Valery Zorkin was born on February 18, 1943 in the village of Konstantinovka, Primorsky Krai. The boy grew up in a military family. Later he moved to Moscow with his parents. After leaving school he served in the army. In 1964 he graduated from the Faculty of Law of Lomonosov Moscow State University with a degree in jurisprudence. Then, from 1964, for three years he worked at the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University named after Mikhail Lomonosov as a teacher, then as a senior lecturer. In 1967 he received an associate professor's degree and studied the history of legal doctrines.

In 1970, Zorkin joined the Communist Party, remained a member of the party until it was abolished. In March 1990, he ran for the people's deputies of Russia in the Kalinin district of Moscow. According to the voting results, he took third place: after the democratic business executive Mikhail Bocharov and the commander of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, General Yuri Shatalov.

In November 1991, Valery Zorkin was elected to this post of Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Russia. After the October shooting of the White House in 1993, he resigned and soon his membership in the Constitutional Court was terminated. In 1994, the powers were restored. In February 2003, he was re-elected head of the Constitutional Court, and was re-elected in February 2006. The Federation Council for the first time gave powers for six years under a new procedure, in accordance with the law “On the Constitutional Court Russian Federation". At the end of February 2012, he was again reappointed as Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Russia.

By decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated May 19, 2008, Zorkin is a member of the Council under the President of Russia for Combating Corruption.

In his speeches and lectures, Valery Zorkin very often spoke about the complete priority of Russian law over international law. In particular, he pointed out that the provision of the Russian Constitution on the priority of international treaties over Russian laws does not mean the delegation of sovereignty, and that this priority cannot be extended to the Russian Constitution.

Valery Dmitrievich on January 31, 2018 was again re-elected Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation for a six-year term. During this period, he took part in the development of a number of constitutional and legal doctrines that formed the basis of the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Russia. In particular, the doctrine of the protection of human rights formulates the principles of maintaining citizens' confidence in the law and the actions of the state, the principle of legal certainty and reasonable stability. legal regulation, the principle of predictability of legislative policy. The Russian doctrine of the sources of law substantiates the precedent value of the decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and the European Court of Human Rights.

Zorkin is the author of a number of monographs, including the books "Power and Law" and "Legal State". He is an Honored Lawyer of Russia, a member of the Presidium of the Association of Lawyers of Russia, a member European Commission"For Democracy through Law" from the Russian Federation.

Valery Zorkin's awards

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", II degree (October 19, 2011) - for a great contribution to strengthening the constitutional foundations of Russian statehood and the development of constitutional justice

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" III degree (February 18, 2008) - for his great contribution to the development of constitutional justice in the Russian Federation and many years of fruitful activity

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" IV degree (July 4, 2016) - for his great contribution to the development of constitutional justice in the Russian Federation and many years of fruitful activity

Order of Alexander Nevsky (February 12, 2018) - for great merits in the development of constitutional justice in the Russian Federation and many years of conscientious work

Honored Lawyer of the Russian Federation (March 23, 2000) - for merits in strengthening the rule of law and many years of conscientious work

Certificate of Honor of the President of the Russian Federation (December 12, 2008) - for active participation in the preparation of the draft Constitution of the Russian Federation and a great contribution to the development of the democratic foundations of the Russian Federation

Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (February 2, 2013) - for merits in strengthening the constitutional foundations of the Russian statehood and many years of fruitful work

Medal of P. A. Stolypin, I degree (January 28, 2013) - for merits in the formation and development of constitutional justice and many years of fruitful state activity

Order of the Polar Star (September 18, 2014) - for his contribution to the development of bilateral relations between Russia and Mongolia

Order of Friendship (Armenia, 2016)

Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh II degree (February 21, 2008) - for labors for the benefit of the Fatherland

Scientific works of Valery Zorkin

From the history of bourgeois-liberal political thought in Russia in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries: B. N. Chicherin. - M. : Publishing House of Moscow State University, 1975. - 173 p.

Positivist theory of law in Russia. - M.: Publishing House of Moscow University, 1978 - 270 p.

Muromtsev / Resp. ed. V. S. NERSESYANTS - M.: Legal literature, 1979. - 128 p.

Chicherin / Resp. ed. P. S. Gratsiansky. - M.: Legal literature, 1984. - 112 p. - (From the history of political and legal thought).

