FOUNDATION FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS
32, Nakhimovski Av., Moscow, 117218, Russia
For correspondence: POB #7, 7 Tverskaya Str., Moscow, 125009, Russia
Tel../fax: + 7 (495) 772-32-94
E-mail: rfcr@rfcr.ru
www.rfcr.ru
Foundation for Constitutional Reforms
1. General Information
Re-established in summer of 2007, NGO Foundation for Constitutional Reforms (FCR)
is a successor to the Russian Foundation for Constitutional Reforms (1992-1998).1 It's prime
goal is to provide public contribution to the development of rule-of-law in the Russian
Federation.
Lawyers of different generations are involved into Foundation projects, including those
who were the members, experts and staff of the Constitutional Commission of the Russian
Federation (1990-1993). Most of the staff are young lawyers - graduates and postgraduates of
Lomonosov Moscow State University.
The primary line of FCR activity is to promote public support to the task of
preservation and research of Russia’s constitutional heritage and assist in development of legal
culture and constitutional consciousness.
The Foundation is also engaged in carrying out an independent political and legal
research, advice on legislative activities.
Foundation founder and President is Oleg G. Rumyantsev, PhD – in 1990-1993 one of
the key promoters of the new Constitution of Russia, Member of Supreme Soviet and
Executive Secretary of the Constitutional Commission of Russia. Members of FCR Board are
well-known Russian constitutionalists Vladimir Isakov, Vil Kikot, Vladimir Lafitsky, Leonid
Mamut, Mihail Mitukov, Vladimir Pligin, Boris Strashun, Victor Sheynis, Leonid Volkov.
Executive Director of FCR - Stanislav N. Stanskikh, Ph.D. Candidate.
The Foundation issues a "Constitutional Herald" – an independent magazine on the
issues of Constitutionalism in Russia and the world (registered as RFCR edition in 1994).
The magazine is set to continue the traditions of the same edition, published in 1990-1993 by
the Constitutional Commission of the Russian Federation.
Web-sites: www.rfcr.ru; www.rumiantsev.ru
1
The founders of the Russian Foundation for Constitutional Reforms were the drafters of the Constitution of Russian
Federation from 1992-1993. RFCR has been carrying out research in the area of constitutional law, providing independent
expertise for draft laws, expertise and advise to RF authorities on federal and regional levels, engaged in publishing activity
and CIS legislation research and systematization.
2. Project “The History of the Constitution of the Russian Federation”
Currently the Foundation is implementing big public project – publishing in 6 Volumes
(in 10 books) “The History of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Constitutional
Commission: Minutes, Documents, Materials (1990 – 1993).Editor-in-Chief Oleg G.
Rumyantsev. Moscow, Wolters Kluwer, 2007-2009”.
The objective to preserve and popularize the materials relating to the work on the draft
of the Constitution of the Russian Federation in the early 1990-es, as they have a high historic
and social value.
These books will be, most probable, followed by Web Constitution Archives; and a
DVD-set on “The History of the Constitution of the Russian Federation”.
3. Project “International Research on the Implementation of the Russian
Constitution”
The current Constitution of the Russian Federation was adopted. 15 years ago in a
national referendum on 12 December 1993. A line was drawn under dramatic events
associated with the constitutional reforms 1990-1993. The transition began from ideas about
constitutionalism to the practice of implementing the Constitution. Positive and negative
experiences have accumulated during this period connected with the way that the new
Constitution actually ‘works’. The task facing the expert community is to assess in an
impartial and timely manner the potential and effectiveness of contemporary constitutional
mechanisms and to examine the factors that have shaped the implementation of the
Constitution’s principles and stipulations.
That is what a group of leading Russian and foreign experts tried to do within the
framework of independent scholarly research conducted under the auspices of the International
Institute of Global Development (IIGD) and Foundation of Constitutional Reforms.
The outcome is a complex study of constitutional realities based on a wide range of
expert opinions, estimates and forecasts regarding perspectives for the development of Russian
constitutionalism in the context of developments in world politics.
The experts examined, above all, the following questions: the Constitution and the
socio-cultural background of the society – reality and perspectives; the Constitution and the
realization of citizens’ rights; the Constitution and authoritative institutions (including the
elections), where the central problem is the separation of powers, the practice of constitutional
justice, and local government; the Constitution and civil society – the social and ‘economic’
constitution; and certain specific problems, notably federalism and globalization.
The work reflects the thinking of a broad range of contemporary constitutional thought
by specialists from Russia, Europe (Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain) and America (the
United States and Canada). The Russian authors include some of those who took a direct part
in the elaboration and development of the draft Constitution of the Russian Federation in
1990-1993. The views of a new generation of scholars are also presented.
The authors are: S.A.Avakian, A.S.Avtonomov, M.Garsia Alvarez, N.A.Bogdanova,
L.B.Volkov, G.A.Gadzhiev, A. Di Gregorio, A.V.Zuykov, M.A.Krasnov, B.I.Lafitski,
L.S.Mamut, I.Marino, A.Nussberger, W.Pomeranz, O.G.Rumyantsev, R.Sakwa, P.Solomon,
S.N.Stanskikh, B.A.Strashun, I.V.Sukhinina, V.E.Chirkin, V.L.Sheinis, L.F.Shevtsova.
The extended study is published in Konstitucionnyi Vestnik (Constitutional Herald)
#19, December 2008.
4. List of Priority Draft-Laws
In Autumn 2007 FCR has been asked by Council of Federation Speaker Sergey
Mironov to prepare a comprehensive “List of Priority Draft-Laws” for the new State Duma.
The work has been accomplished for the political party “Spravedlivaya Rossia”, one of
the 4 parties represented in Duma.
The list consisted of 124 draft laws (concepts and preliminary texts).
5. Partners
1) International Institute of Global Development.
IIGD is a supranational social research institute. The president of IIGD is Alexander
Lebedev, president of the National Investment Council; Chairman of the Board of Trustees is
Mikhail S. Gorbachev; Chairman of the International Scientific Council of IIGD is R.S.
Grinberg, Director of the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
associate member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Director of the IIGD program ‘Development of rule-of law state and constitutional
order’ is O.G. Rumyantsev. The Foundation for Constitutional Reforms acts as the manager of
this program.
2) Foundation of the First Russian President Boris Yeltsin
In August 2007 the Foundation signed a cooperation agreement with Boris Yeltsin
Foundation.
Among several spheres of co-operation one should name drafting the Federal Law on
Centers of Historical Heritage of the ex-RF Presidents.
3) State Archives of the Russian Federation
FCR has an Agreement with State Archives of the Russian Federation. Under this
Agreement specialists of State Archives has assisted to FCR to systematize FCR Archives
related with historical documents of the Russian constitutional reform of 1990-1993.
4) The Public Chamber of RF
FCR is one the winners of the tender on public research on Russian Constitutionalism
modern history.
5) Wolters Kluwer Russia
It is the Russian subsidiary of Wolters Kluwer NV, a leading global information
services and publishing company. The company provides products and services globally for
professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, legal, and regulatory
sectors. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In Russia, Wolters
Kluwer operates since 2003.
Foundation would be glad to cooperate with those interested in our projects.