VZCZCXRO6679
PP RUEHLN RUEHPOD RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMO #3371 3261245
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 211245Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0834
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS MOSCOW 003371 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PINR RS
SUBJECT: RUSSIA'S DUMA PASSES CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS 
INCREASING TERMS 
 
REF: MOSCOW 3265 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  On November 21, the Russian State Duma 
passed constitutional amendments proposed by President 
Medvedev increasing the term of Russia's next president from 
four to six years, and the terms of State Duma members from 
four to five years.  The proposed amendments must now go to 
the assembly's upper house, the Federation Council, where 
three-fourths of its members must vote in favor, after which 
two-thirds of Russia's regional assemblies must vote in favor 
before the amendments can become law.  Russian media reports 
that this could not take more that a month and the 
constitution should be amended by the end of this year.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On November 21, Russia's lower house, the State 
Duma, passed on its third and final reading constitutional 
amendments proposed by President Medvedev increasing the term 
of Russia's next president from four to six years, and the 
terms of State Duma members from four to five years.  The 
vote was 392 in favor and 57 (the Communist Party faction) 
opposed.  Earlier votes on the amendments' first reading on 
November 14 (388-58) and second reading on November 19 
(351-57) were similarly lopsided.  The proposed amendments 
must now go to the assembly's upper house, the Federation 
Council, where three-fourths of its members must vote in 
favor, after which two-thirds of Russia's regional assemblies 
must vote in favor before the amendments can become law.  The 
next scheduled meeting of the Federation Council will be on 
November 26. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Critics have been surprised not with the result, 
but rather the speed with which Medvedev and Putin 
accomplished it.  Some have noted that there was no serious 
debate within the Duma on the proposed changes.  Although 
such changes had been considered over a year ago, Medvedev 
did not campaign on them in the March 2008 presidential 
elections.  Communist Party Duma member Nikolay Ryabov has 
belatedly argued that such changes should be the subject of a 
referendum, but Duma Legal Committee head and United Russia 
deputy Vladimir Pligin said that according to the current 
constitution, a referendum is not required.  While many 
believe that the reason the changes were railroaded through 
quickly (the next scheduled elections are not until October 
2011) was fear that a prolonged economic crisis would cost 
the government public support for the changes, opinion 
remains divided over whether Medvedev will be set up as a 
fall guy if the economic situation gets worse. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Despite the overwhelming votes in support and the 
results of a recent poll by the All Russian Public Opinion 
Research Center (VTsIOM) showing that 56 percent of Russians 
supported Medvedev's initiative to extend the president's and 
parliamentarian's terms in office, there are still some 
dissenting views.  Members of the Yabloko Party have 
continued their small protest outside the entrance to the 
Duma.  Sergey Filatov, head of Kremlin administration under 
President Yeltsin, called the amendments yet "another way to 
maintain the current government in power."  Political analyst 
Dmitriy Furman from the Europe Institute tried to shift 
emphasis away from the actual term extension to discussion of 
the "behind-the-scenes" processes through which Russia is 
governed and the lack of any connection between the 
government and the Russian people. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Another of Medvedev's proposals, an amendment to 
the Law on the Government requiring the government to report 
annually to the Duma, passed the lower house in a unanimous 
third reading on November 21, but this change will probably 
not be discussed until after regional parliaments approve the 
constitutional amendments increasing the terms of the 
president and Duma members. 
BEYRLE