constitutions set limits on ideology. In the constitutions of Portugal and Equatorial Guinea, this prohibition applies to the spheres of education and culture. In the overwhelming majority of constitutions, there is no prohibition on state ideology.

The vast majority of constitutions are ideological. In the constitutions of the countries of the world, two main types of presentation of state ideology can be distinguished. In one case, it is a list of values representing the axiological choice of the respective state. In the other - an appeal to a specific ideological teaching, doctrine, project. Constitutions that appeal to a specific teaching / doctrine can, in turn, be divided into two groups. The first is based on one or another religious, the second - on secular teaching. (Fig. 6).

Rice. 6. Ideology in the Constitutions of the countries of the world

Many constitutions declare priority positions in the state of a particular religion. This priority can be expressed by defining it as a state, official, dominant, traditional or majority religion. The status of the official or state religion is enshrined, for example, the position of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the constitutions of the Scandinavian states. Another way of declaring the state's reliance on a certain religious tradition is to indicate its special role for the relevant community.

The king in Denmark, Sweden and Norway must, according to constitutional texts, necessarily belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church. In Greece, the Eastern Orthodox Church is defined as dominant, in Bulgaria - traditional. For example, the Constitution of Argentina declares special support by the state for the Roman Catholic Church. The Constitution of Malta establishes the preference of the church to interpret "what is right and what is wrong." Christian religious teaching is prescribed as compulsory teaching in Maltese schools. The Peruvian Constitution emphasizes the special role of the Catholic Church as an important element in the historical, cultural and moral shaping of Peru. The special historical role of Orthodoxy is indicated by the constitutions of Georgia and South Ossetia. The Spanish constitution, while declaring on the one hand that no belief can have the character of a state religion, on the other, requires public authorities to “take into account the religious beliefs of Spanish society and maintain the resulting relations of cooperation with the Catholic Church and other confessions (i.e., maintain namely Catholicism as the religion of the majority).

A special type of constitutions are the constitutions of Islamic states. Certain provisions of the Islamic religion are directly incorporated into their constitutional texts. The main lower classes of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia say that the real constitution of the country is "The Book of Allah Almighty and the Sunnah of His Prophet." Earthly laws are seen as derived from divine ordinances. The derivation of Sharia law is a common characteristic of Islamic constitutions.

The adherence of the respective states to Buddhism is declared by the constitutions of Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan constitution makes it an obligation for the state to ensure the protection and study of the Buddha's teachings by the population.

As you know, the Russian constitution does not refer to any of the religious traditions. Orthodoxy, as the religion of the majority of the Russian population, is never mentioned in it. The appeal to God, which is in the Russian national anthem and is in the constitutions of most states in the world, is also absent in the Constitution of Russia

Of the secular ideologies, most often the constitutions of the countries of the world declare adherence to socialism. The socialist character of the state is declared in the constitutions of Bangladesh, Vietnam, Guyana, India, China, DPRK, Cuba, Myanmar, Tanzania, Sri Lanka. Is it an accident that the two most dynamically developing states in the world today in terms of economic parameters - China and India - explicitly declare their adherence to certain ideological teachings? Is not a publicly declared ideology in this case a factor of development? The Chinese Constitution appeals to Marxism-Leninism, the ideas of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. It speaks of the PRC's commitment to the socialist path of development and, at the same time, the need for "socialist modernization." The intention to wage a struggle against an ideological adversary is rigidly formulated: “In our country, the exploiters as a class have already been eliminated, but the class struggle within a certain framework will continue to exist for a long time. The Chinese people will have to fight against internal and external enemy forces and elements that are undermining our socialist system. " The Vietnamese Constitution speaks of reliance on Marxism-Leninism and the ideas of Ho Chi Minh. In the Constitution of the DPRK, the Juche ideology is declared as such a basis. The Cuban Constitution sets forth the goal of building a communist society.

