The process for making law is described in the Constitution:

The first step is the introduction of a bill to the Congress. Bills come from different sources: from individual members of the Congress, from a member of a constituent or a group of constituents, from one or more state legislatures, or the President or his administration, but only members of the Congress can introduce legislation.

In the second step a bill is referred to the appropriate committee for review. There are 17 Senate committees, with 70 subcommittees, and 23 House committees, with 104 subcommittees. A bill comes to the subcommittee, where it may be accepted, amended, or rejected. If the members of the subcommittee agree to move a bill forward, it is reported to the full committee, where the process is repeated again.

The third step: If the full committee votes to approve the bill, it is reported to the House or the Senate. In the Senate, debate on most bills is unlimited - Senators may speak unlimited and any amendment can be introduced. A bill must pass both houses of the Congress before it goes to the President for consideration. Once debate has ended and any amendments to the bill have been approved, the full membership will vote for or against the bill.

The last step is when the bill is sent to the President. When receiving a bill from the Congress, the President has several options. If the President agrees with the bill, he or she may sign it into law. If the President disagrees with the bill, he may veto it but The Congress may override the veto with a two-thirds vote of each chamber, at which point the bill becomes law and is printed

6. State and political system in the Russian Federation

Russia was established by the Constitution of 1993. According to this law, the Russian Federation is democratic federative law-governed state with a republican form of government. Russia consists of 85 constituent entities whose authorities can pass laws independently of Federal authorities.

The President of Russia is the head of state. He has a lot of functions. For example, he organises and heads the Security Council, signs treaties, enforces the law, announces pre-term elections, has the right to suspend the acts of executive bodies of the Russian Federation members in special occasions.

There is a separation of powers that is balanced by the President.

The legislative power is represented by the Federal Assembly, it is consists of two chambers: the Federation Council and the State Duma. These chambers perform different powers and responsibilities. The Federation Council includes two representatives from each constituent entity of the Russian Federation. The State Duma consists of 450 deputies and is elected for a term of 5 years. Each chamber elects a chairman (the Speaker) to control the internal procedures. Bills may be initiated by each chamber, but to become a law a bill must be approved by both chambers and signed by the President who may veto the bill.

Then, the executive power is exercised by the Government which consists of the Chairman of the Government (the Prime Minister), deputy chairmen and federal ministers. The Government presents a draft budget to be discussed by the State Duma and provides its implementation as well as realisation of financial, credit and monetary policies. The executive power carries out measures to ensure legality, rights and freedoms of citizens, protects property, public order and combats crimes.

Judicial power is represented by independent judicial system. The aim of justice in Russia is to safeguard both the citizens’ rights and interests. Judicial power is effected by means of constitutional, civil, administrative and criminal judicial proceedings. Judges are independent and subject only to the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal law.