The Constitutional Court of Russia in the European Law Landscape =The Constitutional Court of Russia in the European legal field /Hrsg. R. Waldburger, C. M. Baer, ​​U. Nobel, B. Bernet. -Bern: Stämpfli Verlag AG, 2005. -S. 1095 - 1115.

Russia and the Constitution in the 21st century: A view from Ilyinka / -M. : Norma, 2007. -400 s.

Russia and the Constitution in the XXI century / -2nd ed. -M.: Norma, 2008. -592 p.

Constitution and Human Rights in the 21st Century: On the 15th Anniversary of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights / -M.: Norma, 2008. -224 p.

Axiological Aspects of the Russian Constitution / -Den Haag: Eleven International Publishing, 2010. -P. 169 - 185.

The modern world, law and the Constitution / -M.: Norma, 2010. -544 p.

Constitutional and legal development of Russia / -M.: Norma; Infra-M, 2011. -720 s.

Law in the context of global change / -M.: Norma, 2013. -496 p.

Legal way of Russia / -M., 2014. -158 p.

Civilization of law and development of Russia / -2nd ed., corrected. and additional -M.: Norma; Infra-M., 2016. -416 p.

Civilization of law and development of Russia / -2nd edition. -M.: Norma, 2016. -450p.

The Constitutional Court of Russia: Doctrine and practice / -M.: Norma, 2017. -592 p.

Law Against Chaos: Monograph / -2nd ed., Rev. and additional -M.: Norma, Infra-m, 2018. -368 p.

Valery Zorkin as Chairman of the Constitutional Court (CC) for a new six-year term. Zorkin has been heading the CC since 1991, with a break in 1993-2003.

Valery Dmitrievich Zorkin was born on February 18, 1943 in the village of Konstantinovka, Primorsky Krai, into the family of a military man.

In 1964 he graduated from the law faculty of the Moscow state university(MSU) them. M. V. Lomonosov with a degree in jurisprudence.

PhD in Law. In 1967, at the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University, he defended his dissertation on the topic "B. N. Chicherin's views on the state and law."

Doctor of Law. In 1978, at the Institute of State and Law of the USSR Academy of Sciences, he defended his dissertation on the topic "Positivist theory of law in Russia (historical and critical research)". Professor.

Since 1964, he worked at the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University as a senior lecturer, in 1967-1979 as an assistant professor.

Joined the Communist Party in 1970 Soviet Union. He remained a member of the CPSU until its abolition in 1991.

In 1979-1986 - Professor of the Department of Constitutional Law and Theory of State and Law of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR.

Since 1986, he became a professor at the Department of State Legal Disciplines of the Higher Law Correspondence School of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In March 1990, he ran for people's deputies of the RSFSR in the Kalinin territorial district No. 17 (Moscow), took third place after the candidate from the Democratic Russia bloc Mikhail Bocharov and the commander of the Internal Troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, General Yuri Shatalov.

In 1990-1991, Zorkin led a group of experts of the Constitutional Commission of the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR (the commission was headed by Chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin) and participated in the preparation of the draft of a new Russian constitution. On May 4, 1991, during the discussion of bills on the establishment of the post of president in the RSFSR, Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Valery Zorkin and Yuri Ryzhov, which argued that Russia should make a choice in favor of a republic with strong presidential power.

On August 19, 1991, he opposed an attempted coup d'état by members of the State Emergency Committee. Signed a statement by a group of members and experts of the Constitutional Commission on the unconstitutional nature of the actions of the State Emergency Committee.

On October 29, 1991, at the second stage of the V Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR, at the suggestion of the deputy group "Communists for Democracy" (leader - Alexander Rutskoi), he was elected a judge of the Constitutional Court of the RSFSR ("for" - 757 votes, "against" - 137, in total 905 voted deputies). November 1, 1991 at the first meeting of the Constitutional Court by secret ballot (8 votes out of 13) was elected chairman of the court for an unlimited period.

In January 1992, the Constitutional Court, by its first decision, declared unconstitutional the decree of the President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin on the merger of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Security.