Only the Cambodian constitution explicitly declares its adherence to liberal ideology. The constitutions of Bangladesh, Kuwait, Syria ("Arabism"), Sierra Leone, Turkey, the Philippines refer to the principles of nationalism. The Syrian Constitution points out the existence of a “pro-Arab project”. Syria itself is characterized in it as "the beating heart of Arabism", "an advanced confrontation with the Zionist enemy and the cradle of resistance against colonial hegemony in the Arab world."

The Turkish Constitution declares Turkey's adherence to the ideology of nationalism and the principles proclaimed by "the immortal leader and consummate hero Ataturk." The state's target is affirmed "the eternal existence of the Turkish nation and Motherland, as well as the indivisible unity of the Turkish state." The difference with the Russian formulation of the highest values - "man, his rights and freedoms" is obvious here.

There are other versions of state ideologies as well. Relying on Sun Yat-sen's teachings about the "Three People's Principles" is stated in the Taiwanese constitution. The constitutions of Bolivia and Venezuela appeal to the Bolivarian doctrine. The constitution of Guinea-Bissau speaks of the brilliant theoretical legacy of the founder of the PAIGC party, Amilcar Cabral.

Reducing the highest values of the state to human rights and freedoms (liberal positioning) is also a specific feature of the constitutions of the countries of the post-Soviet cluster. In this formulation, in addition to the Russian constitution, the highest values are defined only in the constitutions of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine. The Moldovan constitution adds the values of civil peace, democracy and justice to human rights and freedoms. It was the constitutions of the post-Soviet states that turned out to be the most liberal in terms of declared values against the background of the entire world ensemble of countries. (Fig. 7). The question arises - why?

Rice. 7. States that determine the highest value of a person, his rights and freedoms

The answer to it may again be related to the context of the defeat of the USSR in the Cold War. Liberalism was used in this case not as a life-building platform, but as an instrument for destroying the potential of statehood. Indeed, it is impossible to build a national statehood solely on the basis of a statement of the rights and freedoms of an individual. This requires certain values of solidarity. But none of them are classified as the highest values in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

The category "supreme values" is present not only in the constitutions of post-Soviet states. But they are declared in them in a wide list. Freedoms and human rights are not denied, but they turn out to be one of the positions of the value list. So, for example, in the Brazilian constitution, in addition to personal rights and freedoms, it includes social rights, security, welfare, development, equality and justice.

The definition of Russia's place in the world is exhausted in the Constitution of the Russian Federation with the following statement: “recognizing that we are part of the world community”. There are no claims to any special role. There is not even an indication of national interests. The main designated landmark is international integration. And this is a direct consequence of the rejection of their own project. For a non-sovereign state, external positioning can be exhausted only by a declaration of belonging to the international community, i.e. consistency in relation to the dominant forces in the world.

The world constitutional experience shows that the positioning of states in the world can be active and active, presenting their own peacebuilding project. For comparison, the PRC's constitution sets the priorities of foreign policy in a completely different way: “China is consistently pursuing an independent and independent foreign policy, resolutely opposing imperialism, hegemonism and colonialism; strengthens cohesion with the peoples of different countries of the world; is making efforts to preserve world peace and promote the progress of mankind. " The Syrian Constitution, adopted in 2012, also presents its identical project for positioning in the world: “The Syrian Arab Republic embodies this belonging to its national and pro-Arab project and works to support Arab cooperation in order to strengthen the integration and achieve unity of the Arab nation … Syria has taken an important political position, as it is the beating heart of Arabism, the frontline confrontation with the Zionist enemy and the cradle of resistance against colonial hegemony in the Arab world, as well as its abilities and wealth."

The lack of sovereignty of the Russian constitution is revealed especially clearly when carrying out a comparative frequency measurement of the use of value-containing terms. The research methodology consisted in comparing the number of use of value-significant concepts (terms) in the constitutional texts of different states of the world. In total, 163 constitutions were analyzed. As is known, the textual volumes of constitutions are different. With a larger volume, the number of cases of using the sought concepts also potentially increases. The Russian indicator in the range of compared texts is average, which indicates the correctness of the comparison in relation to Russia. At the same time, the task of constructing a value rating of the constitutions of the countries of the world was not set, the problem of an axiological assessment of the Russian constitution in the context of world constitutional legislation was solved. We calculated the average values of the use of value terms by region and in the world as a whole. The obtained calculation data were compared with the Russian indicator. In terms of the overwhelming majority of value parameters, the Russian constitution turns out to be an absolute outsider. Even the average result of the use of value-containing words in the constitutions of the “near abroad” countries is consistently higher than that of Russia.

