Page 43 - RusRPTJan21

in the recent massive ​restructuring of Russia's cumbersome development institutions​. The most recent ​mini-government reshuffle and the promotion of ex-Energy Minister Alexander Novak to Deputy Prime Minister​ were also seen by the commentators as a response to "green" challenges that Russia's energy sector will have to face in the international arena vis-a-vis the European Union and the US President-Elect Joe Biden. While Novak's has proved himself Russia's top energy negotiator with the OPEC+ deal, Chubais might be trusted with a role of "Climate Czar" and actually improve the ESG situation at home.
It’s been one of the less-noticed aspects of this year’s constitutional reform: the decision, voted on by the Duma on November 17, to abolish regions’ constitutional courts​ by January 2023. In a few regions, these courts could be used by citizens to appeal decisions made by local authorities and therefore (in theory at least) provided another space to defend people’s rights. But the decision to abolish them and the absence of any subsequent controversy—Tatarstan, for example, only softly criticized the decision—looks unsurprising considering the general neglect they’ve experienced since their inception. The Constitutional Court’s “Federal Constitutional Law” written in the 90s gave regions the opportunity to create their own constitutional courts, but it was not required. By 2018, only 16 of the country’s 85 regions had their own Constitutional or charter courts (“constitutional” is only used when the region enjoys the status of republic). Several regions (including Moscow) voted for legislation to create constitutional courts, but never actually implemented it. By contrast, regional plenipotentiaries for human rights, or regional ombudsmen, have enjoyed significant support from the Kremlin in recent years and can be found in every single Russian region.
2.14 ​Polls & Sociology
More than half of Russia’s residents (58%) don’t want to be immunized with the “Sputnik V” coronavirus vaccine ​and only 38% are willing to get the shot, according to the results of a new poll from the independent Levada Center shared with Meduza. Similar opinion polls that the Levada Center has conducted over the last four months have shown comparable results. In August, 54% of respondents had no interest in receiving the coronavirus vaccine, while 38% said they were prepared to get vaccinated. In October, these figures had shifted to 59% and 36%, respectively. According to the results of the latest survey, 30% of those who aren’t willing to get vaccinated said that they want to wait until the end of the vaccine trials, approximately the same number (29%) fear the vaccine’s side effects, and 12% have contraindications. Another 12% of respondents said they see no reason to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, while 10% said they oppose vaccines in general. According to the Levada Center, 57% of all respondents said they are afraid of contracting COVID-19. On the other hand, 41% aren’t afraid of
43 ​RUSSIA Country Report​ January 2021 ​ ​www.intellinews.com