The State Council of the Russian Federation: the legal position and possible role in the authoritarian system of power

Abstract

The paper discusses the legal position of the State Council of the Russian Federation. This issue seems significant, as its importance in the system of power was increased by the constitutional reform of 2020. Being officially a consultative body under the President of the Russian Federation, it gains the capacity to influence the content of state policy. The thesis of the article is that the State Council of the Russian Federation, doubling the entire scope of the President’s powers, may, in certain political circumstances, dominate him and take over the leading role in the orchestration of a state policy. The analysis of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the legislation reveals several legal problems related to the failure to include the State Council of the Russian Federation in the constitutional provisions regarding state power organs. The paper asserts that the final legal position of the State Council of the Russian Federation is not determined.