Fear of ideology led to the absence of even the word idea in the Constitution of the Russian Federation

Without turning to ideas, there can be no talk about the worldview definiteness of society. Meanwhile, on average, in the constitutions of the countries of the world, the word idea is used more than 6 times. More than 3 times it is used on average by the constitutions of European countries. Paradoxically, the Russian Constitution turned out to be a constitution without ideas. (Fig. 8)

Rice. 8. Frequency of use in the block of the words "idea" in the Constitutions of the countries of the world

Despite the widespread understanding of the universality of the principle of secularity, most of the world's Constitutions contain an appeal to the existence of God. More than half of the Constitutions of European countries operate with the category of God. In the German constitution, the concept of "God" is used 4 times. Netherlands - 7 times. Ireland - 9 times. All these states, it would seem, are also positioned as secular. But secularism did not become a reason for them to reject the value significance of religion and religious worldview. The compiler of the Russian constitution considered an appeal to God unacceptable. (Fig. 9).

Rice. 9. Constitutions of the countries of the world using the concept of "God"

Sacred landmarks in constitutional texts are set not only by an appeal to God. Another indicator of sacredness is the frequency of the use of the words "holy", "sacred". These words are not necessarily related to religion. They are used to emphasize the special importance of a particular value. The Motherland was declared as such an obvious value in the Constitution of the USSR. Its protection was determined by a "sacred duty" for every citizen. There are no sacral words in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The provision on the sacred duty of defending the Motherland was not transferred from the Constitution of the USSR to the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, the words "holy", "sacred" in the texts of the constitutions of the countries of the world are used quite often. Their average usage is more than 5 words per one constitutional text. (Fig. 10, 11).

Rice. 10. The frequency of the use of the words "holy", "sacred" in the Constitutions of the countries of the world

Rice. 11. Constitutions of the countries of the world using the concepts of "holy", "sacred"

Perhaps the emasculation of ideology in the Constitution of the Russian Federation is nothing more than a reaction to the dominant scholasticism of the Marxist-Leninist theory in the Soviet period? To test this assumption, the calculation of the frequency of the use of the terms "spirit", "spirituality" was carried out. They are also completely absent in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The Constitution of the Russian Federation was purged not only in relation to ideology, but also to spirituality. At the same time, the topic of spirituality is widely represented in the constitutions of the countries of the world. The world average usage of these terms for one constitutional text is about 4 times.

The Russian constitution is also in an outsider position among the constitutions of the countries of the world with respect to the terms "morality" and "morality". There are not so many constitutions that do not use the word morality. (Fig. 12, 13, 14).

Rice. 12. The frequency of the use of the words "spirituality", "morality", "morality" in the Constitutions of the countries of the world

Rice. 13. Constitutions of the countries of the world using the concepts of "spirit", "spirituality"

Rice. 14. Constitutions of countries of the world using the concept of "morality"

The words "patriot", "patriotism" in general are not widely used in constitutional texts. But on average, these words are present once in the constitutions of the countries of Europe and neighboring countries, about 2 - in the average constitutions of the countries of the world. Soviet patriotism was declared by the Constitution of the USSR. In the constitutional text of the PRC, the corresponding terms are used four times. The Constitution of the Russian Federation, without addressing the topic of patriotism, does not use, accordingly, the terminology associated with it.

An expression of the patriotic attitude towards one's country is the concept of "Motherland". In the Constitution of the Russian Federation, this term occurs once. Against the global constitutional background, Russia occupies the position of an outsider. In European constitutions the word Motherland is used on average more than 2 times, in the whole world - about 3. (Fig. 15).

