State power and local self-government: the dynamics of the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation

Oleg Kozhevnikov

VAK Russia 5.1.2 UDC 342.55 CSCSTI 10.00 Russian Classification of Professions by Education 40.00.00 Russian Library and Bibliographic Classification 67400 Russian Trade and Bibliographic Classification 7 BISAC LAW CSCSTI 10.15 CSCSTI 10.16 CSCSTI 10.17 Russian Classification of Professions by Education 40.05.01 Russian Classification of Professions by Education 40.05.02 Russian Classification of Professions by Education 40.07.02 Russian Trade and Bibliographic Classification 7531

14 more Collapse

STATE POWER AND LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT: THE DYNAMICS OF THE LEGAL POSITIONS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION State power and local self-government: the dynamics of the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation

АА Аа

Published in Vestnik of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia · Volume 2026, Issue 3 · Pages 101–110 · Rubric: PUBLIC LAW (STATE LAW) SCIENCES

Received: 07.05.2026 Accepted: 25.09.2026 Published: 30.09.2026 Language of publication: RUS

Authors

Oleg Kozhevnikov

ORCID

Oleg Kozhevnikov

Academic degree: doctor of jurisprudence sciences

Science rang: professor

Ural State Law University named after V. F. Yakovlev Russian Federation · Yekaterinburg

Ural State University of Economics Russian Federation

ORCID

ABSTRACT

Introduction. The development of a unified system of public authority in the Russian Federation is accompanied not only by intensive development of law-making, but also by highly ambiguous practices of law enforcement. In many constituent entities of the Russian Federation, there has been a sharp increase in judicial practice concerning the adjudication of disputes arising from the provisions of laws regulating the mechanism for implementing the unified system of public authority, in particular, the provisions of the Federal Law of March 20, 2025 No. 33-FZ “On the general principles of the organisation of local self-government in the unified system of public authority”. Consequently, there has been an increase in the number of applications to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation seeking an assessment of emerging judicial and law-enforcement practice regarding the application of provisions on the unified system of public authority for their compliance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation. By early 2026 alone, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation had six applications under consideration concerning the exercise by local self-government bodies of their powers within the framework of the existing unified system of public authority. Under the current circumstances, the role of constitutional justice and the outcomes of its activities (decisions and legal positions) has significantly increased as a “guiding force” in shaping the true constitutional and legal foundations of public authority, ensuring its functional unity and purpose – the resolution of tasks in the interests of the population residing within the territory the relevant constituent entity. Based on the analysis of specific rulings of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the author has focused attention on the most important positions of the federal body of constitutional justice, which should serve as a forward-looking guideline in the development of legislation and law enforcement practice regarding the organisation and functioning of state authorities and local self-government at the present stage of seeking the optimal development of our state’s governing institutions. Methods. In writing this article, a comprehensive set of methods was applied, traditionally developed and tested by the fields of constitutional law, municipal law and administrative law. In the course of the research, methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, dialectical approach, as well as other methods of inquiry generally accepted in legal doctrine, were used. Conclusions. Based on the findings of the study, it has been concluded that the constitutional and legal interpretation of the provisions on public authority, the unified system of public authority, the mechanisms governing their functioning, and the legal models of interaction between state authorities and local self-government bodies has a long history. At the same time, the amendments made to the text of the Constitution of our country in 2020 and the subsequent entry into force of a whole series of federal laws regulating the federal, regional and municipal “levels” of the unified system of public authority have significantly intensified constitutional jurisprudence in terms of formulating new and developing previously articulated legal positions on the fundamental mechanisms of interaction between central government and local self-government, and in establishing the organisational, financial and other foundations for the functional unity of public authority in the Russian Federation. The author believes that, to date, neither the legislator nor the law-enforcement bodies have fully appreciated the substantive and legal potential of the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, which, if strictly adhered to, could serve as a cornerstone in the progressive development both of the unified system of public authority as a whole and of its individual structural units – state authorities and local self-government bodies. However, to achieve this objective, first and foremost, there must be political will and constant oversight to ensure strict compliance by law enforcement bodies with the relevant legal positions of constitutional justice, as set out in the rulings of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.

