MOSCOW, April 27 Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko considers the Russian parliament one of the most democratic and efficient in the world, however, according to her, there is still work to be done.
The Day of Russian parliamentarism is celebrated on 27 April. The holiday was established by federal law signed by the President on June 27, 2012.
«Despite the fact that the parliament of the Russian Federation is one of the youngest on the planet, in terms of openness and transparency, in terms of the quality of laws adopted, it, I think, in many respects surpasses the parliaments of other states, including those whose history goes back centuries. So I can say with confidence assert that the Russian parliament is one of the most democratic and efficient in the world,” the speaker wrote in her article in Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
According to her, over the 30 years of the history of modern parliamentarism, «we have built a truly democratic state-political system.»
«Today, parliamentarism is a basic value for our country, and its potential is truly enormous. We have everything to confidently look into tomorrow,» the legislator wrote.
Permanent developmentIn her opinion, the very system of parliamentarism contains the ability for continuous development. “The Federal Assembly, in my opinion, fully demonstrates the ability to adequately respond to ever new challenges, responding to both public demand and the requirements of the time,” the legislator wrote.
She noted that the parliamentarians fully adopted the results of the nationwide vote on updating the Constitution in 2020, which the politician considers the most important marker of the flexibility of the parliamentary system.
«These amendments made it possible to timely adapt the institutions of parliamentarism to the changes taking place in the country and the world, significantly increased the role of the Federation Council and the State Duma in the system of state power,» she added.
In addition, the politician noted the federal nature of democratic representation. «In my opinion, we have fully managed to take into account in the parliamentary system all the unique features of our vast, largest country in the world,» Matviyenko said.
Also, in her opinion, the legislators managed to set up and implement fruitful interaction, cooperation with the president and the government, «we are working closely together to develop key decisions for the benefit of the people and the state.»
«The fact that this particular approach is the only true one has been proven by such serious tests as global crises, the covid pandemic, economic sanctions and political pressure from the West. None of these challenges has led to failures in the built-in system for making the most important government decisions, managing In this regard, I consider it extremely important to create and truly productive work of such a unique institution as the Council of Legislators, «the article of the speaker of the Federation Council reads
Inter-parliamentary diplomacy According to Matviyenko, if we talk about fine-tuning, «an important aspect of our activity, which we must develop, is inter-parliamentary diplomacy.» It should become not just more active, but more focused, the speaker believes.
«Now is not the time for formal and ritual meetings, each contact should give a specific result. When a new geopolitical configuration is being formed in the world, the intensity and productivity of interaction between our legislators is with colleagues from friendly countries and from countries where they do not accept hegemony and diktat are becoming one of the most important factors in our foreign policy,» she stressed.
The senator noted that reality shows the productivity of this approach. Despite the large-scale attacks of the West on Russia with the aim of its political isolation, the country is gaining new allies, strengthening its position in the international arena, Matvienko said. According to her, this is eloquently evidenced by the number of international requests for meetings in various formats and the schedule of various events, which is scheduled far ahead.