Rice. 15. Frequency of use of the words "Motherland", "patriotism" in the Constitutions of the countries of the world

The national idea is revealed through the attitude to the present, past and future. Therefore, it is important to trace not only the definition in the Constitution of the current state of the country, but also its image in history and in a futurological perspective. The meaning of the past is expressed in the words "history", "tradition", "heritage". By the cumulative use of these terms, the Russian Constitution is again in the position of an outsider. On average, the frequency of the use of these terms in the world is more than 2 times higher than the Russian indicator. (Fig. 16).

Rice. 16. Frequency of use of the words "history", "heritage", "traditions" in the Constitutions of the countries of the world

But, perhaps, the Russian constitution is directed not to the past, but to the future? You can check this by the frequency of use of the corresponding term. The category of "future" is used only once in the Russian constitution, in its preamble. This is the worst figure among the constitutions of all regions of the world.

The term "development" is a connotation of striving for the future. "Development" is a fairly common term in speech communication. However, in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, it occurs at least 6 times. In the constitutions of the countries of the world, it is used on average 14 times. The USSR Constitution used the term "development" 55 times. The word was spoken - there was also development. (Fig. 17).

Rice. 17. Frequency of use of the words "future", "development" in the Constitutions of the countries of the world

Public administration without setting goals and objectives is not sustainable. The Constitution of the Russian Federation turns out to be such an untenable administrative document. The word "goal" is used only once, and then when applied to public associations, not the state. The word "tasks" has never been presented in the text of the Russian constitution at all. Meanwhile, in the world, the use of the word "tasks" in constitutions is actually a general rule. (Fig. 18).

Rice. 18. Constitutions of the countries of the world using the concept of "task"

The categories of education and culture are important for reflecting the significance of the state's policy in the humanitarian sphere. They are associated with a number of connotation words that concretize their content: education with the terms teacher, teacher, student, enlightenment; culture - with its components - literature, art, artistic creation, art,, monuments, cinema, museums, theater. In this case, their total consumption was calculated. The Russian constitution found itself in a clearly outsider position, yielding to the average world level, in the culture block by almost 2 times, in the upbringing block by more than 3 times. (Fig. 19)

Rice. 19. The frequency of the use of words according to the semantic blocks "education" and "culture" in the Constitutions of the countries of the world

The most important component of the life of society is the family. The frequency of use of the term "family" gives an idea of the reflection of this topic in the constitution. The setting of the tasks of the state demographic policy in the Russian Federation is clearly discordant with the least, in comparison with the regions of the world, representation of the word “family” in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. (Fig. 20).

Rice. 20. Frequency of use of the word "family" in the Constitutions of the countries of the world

While minimizing the value of some values, others come to the fore. What are these values in relation to the Constitution of the Russian Federation? The Russian constitution turns out to be the world leader in the use of the term "freedom". Ahead of it in terms of the indicator under consideration is again only the Basic Law of Germany. Freedom is, as you know, the basic value of liberal ideology. The Russian constitution turns out to be not just liberal, but, along with the German one, the most liberal. (Fig. 21).

Rice. 21. Frequency of the use of the word "freedom" in the Constitutions of the countries of the world

The ratio in the constitutions of different countries of the categories of "rights" and "duties" is indicative. The word "law" is used more often in all constitutional texts without exception. The differences lie in the size of the proportions. In the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the term "right" is used 6 times more often than duties. This is the highest figure in comparison with the constitutions of any region of the world. In the world as a whole, this ratio is 3 times. The clear priority of rights over obligations confirms, for its part, the liberal nature of the Russian constitution. (Fig. 22).

