The Constitution of the Russian Federation

Note: The following content has been sourced and adapted from constitution.ru.

Preamble

We, the multinational people of the Russian Federation, united by a common fate on our land, establishing human rights and freedoms, civic peace and accord, preserving the historically established state unity, proceeding from the universally recognized principles of equality and self-determination of people, revering the memory of ancestors who have conveyed to us the love for the Fatherland, belief in the good and justice, reviving the sovereign statehood of Russia and asserting the firmness of its democratic basis, striving to ensure the well-being and prosperity of Russia, proceeding from the responsibility for our Fatherland before the present and future generations, recognizing ourselves as part of the world community, adopt the CONSTITUTION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.

First Section | Main Provisions

Chapter 1 | The Fundamentals of the Constitutional System

Article 1

The Russian Federation - Russia is a democratic federal law-bound State with a republican form of government.

The names “Russian Federation” and “Russia” shall be equal.

Article 2

Man, his rights, and his freedoms are the supreme value. The recognition, observance, and protection of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen shall be the obligation of the State.

Article 3

  1. The bearer of sovereignty and the only source of power in the Russian Federation shall be its multinational people.
  2. The people shall exercise their power directly, and also through the bodies of state power and local self-government.
  3. The supreme direct expression of the power of the people shall be referenda and free elections.
  4. No one may usurp power in the Russian Federation. Seizure of power of usurping state authority shall be prosecuted by federal law.

Article 4

  1. The sovereignty of the Russian Federation shall cover the whole of its territory.
  2. The Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal laws shall have supremacy in the whole territory of the Russian Federation.
  3. The Russian Federation shall ensure the integrity and inviolability of its territory.

Article 5

  1. The Russian Federation consists of republics, territories, regions, cities of federal importance, an autonomous region, and autonomous areas; all are equal subjects of the Russian Federation.
  2. The Federation (State) shall have its own constitution and legislation. The territories, regions, cities of federal importance, autonomous region, and autonomous areas shall have their charters and legislations.
  3. The federal structure of the Russian Federation is based on its state integrity; the unity of the system of state authority; the division of subjects of authority and powers between the bodies of state power of the Russian Federation and bodies of state power of the subjects of the Russian Federation; and on the equality and self-determination of peoples in the Russian Federation.
  4. In relations with federal bodies of state authority, all subjects of the Russian Federation shall be equal amongst themselves.

Article 6

  1. The citizenship of the Russian Federation shall be acquired and terminated according to federal law; it shall be one and equal, irrespective of the grounds of acquisition.
  2. Every citizen of the Russian Federation shall enjoy in its territory all the rights and freedoms and bear equal duties provided for by the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
  3. A citizen of the Russian Federation may not be deprived of his or her citizenship or of the right to change it.

Article 7

  1. The Russian Federation is a social state whose policy is aimed at creating conditions for a worthy life and a free development of man.
  2. In the Russian Federation, the labor and health of people shall be protected; guaranteed minimum wages and salaries shall be established; state support ensured to the family for maternity, paternity, and childhood; state support ensured to disabled persons and the elderly; the system of social services developed; and state pensions, allowances, and other social security guarantees shall be established.

Article 8

  1. In the Russian Federation, guarantees shall be provided for the integrity of economic space, a free flow of goods, services and financial resources, support for competition, and the freedom of economic activity.
  2. In the Russian Federation, recognition and equal protection shall be given to the private, state, municipal, and other forms of government.

Article 9

  1. Land and other natural resources shall be utilized and protected in the Russian Federation as the basis of life and activity of the people living in corresponding territories.
  2. Land and other natural resources may be in private, state, municipal, and other forms of ownership.

Article 10

The state power in the Russian Federation shall be exercised on the basis of its division into legislative, executive, and judicial power. The bodies of legislative, executive, and judicial power shall be independent.

Article 11

  1. The state power in the Russian Federation shall be exercised by the President of the Russian Federation, the Federal Assembly (the Council of the Federation and the State Duma), the Government of the Russian Federation, and the courts of the Russian Federation.
  2. The state power in the subjects of the Russian Federation shall be exercised by the bodies of state authority created by them.
  3. The division of subjects of authority and power among the bodies of state power of the Russian Federation and the bodies of state power of the subjects of the Russian Federation shall be fixed by the given Constitution, the Federal, and other treaties on the delimitation of the subjects of authority and powers.

Article 12

In the Russian Federation, local self-government shall be recognized and guaranteed. Local self-government shall be independent within the limits of its authority. The bodies of local self-government shall not be part of the system of bodies of state authority.

Article 13

  1. In the Russian Federation, ideological diversity shall be recognized.
  2. No ideology may be established as state or obligatory one.
  3. In the Russian Federation, political diversity and a multi-party system shall be recognized.
  4. Public associations shall be equal before law.
  5. The creation and activities of public associations whose aims and actions are directed at a forced change of the fundamental principles of the constitutional system and at violating the integrity of the Russian Federation; at undermining its security; at setting up armed units; and at instigating social, racial, national, and religious strife shall all be prohibited.