In December 1992, at the VII Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation, the conflict between the parliament and Yeltsin escalated. The deputies sharply criticized the socio-economic and foreign policy governments refused to approve Yegor Gaidar as prime minister. The head of state accused the Congress of preparing a "creeping coup" and called on his supporters to leave the parliament session. The presidential side began to prepare legislative initiatives to limit the powers of the Congress. Under these conditions, Zorkin on December 10 demanded that the authorities "reach an immediate compromise" and warned that otherwise the Constitutional Court would raise the question of the constitutional responsibility of the country's leadership.

As a result of the consultations organized by Zorkin, an agreement "On the stabilization of the constitutional order of the Russian Federation" was adopted by the President and the Congress on December 12, 1992. It involved freezing amendments to the Constitution that would change the balance between the executive and legislative powers, as well as a decision to hold a referendum on the foundations of a new fundamental law. Also, the result of the agreement was the resignation of and. about. Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar and his replacement by Viktor Chernomyrdin, the removal of Gennady Burbulis from the post of head of the group of presidential advisers.

On March 20, 1993, Yeltsin made a statement on television about the introduction in the country of "a special procedure for governing until the crisis of power is overcome." On the same day, Zorkin, during a press conference with the participation of Vice President Alexander Rutskoy, First Deputy Chairman of the Armed Forces Yuri Voronin and Prosecutor General Valentin Stepankov, condemned Yeltsin's statement. According to Zorkin, the president actually assumed "the role of an absolute ruler", "the most important principles of the constitutional system were violated, and in fact an attempted coup d'état is taking place."

On March 23, 1993, the Constitutional Court adopted a resolution in which Yeltsin's actions were recognized as unconstitutional. As a result, the Russian president refused to sign the decree "On a special order of administration until the crisis of power is overcome."

In early September 1993, Zorkin was not allowed by the presidential guards to the state dacha provided to him earlier.

On September 21, 1993, the Constitutional Court recognized Decree No. 1400 on the dissolution of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation, signed on the same day by Yeltsin, as unconstitutional and providing a legal basis for terminating the president's powers.

On September 22, Zorkin proposed a "zero option" to resolve the political crisis by repealing all legislative acts adopted since presidential decree No. 1400. After that, the Congress of People's Deputies was supposed to call simultaneous early presidential and parliamentary elections, adopt the relevant laws and stop working. However, Yeltsin and his supporters refused to support the proposals of the Chairman of the Constitutional Court.

On October 4, 1993, the troops following Yeltsin's orders, after tank shelling, stormed the parliament building and arrested the leaders of the opposition. On October 6, 1993, Zorkin resigned as chairman of the Constitutional Court. However, he remained a member of the CC. On October 7, 1993, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the activities of the Constitutional Court were suspended "until the adoption of a new Constitution of the Russian Federation."

On December 1, 1993, the judges of the Constitutional Court suspended Zorkin's powers, accusing him of participating in political activities. On January 25, 1994, his powers were renewed.

In 1996, initiative groups of citizens nominated Zorkin as a candidate for the presidential elections in the Russian Federation. However, he refused to run for the highest government office.

On February 21, 2003, Zorkin was elected chairman of the Constitutional Court for a three-year term, replacing Marat Baglai. In the first round of voting, 11 people each voted for Zorkin and Baglai. In the second round, Zorkin's candidacy was supported by 10 judges, Baglai - by 9.

On February 21, 2006 and February 20, 2009, Zorkin was re-elected head of the Constitutional Court for new three-year terms.

On June 2, 2009, amendments to the federal constitutional law "On the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation" were adopted, according to which the chairman of the Constitutional Court and his deputies began to be appointed by the Federation Council on the proposal of the head of state (previously they were elected judges of the Constitutional Court). In addition, the term of office of the chairman of the CC was increased from three to six years.

On February 22, 2012, Zorkin became the chairman of the Constitutional Court for the fifth time, the appointment for the first time passed according to the new procedure.

The total amount of Zorkin's declared income for 2016 amounted to 12 million 339 thousand rubles.

He was awarded the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" II, III and IV degrees (2011, 2008, 2016), the medal of P. A. Stolypin I degree (2013). Awarded with a certificate of honor (2008) and gratitude from the President of the Russian Federation (2013). He also has foreign awards - the Order of the Polar Star (Mongolia, 2014), Friendship (Armenia, 2016).

