Valentina Matvienko: Federation Council Ensured Clear Implementation of Separation of Powers

Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko in the interview with “RIA Novosti” commended the outcomes of the reform adopted in 2000, when the heads of regions and legislative assemblies were substituted with “professional” senators.

According to the Federation Council, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin signed the relevant law on 5 August 2000, which came into force on 8 August. Prior to the reform the upper chamber of the Parliament comprised heads of the regions and legislative assemblies of the subjects of the state, who also served as senators. Nowadays, each subject of the Russian Federation is represented by two senators: one on behalf of the legislative and one on behalf of the executive authorities.

“The fundamental choice of what the Federation Council should be and who should work in it – the governors and heads of legislative assemblies or their representatives – was made exactly 20 years ago. I think that President Vladimir Putin, introducing in the very first weeks after his inauguration the relevant law to the State Duma, was guided by purely practical considerations”, said the legislator.

In addition, according to Valentina Matvienko, the “reformatting” of the Federation Council ensured clear implementation of the key constitutional principle – the  separation of powers. “The approval by the governors – representatives of the executive power – of the federal laws, frankly speaking, looked like legal nonsense”, stressed the Speaker.

Photo: http://council.gov.ru/