The senators drew the borders

The upper chamber of the Russian parliament at a plenary session on Tuesday unanimously ratified the treaties on the admission of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DNR and LNR), Zaporozhye and Kherson regions into the Russian Federation, and also approved the relevant constitutional laws. During the discussion of these documents, the senators received quite unambiguous explanations about the borders of the new subjects, but the question of the advancement of the armed forces of Ukraine on their territory remained unanswered.

The federal constitutional laws adopted by the State Duma on Monday before the plenary session of the upper house were considered by the committee of the Federation Council on constitutional legislation and state building. Its chairman, Andrey Klishas, ​​drew attention to the fact that the difference between the four documents mainly comes down to the constitutional and legal features of the republics and regions within the Russian Federation. For example, the former have the right to establish the state language, while the latter do not. He also recalled that if two senators from the DPR and LPR are immediately delegated to the upper house – from the executive and legislative branches, then from the regions – one at a time, since there are no active parliaments there, and their elections are scheduled for September 2023.

“There is a lot of interest in society” raises the question of the boundaries of new subjects, although the documents “have quite clear wording” on this matter, Mr. Klishas noted. The republics were recognized by Russia back in February within the borders that are indicated in their constitutions (these are the territories of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine as of the beginning of 2014, including their parts under the control of Ukrainian troops), and as for the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, then “We proceed from the fact that the border is the limit of the sovereignty of the Russian Federation.” “Respectively, [границы будут проходить] within those territories where sovereignty was exercised, that is, the full power of the administration,” said the head of the committee. [которые] now also fall within the borders of the Kherson region.”

According to the senator, the documents under consideration contain a clear wording: on the date of entry into the Russian Federation.

“Part of the borders is the moment of formation, part goes to the date of entry into the actual territory, where all the fullness of state power was exercised,” Andrei Klishas repeated. At the same time, he did not agree with the comment of the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov that the Kremlin “will continue to consult with the population of these regions” on the issue of borders. “We are not with any population, I apologize, we will not consult now, because the population made a decision in a referendum,” he said. And for a final understanding, Mr. Klishas urged to wait for the delimitation and demarcation, when “the line-line will be drawn, which will become the border of the Russian Federation with Ukraine or with what remains of it by that time.”

Opening the plenary session, Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko said that the annexed territories had the right to secede from Ukraine for humanitarian reasons – due to shelling, destruction of infrastructure and lack of payments, but now “our new compatriots can be sure that Russia will protect and support them under any conditions. “We will make a fateful, long-awaited and the only right decision,” she anticipated the result of the vote.

The report on the ratification of the treaties was made by the head of the Committee on International Affairs, Grigory Karasin, who recalled that the oppression of Russians in Ukraine began after the “coup of 2014” and accession is the only way to save them from “genocide and violence.” Eight years ago, Russia already completed a similar mission – it protected the inhabitants of Crimea and Sevastopol “from the Maidan authorities,” the speaker concluded.

Senator Lyudmila Narusova had a question: “From the date of signing in the St. George Hall of the said agreements (September 30.— “b”) the line of contact has changed, and at present we are recommended to accept regions, some of whose territories are occupied by the armed forces of another country, into the Russian Federation. I must admit that I was counting on an explanation of this unprecedented fact by the Constitutional Court, but alas. Maybe you can clarify how this is possible? Instead of Mr. Karasin, Mrs. Narusova was answered by Andrey Klishas. He stated that the Constitutional Court does not assess issues of fact, “therefore, it is strange to expect it to assess the change in the border of contact between the RF Armed Forces and Ukrainian formations.”

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov followed, appealing to the UN Charter and stating that the referendums were a response to the “outrages of neo-Nazi Ukraine.” As a result, all four contracts were approved unanimously. The meeting was attended by 154 senators out of 168 current members of the chamber, the rest were absent due to “illness or other good reasons,” explained Valentina Matvienko. “They all expressed a desire to send their participation in writing in support of the adopted laws, and they all spoke in favor,” she said.

The constitutional laws on the formation of new entities were already presented by Andrei Klishas himself. He explained in detail what areas they affect – from the budget process to waste management issues – and also reiterated that in the case of Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, we are talking about their inclusion in the Russian Federation within administrative boundaries – this follows from the agreements themselves, signed by Vladimir Putin. The senators also approved all four laws unanimously, ending this process with prolonged applause. After that, the documents were promptly sent for signature to the President.

Later, at the same meeting, the senators adopted a number of amendments in the interests of mobilized citizens – on credit holidays, the preservation of jobs and exemption from penalties for utility bills. There was no discussion around them, only Senator Yevgeny Savchenko proposed to completely exempt those mobilized from accruing interest on loans for the duration of their service.

Andrew Ashes