After the fall of the communist regime in the country in 1991, Russia invited legal and political experts from around the world to compile a new constitution. Chapter 4 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which discusses the position, powers and limitations of the President of the Russian Federation – includes procedures for removal. It is true that the Russian constitution gives the president enormous powers, and Article 80 of Chapter 4 even emphasizes the role of the president as “head of state” and as “guarantor of the constitution of the Russian Federation, of human and civil rights and freedoms.”
Restrictions on President Putin are minimal and there is really no one or what will balance the power of Russia’s executive branch. It is true that these powers are a fundamental component of the Constitution, but despite the enormous authority of the executive branch – there are also provisions for the dismissal procedure, which are detailed in Chapter 4, or more precisely in two specific sections therein: sections 92 and 93.
Article 92 provides the scenarios following which the President loses his powers. These scenarios include resignation, health issues – and dismissal. They state that if one of these cases materializes, new Russian presidential elections will be held no later than three months after the removal.
The next section, section 93, is already down to the level of the guidelines for carrying out the procedure. In order for Putin to be ousted following the indictment, he will have to face charges of “grave treason or other serious crime.” In such a case, indictments will be filed by the Russian legislature – the lower house of parliament, known as the “Duma”.
Next, these accusations will have to be upheld by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, which will have to prove that a crime was actually committed in the president’s actions. Thereafter, the state constitutional court will have to confirm the decision and conclude that the allegations have been proven and also that the dismissal procedure has been made lawful.
In the last stage, a body called the “Russian Federation Council”, which is in fact the upper house of the Russian parliament, decides whether to oust the president. He has three months to do so, and if something happens that manages to cast doubt on the findings – then “the charges against the president will be dismissed.” Since 2011, this body has been headed by Valentina Matvinko, who is considered one of President Putin’s loyalists.
In the West, it has been claimed since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine began that it is in fact completely illegal – and that this is a crime that should justify the impeachment process. But does the similar one, made up of the Russian president’s loyalists, actually raise any charges against Putin? probably not.
“Putin wanted the similar in 100% control”
This claim is also supported by Tatiana Pelgenhauer, an eco-Moscow radio reporter who was shut down by the administration. Speaking to N12, she said: “It is impossible. Parliament is completely controlled. The procedure must be initiated by the similar, but the Russian similar will never do that. The pro-Putin ‘United Russia’ party has a constitutional majority. The current incumbent Communists do not. A real opposition! “, Flaggenhauer emphasizes. However, such a scenario is possible, despite the very very low probability.
“During the 2021 election campaign (the election of the state similar) a new digital voting system was used in Moscow. The state similar numbered 450 people, 15 of whom were elected in Moscow. Moscow is a very, very anti-Putin city,” Maxim Katz, who was head, told N12 The election headquarters of opposition candidate Anastasia Bryuhanova. He said that in 2021 a new digital voting system would be used in Moscow so that there would be no opposition candidate similar to the state-run Katz, an ally of Navalny, who is in the country, saying: “According to the newspaper’s vote she won the campaign. “We did not understand in 2021 why not allow any opposition candidate to be similar to the state. Why were the forgeries so severe? Now we understand. Putin wanted the similar with 100% control, no one speaks freely.”
Thousands of Russians went out to protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, despite the danger of making their voices heard. One of those votes, was Mikhail Mataviev from the Communist Party similarly. Many of them were arrested, and an estimated 2,000 were imprisoned. At the same time, we hear about quite a few senior officials abandoning Putin’s ship. These actions, combined with the activities of Alexei Navalny in the past year, symbolize that perhaps, such a change is on the horizon. At the moment there does not seem to be a brave enough person in Moscow to file an indictment, but theoretically and constitutionally – it could happen.