KEYWORDS

Constitution of the Russian Federation, unified system of public authority, state authorities, local government bodies, Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, head of the state

Funding

Absent

Text

Text (PDF)

Read Download

1. Avdeev D. A. Problemy legitimacii publichnoy vlasti v sovremennoy Rossii // Vestnik Tyumenskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Social'no-ekonomicheskie i pravovye issledovaniya. 2021. T. 7, № 1. S. 95–111. https://doi.org/10.21684/2411-7897-2021-7-1-95-111

2. Korsun K. I. Publichnaya vlast' v Rossiyskoy Federacii: struktura, soderzhanie, vzaimodeystvie elementov // Vestnik Barnaul'skogo yuridicheskogo instituta MVD Rossii. 2021. № 1 (40). S. 103–104.

3. Tarasova N. L. Publichnaya vlast' sovremennogo rossiyskogo gosudarstva: nekotorye podhody k pravovomu regulirovaniyu // Vestnik Povolzhskogo instituta upravleniya. 2023. T. 23, № 6. S. 57–63. https://doi.org/10.22394/1682-2358-2023-6-57-63

4. Chertkov A. N. Publichnaya vlast': sostav, edinstvo i suschnost' vzaimodeystviya // Konstitucionnoe i municipal'noe pravo. 2020. № 10. S. 19–23. https://doi.org/10.18572/1812-3767-2020-10-19-23

5. Zabneva E. I. Mestnoe samoupravlenie v kontekste rossiyskogo gosudarstva // Medicina. Sociologiya. Filosofiya. Prikladnye issledovaniya. 2018. № 4. S. 59–61.

6. Kozlov D. S., Kichigin O. E. Problemy gosudarstvennogo upravleniya gorodskimi aglomeraciyami v usloviyah razvitiya cifrovoy ekonomiki / Ustoychivoe razvitie cifrovoy ekonomiki, promyshlennosti i innovacionnyh sistem : sbornik trudov nauchno-prakticheskoy konferencii s zarubezhnym uchastiem, g. Sankt-Peterburg, 20–21 noyabrya 2020 g. / pod red. D. G. Rodionova, A. V. Babkina. Sankt-Peterburg : POLITEH-PRESS, 2020. S. 186–188. https://doi.org/10.18720/IEP/2020.7/54

7. Marhgeym M. V. Obscherossiyskoe golosovanie: narodovlastnye priznaki i prizraki // Nomothetika: Filosofiya. Sociologiya. Pravo. 2021. T. 46, № 1. S. 145–154. https://doi.org/10.52575/2712-746X-2021-46-1-145-154

8. Starostina I. A. Obscherossiyskoe golosovanie v kontekste konstitucionnyh popravok 2020 g. // Konstitucionnoe i municipal'noe pravo. 2020. № 8. S. 18–23. https://doi.org/10.18572/1812-3767-2020-8-18-23

9. Balikoeva L. M. Novyy shag v razvitii mestnogo samoupravleniya v Rossii // Pravo i gosudarstvo: teoriya i praktika. 2025. № 6. S. 167–169. https://doi.org/10.47643/1815-1337_2025_6_167

10. Peshin N. L. Reforma mestnogo samoupravleniya v Rossii 2025 goda: perehod k modeli edinoy publichnoy vlasti // Severo-Kavkazskiy yuridicheskiy vestnik. 2026. № 1. S. 19–28.

11. Mescheryakov A. N. Formirovanie konstitucionno-pravovoy modeli edinoy sistemy publichnoy vlasti v resheniyah Konstitucionnogo Suda Rossiyskoy Federacii // Yuridicheskaya nauka i pravoohranitel'naya praktika. 2022. № 4 (62). S. 6–15.