Honored Lawyer of the Russian Federation (2000).

Laureate of the "National Accord" award (1992).

Honorary Doctorate of the Kazan (Volga Region) Federal and St. Petersburg State Universities.

Widower. Daughter Natalya (born 1972), adviser to the chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.

The long-term chairman of the Constitutional Court, a brilliant lawyer, Valery Dmitrievich Zorkin, lived a long, eventful life. His work had a significant impact on the formation of the judicial system in Russia.

Formative years

On February 18, 1943, a son was born in the family of a serviceman in the village of Konstantinovka, Primorsky Territory, Zorkin Valery Dmitrievich. When he was still very young, his father was transferred to the capital, and, in fact, the future lawyer grew up as a Muscovite. The boy studied well and was able to pass the school curriculum in an accelerated way. After graduating from school, he goes to serve in the army, but does not want to follow in the footsteps of his father, he wants to get higher education, and since in terms of mind he was more of a humanitarian than a techie, the choice was small.

Study and scientific career

Zorkin Valery Dmitrievich (whose biography has always been associated with jurisprudence), having served in the army, makes his top choice and enters the Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov at the Faculty of Law. And in 1964 he received a diploma in the specialty "jurisprudence". At the university, he also studied very well, which allowed him to stay to work at his alma mater.

Since 1964, Zorkin Valery Dmitrievich has been teaching at Moscow State University, his scientific topic is the history of legal doctrines, in particular early Christian and Renaissance times. In 1967, he defended his dissertation for the title of candidate of legal sciences, the topic of the work is “The views of B.N. Chicherin on State and Law”, becomes an assistant professor and continues to teach. At this time, he was very interested in the legal aspects of the philosophy of the Italian Renaissance thinker Zorkin worked at Moscow State University until 1977.

In 1976, he tries to defend his doctoral dissertation on the topic “Positivist theory of law in Russia”, but he lacks one vote in the dissertation council of Moscow State University, and Zorkin does not receive an academic title. This was the reason that he left the university and went to work at the Institute of State and Law, where in 1978 he successfully defended his doctoral dissertation. From 1979 to 1986, Valery Dmitrievich worked at the Academy of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs as a professor at the Department of Constitutional Law and Theory of State and Law. Only then does he acquire his main vital interest - constitutional law. In 1986, he went to work at the Higher Law Correspondence School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, where he worked for 4 years.

Work on the Constitution of the Russian Federation

In 1990, Zorkin Valery Dmitrievich, whose full biography is connected with constitutional law, becomes an expert of the Constitutional Commission at the Congress of People's Deputies, which worked on a new text of the main law of the Russian Federation. This work helped Zorkin dive deeper into the legal features of the implementation of this law and became the start for his main activity in life. At this time, Valery Dmitrievich proved himself to be a principled lawyer and an active supporter of the presidential republic.

In 1991, during the coup, Zorkin, together with colleagues from the constitutional commission, signed a document stating that the activities of the State Emergency Committee, from the point of view of the law, were an attempted coup. This statement was voiced in the Western media and became a significant help in Zorkin's subsequent career advancement.

Life's work: Zorkin Valery Dmitrievich - Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation

Supporting the course of Boris Yeltsin and working as an expert in the group drafting the Constitution helped him get a new appointment. Since October 29, 1991, Zorkin Valery Dmitrievich has been a judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. And already on November 1, he was elected Chairman of the Constitutional Court for an unlimited period. Having headed the constitutional branch of power, Zorkin began work on reforming the court and consistently defended the construction of a rule of law state in Russia. During all the years of his work in the Constitutional Court, he was an active supporter of the idea of ​​separation of powers and a defender of the constitutional order in Russia. In 1993, he played a significant role in resolving the crisis of power, taking the side of parliament and urging the president to solve problems only in accordance with the main law of the country. Zorkin stood between Khasbulatov and Yeltsin. It was thanks to his active participation that the conflict between the President and the Congress of People's Deputies was overcome and a compromise was found. This event had global consequences in the government of the country: he was removed from office, and the government was headed by

The conflict with Boris Yeltsin was the reason that Zorkin Valery Dmitrievich resigned from the post of chairman of the Constitutional Court in 1993, but after a few months he returned to the court. However, for a long time he was accused of partiality and excessive support of parliament. The end of these accusations came when in 1993 the Constitutional Court canceled 27 orders of the head of parliament at once. Zorkin tried to preserve the independence of the judiciary and establish the rule of law.

