Ex. 1. Before reading the text tell the class what you know about the system of government in Russia (the state of type; the form of government)

 

Ex. 2. Get ready to answer the questions:

1. What is the difference between the terms “federation” and “unitary state”?

2. What does the right to distinctions for every political subdivision mean in practice?

3. What are the main rights and freedoms, garanteed to the citizens by the Russian Constitution?

3. What are the major principles of governing a federation?

 

 

The Russian Federation – What Is It?

The word " federation" (foederatio, lat. - " union") is a part of the name of our country, thus the question con­cerning the difference between the terms " federation" and " unitary state" (unitas, lat. - " unity") logically arises.

The major difference is that in a fed­eration every political subdivision has the right to its own distinctions. What does this mean in practice?

First of all, it is the integrity of sub­division. In a unitary state the central government can change administrative borders of regions or even abolish some of them. In a federation changes are possible only after a number of complicated legislative process. Dur­ing the Soviet period the government could pass a part the Moscow region to Moscow having only put some sig­natures on a document. After the adop­tion of the Constitution 12th Decem­ber the Moscow region acquired the same rights as the center and it is only the decision of citizens and the local government that can change borders today.

Secondly - and it is particularly im­portant - political subdivisions in a federation have a degree of indepen­dence. Every subdivision, despite its size, religion, population, and econom­ics, has the same right along with oth­ers. No region, even the majority of regions, can force the rest to accept or make a decision: common agreement is necessary.

Thirdly in a federation the adminis­tration has two branches of govern­ment - the central and region ones. Political subdivisions have their legis­lature and executive power.

The main rights and freedoms, guaranteed to the citizens by the Russian Constitution

• Equal protection under the law
• Right to life
• Right to liberty and personal immu­nity
• Right to personal privacy
• Protection of honor
• Right to secrecy of correspondence, telephone conversations, mail and other forms of communication
• Right to sanctity of the home
• Right to determine one's own nation­ality
• Right to use the mother tongue
• Freedom of speech
• Right to free movement and choice of a place to live
• Religious freedom
• Right to peaceful meetings, demon­strations and processions
• Right to own private property
• Right to succession
• Right to own land as private prop­erty
• Right to a free, gainful and safe oc­cupation
• Right to rest
• Guarantees for social security
• Right to medical insurance
• Right to a favorable environment
• Right to education
• Freedom of creative work
• Right to participate in cultural events
• Right to qualified legal assistance
• Right to petition to international or­ganizations which protect rights and freedoms
• Right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty

How to govern a federation?

To build a federation it is necessary to be tolerant and to respect the rights of all nations in the country. Sometimes there is a situation when a state.had the name of " federation" but in reality has the same policy as a unitary state. One of indices of such a case is the role of the capital: if it concentrates al­most all the wealth and if its population outnumbers the population of other big cities, it means that the cen­ter play's too big role in governing the country. This is a key feature of a unitary state.

On the other hand, in a typical fed­eration the capital is big but not the largest city (for example, Bern in Swit­zerland, Berlin in Germany, Del) m In­dia). Sometimes there is a specially created city, destined to be (he capi­tal, such as Washington in the USA or Ottawa in Canada or Brasilia in Bra­zil.

 

Text 2.