Putin at the Meeting of the Council of Legislators

As the two photos from inside the Tavricheskiy Palace in St. Petersburg show, the Council of Legislators is a small body with a short history as the official Duma site describes in English:

The Council of Legislators of the Russian Federation was established in 2012 to coordinate legislative support for the implementation of state policy in the sphere of separation of powers in the areas of exclusive jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and issues of joint jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and Russian regions, as well as improving the implementation of the supervisory powers of the Federation Council, the State Duma and legislative (representative) bodies of the Russian regions, the organization of their interaction in the legislative process and the exchange of parliamentary experience.

I suspect that the idea for this formulation came from Putin who was PM at the time of its founding and would have seen the necessity for such a panel. The link also has a roster of its members which is based upon their positions, not their personage. As you’ll read at the start, this meeting is being held on the eve of the Day of Russian Parliamentarism, which “is celebrated in Russia on April 27, the date when the opening meeting of the State Duma was held in 1906. According to Valentina Matvienko, Head of the Federal Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, it was then when the idea of popular representation and the rule of law was realized.” Russia considers such governance has been continuous and will celebrate its 120th Anniversary in 2026; although as an official state holiday, it’s not quite a teenager with 2024 marking its 12th year. Yes, there appears to be a coincidence between the holiday’s emergence along with the new Council. IMO, that would be Putin’s doing.

Putin’s speech before the Council gets down to business is short at just over 10-minutes, although some of us would like to know what was discussed after the formalities. That it’s held in St. Petersburg rather than Moscow is clearly in homage to the Duma’s roots. Here’s Putin:

Vladimir Putin: Dear colleagues, good afternoon!

I am glad to welcome you and congratulate the Council of Legislators, all your colleagues-senators, deputies-on the upcoming Day of Russian Parliamentarism.

By celebrating this holiday, we pay tribute to the traditions of our statehood and lawmaking, the history of the formation and development of institutions of democracy.

The time itself, the events that we are going through, prove the importance of such continuity, and how important it is to strengthen parliamentarism and the whole socio-political system of Russia on the basis of our own unique experience.

It is necessary to ensure its stability and at the same time create conditions for openness and renewal, for fair competition between different political forces, with an unconditional and clear understanding of the priority of national interests and state security and a common desire to work together to find the most effective solutions to vital issues for people.

In this regard, I would like to note the constructive interaction of legislative bodies and party factions with the Russian Government, heads of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and the business and expert community. This applies to all areas – the economy, the social sphere, and regional development.

And of course, a special issue that unites everyone is the support of our heroes, families of veterans and participants of a special military operation. Major legislative acts have been adopted, and additional legal and social guarantees have been created. I ask you to continue to improve them, constantly adjust them to take into account specific life situations.

What would you like to mention here in addition? As you know, the special personnel program "Time of Heroes" has already started operating. Who are these people? These are soldiers and officers who showed real character, leadership, and high human qualities in a combat situation. I am sure that they will also perform well in their future work in government bodies, in the field of education, mentoring, and in leading positions in all areas. I very much hope, dear colleagues, that political parties will actively nominate and support such candidates during election campaigns at all levels.

What would you like to mention? This is not some kind of campaign, I want it to be clear to everyone. This is simply the environment, the people from whom we should draw personnel and from whom we should choose for future work people who are ready to serve Russia, who serve Russia now, without sparing themselves, their health and life.

Of course, in such cases, it is not even the fact itself that is important, but the person's readiness for some new type of activity is important, not only his readiness, but also his desire is important, it is important what kind of activity a person is suitable for, where he sees himself, there are many components and facets here. You just need to look at all this carefully, analyze it and make appropriate decisions.

Dear colleagues! In March of this year, presidential elections were held. The most important stage ahead is the formation of a new composition of the Russian Government. The Parliament will have to exercise its constitutional powers, established in 2020 by amendments to the Basic Law and approved by a nationwide vote.

I am sure that the parliamentarians will justify such trust, the decision of citizens to increase the role of the legislative power, show responsibility and willingness to work together on the development agenda.

On March 19, at a meeting with the leadership of the State Duma factions, we discussed the implementation of our long-term program outlined in the Message to the Federal Assembly.

