Interfax: Zorkin: revolutions bring enormous suffering, society must live within constitutional framework

ST. PETERSBURG. Dec 12 (Interfax) – International terrorism, extremism and crime may jeopardize the Russian constitutional system, Russian Constitutional Court Chairman Valery Zorkin said.

“The constitution’s anniversary should inspire all people who are not indifferent to holding a profound discussion of any possible threats to the constitutional system of our country. This is the question of international terrorism, extremism and crime threats,” Zorkin told Interfax in an interview on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Russian constitution.

“True, the Russian state has grown stronger. But we should not be complacent. The dangers I have mentioned and others are not gone. And any of them may lead not only to a certain “change of the legal form” but even to a complete loss of the law as such and the country will plunge into the horror of lawlessness and chaos unless we deter it. We have had more than one period of turmoil in our history and paid with millions of lives. We must never forget that! Russia must understand that smart, dangerous and cynical actors are playing against it and must not hesitate to assess and manage risks,” Zorkin stressed.

Revolutionary transformations always bring enormous suffering to the people in any country, the Constitutional Court Chairman observed. “I have said before and I repeat that a revolution is always terrible. It brings enormous suffering. It tramples upon lives of innocent people. It is practically always followed by civil wars, disappointment, restoration and new revolutions. The throes of revolution and the effect of the constitution are essentially incompatible. It could be either a revolution and social shocks or a normal public life within the framework of the law [the fundamental law, in the first turn]. I think there is no need to say which of the two variants leads to the public order and which leads to the lawless chaos,” Zorkin continued.

There is only one way to prevent the aforementioned threats and that is the way of the law, he said. “This law requires from each good citizen to demonstrate wisdom, will and responsibility so that it can be implemented. I am confident that our society will be able to deter any threats to the constitutional system if we rely on these qualities in tense situations,” the Russian Constitutional Court Chairman concluded.