For several years, Zorkin has been working as an ordinary judge, without attracting much public attention to his actions. In 2003, by secret ballot, he was re-elected to the post of Chairman of the Constitutional Court. Later, he was elected to this position several times. This time, Zorkin did not change the course of the court adopted in last years, but became the cause of confrontation between the Constitutional and Supreme Courts, putting into practice the position of the government. Zorkin repeatedly appears on the pages of the media, makes loud statements, remaining a significant figure in Russian politics. In 2012, Zorkin Valery Dmitrievich became the chairman of the Constitutional Court for the fifth time.

Public activity and citizenship

According to Soviet tradition, Zorkin joined the ranks of the CPSU back in 1970 and continued to sympathize with the communist idea. long years. But as a party activist, he did not show himself. In 1990, under the influence of social processes, Valery Dmitrievich decides to run for deputies, but in the first round he became the third and in the second round he gave his votes to another candidate.

His views were always on the side of the Constitution, but at the same time, during his life, he hesitated more than once and supported either the parliament or the president. Since 2003, his position has become more definite, he has become an active supporter of the presidential course.

As a public figure, Zorkin often makes various statements, in particular, gives a legal assessment of various historical events, for example, the abolition of serfdom in Russia, comments on events in the country and the world.

Achievements and awards

For his active work, Zorkin repeatedly received government and other awards. He has 2 orders "For Merit to the Fatherland" and the Order of "Reverend Sergius of Radonezh". Valery Dmitrievich Zorkin, whose biography, whose awards and fame testify to his originality, continues to work productively, and considers his main achievement to be the preservation of the leading role of the Constitution in governing the country.

Private life

Zorkin Valery Dmitrievich, whose family almost always remains in the shadows, is a widower. His wife Tamara Vasilievna was a candidate of economic sciences, he has a daughter, Natalya, who, like her father, became a lawyer.

Valery Dmitrievich Zorkin was born on February 18, 1943 in the village of Konstantinovka, Primorsky Krai, into a military family. After leaving school he served in the army. In 1964 he graduated from the law faculty of Moscow State University with a degree in jurisprudence. In 1964-1967 he worked at the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University as a teacher, then as a senior lecturer, in 1967-1979 as an assistant professor. Studied the history of legal doctrines.

In 1967, Zorkin defended his thesis at Moscow State University for the degree of candidate of legal sciences, and in 1978 at the Institute of State and Law - his doctoral dissertation. In 1979-1986 (according to other sources, in 1980-1986) he was a professor at the Department of Constitutional Law and Theory of State and Law of the Academy of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 1986, he became a professor at the Department of State Legal Disciplines of the Higher Law Correspondence School of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In 1970, Zorkin joined the CPSU, remained a member of the party until its abolition in 1991. In March 1990, he ran for the people's deputies of the RSFSR in the Kalinin district of Moscow. He took third place - after the economic manager-democrat Mikhail Bocharov and the commander of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, General Yuri Shatalov.

In 1990-1991, Zorkin led a group of experts of the Constitutional Commission of the Congress of People's Deputies of Russia, participated in the preparation of the draft of the new Constitution of Russia. In 1991, he also became a professor at the Department of State and Legal Disciplines of the All-Union Law Correspondence School of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs.

At the V Congress of People's Deputies of Russia on October 29, 1991, Zorkin was elected a judge of the Constitutional Court of Russia. On November 1 of the same year, by secret ballot, he was elected chairman of the court for an unlimited term. However, already on October 6, 1993, after a protracted conflict with Russian President Boris Yeltsin (Zorkin recognized the presidential decree on the dissolution of the Supreme Council as inconsistent with the country's fundamental law, and also argued that the unconstitutional actions of the president give grounds for removing him from power), resigned from the post of head of the Constitutional Court.

The powers of Zorkin as an ordinary judge were also terminated, but at the beginning of 1994 they were restored. On February 14, 1994, Zorkin was included in the second chamber of the Constitutional Court, joined the commission to improve the structure of the apparatus of the Constitutional Court and personnel. February 21, 2003 Zorkin was again elected chairman of the Constitutional Court.