Rice. 22. Correlation between the use of the words "rights" and "duties" in the Constitutions of the countries of the world

The Great French Revolution operated with a triad of values, in which freedom was presented as a balanced category along with equality and brotherhood. The RF Constitution gives clear preference to freedom. Equality is used in it only once, brotherhood - not once. As the leader in the use of the term freedom, the Russian constitution turns out to be a world outsider in the use of other components of the famous triad. And this despite the fact that historically in Russia there has always been a strong egalitarian tradition. The constitutional legislation of liberal Europe turns out to be more solidarity oriented than the Constitution of Russia. (Fig. 23)

Rice. 23. The frequency of the use of the words "equality", "brotherhood" in the Constitutions of the countries of the world

Accordingly, the Russian constitution is in last place in terms of the frequency of use of the term justice. He is only 1 time present in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. This is almost 10 times lower than the world average. (Fig. 24)

Rice. 24. Frequency of use of the words "justice" in the Constitutions of the countries of the world

The super-liberalism of the Russian constitution is revealed not only by frequency content analysis. Most of the constitutions of the countries of the world declare that natural resources are owned by the state, or the entire people. Fewer constitutions sidestep the issue of ownership of natural resources. But only the Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993 is the only one in the world that declares the admissibility of private ownership of natural resources. (Fig. 25)

Rice. 25. The Russian Constitution is the only one in the world that allows private ownership of natural resources

The independence of the Central Bank from the state is one of the main global management tools in the modern world. The independent position of central banks is established in many countries of the world. But in constitutions such a provision of it is rarely specially specified. It is significant that the short list of these constitutions includes the Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993, the Constitution of Afghanistan in 2004, the Constitution of Iraq in 2005, and the Constitution of Kosovo in 2008. This entire cluster of constitutions is united by lack of sovereignty. (Fig. 26).

Rice. 26. Constitutional provision on the independence of the Central Bank from the state

The main thing, adherents of the liberal victory of 1991-1993 warn, is that in no case should the constitution be changed. And it is understandable - this is a manifesto of liberalism and cosmopolitanism. At the same time, the reasoning does not go beyond the fact that any changes undermine, from their point of view, the foundations of legal consciousness, which are built on the unconditional recognition of the authority of the supreme law.

But the Constitution is not a religious sacralized text of Divine revelation. In contrast, constitutional legislation is not a goal, but a means, an instrument for the implementation of the corresponding value orientations. Inconsistency with the challenges and demands of our time makes the law legally, perhaps, competent, but practically destructive. If the funds are found to be unusable, they must be replaced.

The reference to the historical stability of the American constitution is an exception to the rule in the world. As a rule, constitutional legislation is often modernized. Of the currently existing 58 constitutions, 3% were adopted after the adoption of the Russian constitution in 1993. The age distribution of constitutions makes it possible to note that the Russian one does not look "young" against the general world background. The average age of life of constitutions is 18 years. The Russian constitution has already crossed this line. (Fig. 27).

Rice. 27. Age of existing constitutions

But aren't the stated tasks of changing the Russian Constitution the fruit of utopian dreams? We are told that in modern international conditions this is, in principle, impossible. But the world constitutional discourse does not stand still. New constitutions are being adopted, in which peoples try to assert their identical values. This kind of constitution has been adopted over the past two years in Hungary, Iceland, Syria, Egypt. Suffice it to refer at least to the experience of the Hungarian constitution, which entered into force on January 1, 2012. It contains the following provisions:

- the Hungarian people are united by "God and Christianity";

- "national religion";

- “the right to life from the moment of conception”;

- marriage is a "union of a man and a woman";

- "Hungary, guided by the idea of the unity of the Hungarian nation, is responsible for the fate of the Hungarians living outside its borders."

External opposition to the adoption of a nationally oriented Constitution by Hungary, a member of the EU and NATO, was fierce. However, Budapest had the courage and strength to defend its sovereignty. In response to criticism from the European Union, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said: “We will not allow Brussels to dictate its terms to us! Never in our history have we allowed Vienna or Moscow to tell us, and now we will not allow Brussels! Let Hungarian interests be at the forefront in Hungary! So, small Hungary, with a population of just over 10 million people, was able to adopt the Constitution that meets its national interests. So what about Russia?

D. ist. Sci., Professor Vardan Baghdasaryan. The report was made at the scientific and expert session "The Liberal Constitution of Russia 1993: the Problem of Change", held on December 6, 2013.