12. Shahnazaryan M. M. Pravovye pozicii Konstitucionnogo Suda Rossii po voprosam vzaimodeystviya organov gosudarstvennoy vlasti i organov mestnogo samoupravleniya // Evraziyskiy yuridicheskiy zhurnal. 2025. № 1 (200). S. 187–189. https://doi.org/10.46320/2073-4506-2025-1-200-187-189

13. Dement'ev A. N. Problemy zakonodatel'noy realizacii popravok v Konstituciyu Rossiyskoy Federacii 2020 goda o territorial'noy organizacii publichnoy vlasti // Municipal'noe imuschestvo: ekonomika, pravo, upravlenie. 2021. № 3. S. 15–18. https://doi.org/10.18572/2500-0349-2021-3-15-18

14. Ivanov I. V. Razvitie publichnoy vlasti v sudebnyh aktah i pravovyh poziciyah Konstitucionnogo Suda Rossiyskoy Federacii: k 30-letiyu Konstitucii Rossiyskoy Federacii // Aktual'nye problemy rossiyskogo prava. 2023. T. 18, № 10 (155). S. 112–120. https://doi.org/10.17803/1994-1471.2023.155.10.112-120

15. Koneva N. S. Razvitie doktriny publichnoy vlasti v resheniyah konstitucionnogo suda RF: balans sudebnoy interpretacii i sudebnogo pravotvorchestva // Vestnik Yuzhno-Ural'skogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Pravo. 2025. T. 25, № 2. S. 89–97. https://doi.org/10.14529/law250214

This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

PDF JATS XML

Editor in chief

Larisa Kaverina

journalspbmvd@mail.ru +7(812)730-26-96

Editorial office

Eliana Ytrobina

demushkina.eliana@mail.ru +7(911)959-89-96

164

downloads

This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Creative Commons

GOST

Kozhevnikov O. A. State power and local self-government: the dynamics of the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation // Vestnik of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. 2026. no. 3. pp. 101-110. URL: https://vestnikkf.ru/en/nauka/publications/article/6a9c165232807fdbab873caf/state-power-and-local-self-government-the-dynamics-of-the-legal-positions-of-the-constitutional-court-of-the-russian-federation/view. (Date of access 26.10.2026).

MLA

Oleg Kozhevnikov. "State power and local self-government: the dynamics of the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation." Vestnik of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 2026.3 (2026): 101-110. URL: https://vestnikkf.ru/en/nauka/publications/article/6a9c165232807fdbab873caf/state-power-and-local-self-government-the-dynamics-of-the-legal-positions-of-the-constitutional-court-of-the-russian-federation/view.

APA

Kozhevnikov O. A. (2026). State power and local self-government: the dynamics of the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. Vestnik of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, 2026(3), 101-110. URL: https://vestnikkf.ru/en/nauka/publications/article/6a9c165232807fdbab873caf/state-power-and-local-self-government-the-dynamics-of-the-legal-positions-of-the-constitutional-court-of-the-russian-federation/view

Chicago

Oleg Kozhevnikov. "State power and local self-government: the dynamics of the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation." Vestnik of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 2026, no. 3 (2026): 101-110. URL: https://vestnikkf.ru/en/nauka/publications/article/6a9c165232807fdbab873caf/state-power-and-local-self-government-the-dynamics-of-the-legal-positions-of-the-constitutional-court-of-the-russian-federation/view.

WIKI

{{cite journal | author = Kozhevnikov O. A. | title = State power and local self-government: the dynamics of the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation | journal = Vestnik of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia | year = 2026 | volume = 2026 | issue = 3 | pages = 101-110 | url = https://vestnikkf.ru/en/nauka/publications/article/6a9c165232807fdbab873caf/state-power-and-local-self-government-the-dynamics-of-the-legal-positions-of-the-constitutional-court-of-the-russian-federation/view }}

Copy

Export: BibTeX EndNote RefMan RusMARC

STATE POWER AND LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT: THE DYNAMICS OF THE LEGAL POSITIONS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION State power and local self-government: the dynamics of the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation

Confirmation