Exploring Our World: People, Places, and Cultures

"The Russian Constitution"

Introduction
In this chapter, you learned that the Russian government continues to develop as the president and local governments experiment with and learn their political powers. Russia’s government is, however, based on a lengthy constitution that was adopted in December 1993, not long after the Soviet Union collapsed. The Russian Constitution lays out a democratic form of government and specifies many personal liberties familiar to Americans. In this activity, you will examine Russia’s constitution and its fundamental ideas.

Destination Title: The Constitution of Russia

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• Click on Chapter 1: The Fundamentals of the Constitutional System (articles 1–16) on the left side of the page.
• Read through the articles in this first section of the Russian constitution and use the information to answer the following questions.

1			According to Article 1, what was the name of the country to be after the fall of the Soviet Union?
2			Explain the constitution’s views on social welfare as described in Article 7.
3			Which article deals with the ownership of land and natural resources? What does the constitution state on that subject?
4			What does Article 15 address? Briefly summarize its main points.
5			Write a short essay comparing and contrasting the concepts found in this first section of the Russian constitution with the concepts found in the United States Constitution and the fundamental beliefs of American government. Do you think the Russian government may develop along the lines of government in the United States? Explain your answer.