CIAO DATE: 05/02

Russia Watch No.7, March 2002
Rule of Law in Russia: The Wild East No More?

Abstract

Russian support for U. S. efforts in the war on terrorism has surprised many Western observers. But this was not the only recent surprise from Moscow — Western advocates for the rule of law in Russia also had much to celebrate in the closing months of 2001. Under strong prodding by President Vladimir Putin, the Duma passed several impressive pieces of reform legislation, including an entirely new Criminal Procedure Code, a potentially revolutionary land reform law, new shareholder protections in amendments to the Joint Stock Company Law, and the first post-Soviet Labor Code.

All of these bills had been stalled in the State Duma since the mid-1990s despite — or because of — former President Boris Yeltsin's efforts to get them passed. Yet Putin, with little fanfare, managed to do what Yeltsin with all his bravado could not do: push the notoriously conservative Duma to approve these sweeping laws.

Of course, the more difficult task of actually implementing these new laws lies ahead. We should not be Pollyannaish about this prospect. In a country without rule of law traditions or the civic institutions so important to the rule of law, implementing these four sweeping pieces of legislation is easier said than done. Passage of these laws may have been the easiest part of the reform process. But if properly enforced, these new laws will make for enormous changes in the lives of ordinary Russian citizens. They will provide Russia's citizens with a measure of personal and economic freedom not previously enjoyed.

This issue of Russia Watch surveys the recent progress toward making Russia a rule of law state. A quick look at these new laws is revealing.

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