The upcoming Sochi Olympics prompted President Vladimir Putin to clear the decks of the country’s most prominent – and troubling – political cases, bringing renewed focus on the Russian judicial system. On the 20th anniversary of the Russian constitution, William Pomeranz and Matthew Rojansky issue a rule of law report card for the Russian Federation.
The end of 2013 witnessed a flurry of legal activity in the Russian Federation. A number of prominent political defendants—including the members of Pussy Riot; some, but not all, of the Bolotnaya Square demonstrators arrested in May 2012; and the Greenpeace activists arrested offshore three months ago—were released as part of a major amnesty passed by the Russian Duma. President Vladimir Putin’s unexpected pardon of Mikhail Khodorkovsky fueled additional speculation as to the future direction of Russian legal reform. Some observers cited Putin’s own initiative in freeing Khodorkovsky as an encouraging sign, while other commentators insisted that far from having taken a positive step, Putin had been forced to respond to persistent human rights pressures, especially in anticipation of the Sochi Olympics.
Both the amnesty and the pardon overshadowed what was a major milestone in Russian legal history: On Dec. 12, 2013, Russia marked the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution. The amnesty itself was initiated as a traditional means of honoring such an important occasion. ...
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