Amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 2020 as a «Locomotive» of Constitutional Reforms in the CIS Countries

Abstract

The paper analyzes the recent constitutional reforms in Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. The constitutional reform that took place in the Russian Federation in 2020 marked the beginning of such reforms in some countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. It is noted that mainly amendments to the constitutions of the listed states concerned the political-territorial structure and historical development of states; spiritual and cultural sphere; redistribution of powers between government bodies; legal status of the individual. It is concluded that the vectors of constitutional reforms in the considered states generally have similar directions. This fact can be associated with the Concept of further development of the CIS, which enshrines the goal of systematic convergence of the national legislations of the member states of the Commonwealth in many areas of cooperation. Thus, without a unified direction for improving constitutions, it is impossible to achieve such goals.