The Model of Federalism in the Updated Constitution of the Russian Federation

The paper provides for an updated model of the federal structure of Russia through the prism of the 2020 amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Based on an analysis of the latest Russian legislation and the historical path of development of Russian federalism, the author demonstrates that, under contemporary conditions, the liberal approach to the construction of a federal state has been superseded and replaced by a conservative approach. Russia has transformed from a decentralized federation into a centralized federation while preserving the constitutional foundations of the state’s federal structure. The amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation with respect to the federal structure are characterized by a conservative orientation. This is evident in joint jurisdiction, in the legislative delimitation of powers between the federal center and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, in the alignment of the legal status of the constituent entities while preserving their certain asymmetry, and in the strengthening of the «vertical of power» through its unified system. None of these changes turned Russia into a unitary state; on the contrary, they strengthened the constitutional principles of federalism while preserving Russia as a legal democratic state. 

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