By the way, a number of initiatives included in the Address were discussed and put forward by parliamentarians, representatives of various political forces, regions and municipalities, and citizens. I hope that we will also work together to implement everything planned in the economy, science and technology, culture, and the social sphere in the broadest sense of the word. It is necessary to put the task of saving the people, the well-being of Russian families, and strengthening the sovereignty of our country at the forefront.

A lot depends on regional and local authorities and their involvement in the overall work. We are a large country, and it is important to take into account both the problems and opportunities, the potential of each subject of the Federation, and, if necessary, help to unlock these potentials.

I am now addressing the heads of legislative assemblies, as well as the chairmen of relevant committees of the State Duma and the Federation Council. When making budgets and key laws, everyone needs to act in a single logic, with an understanding of the country's common tasks, and use the tools of parliamentary control to achieve the maximum, targeted effect of each decision and invested funds.

I know that the Council of Legislators is already preparing recommendations on the content and priorities of financing our national projects in the coming years. I am sure that the Government will definitely take these proposals into consideration.

I also hope for the active participation of the Council of Legislators in summarizing the best regional practices, pilot legal regimes and pilot projects. This also applies to the new model of remuneration for teachers, doctors, and other public sector specialists, which should be developed at the level of constituent entities of the Russian Federation next year. This is a very complex, large, capital-intensive, but very important work.

And of course, I ask all legislators to pay special attention to issues of interethnic harmony and civil peace. We always talk about it. The diversity of ethnic groups, traditions, and cultures of our country is, of course, our common heritage and competitive advantage. Why? These are not empty words, because every nation, every ethnic group complements each other and makes us all stronger, including helping us today to develop friendly relations with most countries of the world, to participate in the formation of a just multipolar world order based on mutual trust, respect and identity of our peoples. All this is important when building work in this area as well.

I ask you to take into account such pragmatic and balanced approaches in parliamentary diplomacy, to step up efforts in this direction, including developing contacts with our friends and partners in the Eurasec, CSTO, CIS, SCO and, of course, such a promising and growing association as BRICS. Moreover, the tenth anniversary BRICS Parliamentary Forum is planned for this year as part of our chairmanship.

Dear colleagues and friends, The amount of work to be done is very large. I ask you to consider federal and regional laws related to the implementation of our priorities and the achievement of national development goals as quickly and professionally as possible, and to actively use modern technological capabilities and digital platforms in the legislative process to widely discuss initiatives and receive so-called feedback from citizens.

Such innovations are certainly beneficial, but I would like to emphasize something else: they do not replace the painstaking, thoughtful work of the legislator. We need to further improve the quality of legal technology and the rule-making culture. Strive to make laws clearer, understandable, and more effective in their enforcement.

In this regard, I would like to recall the words of a prominent Russian scientist, lawyer Iosif Alekseyevich Pokrovsky. More than a hundred years ago, he said that the basic requirements for law are primarily its certainty and accuracy.

We should not only be proud of the deep traditions of our law school, but also apply its rich heritage in practice today. And here, too, the position of the Council of Legislators is very important.

Dear colleagues! In conclusion, I would like to congratulate all of you on the upcoming holidays, on the sacred Victory Day for all of us.

And of course, I wish you every success in the upcoming large-scale work in the interests of Russia and our people. I look forward to continuing to work closely and in partnership with the Federal Assembly, regional legislators, and colleagues in local authorities.

All the best to you. Thank you for your attention. [My Emphasis]

The idea of a council that unites the three main components of federalism—national, regional, local—ought to be obvious for the utility it would provide regarding policy development and attention to national goals, all of which have local components. I’ll be the first to admit it’s 100% unfair to compare Federalism as implemented in the USA with that of Russia as Russia has a great advantage in being a unitary state before becoming a decentralized Federalist state that has retained the benefits of the former when it comes to specific policies—education, labor and business regulation are the three that immediately come to mind. Two more must also be mentioned: investment and industrial policy. The reason the Outlaw US Empire seems so disorganized versus those nations it calls “command economies” is because it is very inefficient in comparison, while the Empire’s ideologues are stuck describing a method of governance that no longer exists in either Russia or China. IMO, not even North Korea can today be described in that manner.

I also find it very interesting for Russia to say continuity exists spanning the years from today to 1906, that “popular representation and the rule of law” wasn’t interrupted by either the Revolution, Civil War, or WW2. I’d very much like to present that issue to a panel of Russian historians to get their views on that aspect of their national history for we in the West were certainly taught otherwise.

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