The Constitutionality of the New Russian Constitutional Amendments

In authoritarian states, the constitution is, as a rule, recalled once it is necessary to find ways to justify the wishes of the President of the state to stay in power or exert influence over it without limit in time. The current process of amendments to the 1993 Constitution of Russia is conspicuous by its speed and raises important constitutional law issues. From its very outset in January 2020, the process of introducing constitutional changes at an unprecedented pace in Russia has denied all that can be called the ABCs of constitutional amendments, namely publicity, transparency, and expertise. This paper offers a detailed analysis of the 2020 constitutional amendments in Russia.