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Constitution sets clear rules for the officials - Putin.
ITAR-TASS
December 12, 2002

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a reception in the Kremlin on the occasion of Constitution Day on Thursday, said "the duty of all in whom power and authority have been vested is to act for the good of the people, strictly following the letter and spirit of the Constitution. "

"At present, people still encounter lawlessness, indifference and incompetence on the part of officials," the president noted.

However, Russia's Fundamental Law has considerably expanded the horizons of human rights and freedoms, he said, proposing a toast to the Constitution, for the welfare and happiness of the Russian citizens, and the power and dignity of the Russian Federation. Putin stated that the Constitution had set a clear framework for all branches of power. "These rules of conduct within the constitutional framework became an instrument of accord for various political interests, giving the guarantee, as a result, from repeating the experiments on the society," he said.

"It's been a decade since we have been using the words "new Russia", but let us think: we so talk about the country with a thousand years of history, which has experienced both unlimited and ineffective and week state power," the president said.

He called Russia the country in which "democracy and freedom of the individual were achieved by the suffering of the society. "

The new Russia has become a full-fledged state thanks to the Constitution and its authors, the president said.

The president believes that "the basic supports" of the Constitution are democratic principles of state organization, and the political and economic freedoms of citizens. The main idea of the Fundamental Law is that the state should serve the society, its people, and work toward the welfare of each citizen, Putin said.

He emphasized that the effective constitution had cemented the Federation, opening a new stage in relations between levels of power. At present, the work is being completed on dividing powers between executive bodies at all levels, he said.

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