MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. The coronavirus pandemic will not require more amendments to the Russian Constitution, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
When asked if the Kremlin believed that there was a need for new amendments to the Constitution, he answered in the negative.
When speaking about society’s needs stemming from the pandemic, Peskov pointed out that "society is not made of stone, it is a living thing." "Naturally, new needs keep emerging that people share with each other, they are taken into consideration, it is part of the normal flow of life and society’s development," the Russian presidential spokesman added.
While delivering his State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly in January, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a number of constitutional amendments to bring the Constitution in line with today's reality. On March 11, the Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) passed the final reading of a presidential bill on amending the Constitution after it had been discussed by the Duma’s special working group. The bill was passed by the Federation Council (the upper house of parliament) on the same day and was later approved by all of Russia’s regional legislatures and submitted to the president. Putin then signed an order setting April 22 as the date to hold a nationwide vote on constitutional amendments. However, the president said in a televised address to the nation on March 25 that the vote had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to Putin, a new date will be set depending on the coronavirus situation. The constitutional amendments will take effect only if approved in the nationwide vote.