Upon taking office, Zorkin said that he did not intend to make personnel revolutions in the Constitutional Court. The course of the Constitutional Court has also changed little - Zorkin supported the government in its dispute with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (the Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the decision of the Supreme Court, which cancels the normative acts of the Cabinet of Ministers), in 2004 he supported the decision of President Vladimir Putin to abolish direct elections of heads of subjects of the federation.

Best of the day

Zorkin is the author of a number of monographs, including the books "Power and Law" and "Legal State". Honored Lawyer of the Russian Federation. Member of the Presidium of the Russian Bar Association. Member of the European Commission "For Democracy through Law" from the Russian Federation. In the public mind, he remained as a "closer of the CPSU case" - with him trial in the case of the Soviet Communist Party, declared almost like a new Nuremberg, in 1992 ended in a formal decision that allowed the grassroots structures of the CPSU to restore the central leadership of the party (under the new name - the Communist Party).

Zorkin is a widower, he has a daughter.

Zorkin, Valery

Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation

Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. In November 1991, he was elected to this post for an unlimited term. Being a supporter of the presidential republic, he came into conflict with the president and recognized Yeltsin's decree on the dissolution of the Supreme Soviet in the fall of 1993 as unconstitutional. After the October shooting of the White House, he resigned, and soon his membership in the Constitutional Court was terminated. In 1994, the powers of Judge Zorkin were restored. Zorkin twice, in 1994 and 1995, refused to nominate his candidacy for the presidency. In February 2003, he was re-elected head of the Constitutional Court, and then re-elected in 2006, 2009 and 2012. Honored Lawyer of Russia, member of the Presidium of the Association of Lawyers of Russia, author of a number of monographs.

Valery Dmitrievich Zorkin was born on February 18, 1943 in the village of Konstantinovka, Primorsky Krai, into a military family. Soon his family moved to Moscow. After leaving school he served in the army. In 1964 he graduated from the Faculty of Law of Lomonosov Moscow State University with a degree in jurisprudence,,. In 1964-1967 he worked at the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University as a teacher, then as a senior lecturer. He studied the history of legal doctrines, including early Christian ones,.

In 1967 he defended his dissertation at Moscow State University for the degree of candidate of legal sciences on the topic "B.N. Chicherin's views on the state and law." After the defense, he continued to work at Moscow State University (already as an assistant professor). Engaged in political movements, according to media reports, Special attention devoted to the views of the Italian Renaissance thinker Nicolo Machiavelli. In 1970 he joined the CPSU (remained a member of the party until its abolition in 1991),.

From 1977 to 1979, Zorkin worked at the Institute of State and Law, where in 1978 he defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic "Positivist theory of law in Russia (historical and critical research)",. According to Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Zorkin tried to defend this dissertation on criticism of the positivist theory of law (the very theory that underlay the practice of the USSR prosecutor in 1935-39 Andrei Vyshinsky and his followers) back in 1976 at Moscow State University, but with the defense lacked one vote. The defense at the Institute of State and Law was successful, but relations with Moscow State University were spoiled, and Zorkin decided to leave the university.

The publication claimed that this was precisely why in 1979-1986 (according to other sources, in 1980-1986) Zorkin became a professor at the Department of Constitutional Law and Theory of State and Law of the Academy of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 1986, he received the post of professor at the Department of State Legal Disciplines of the Higher Correspondence Law School of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs,.

In March 1990, Zorkin ran for the people's deputies of the RSFSR in the Kalinin district of Moscow. He took third place - after the democratic business executive Mikhail Bocharov and the commander of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, General Yuri Shatalov.

Before the second round of elections, according to media reports, representatives from both sides came to Zorkin with a request for support. At the same time, Yevgeny Savostyanov, who ran for the Moscow Council, came to Zorkin with a request for Bocharov's support (later - the head of the Moscow department of the Federal Grid Company, and then the deputy head of the presidential administration), and Gabriel Popov addressed Zorkin with a request to support Savostyanov himself. After that, Zorkin turned to his voters with a request to vote for Bocharov and Savostyanov. Both candidates supported by him won the elections, and Zorkin, despite his communist views, became close to the Moscow democrats.

In 1990-1991, Zorkin led a group of experts of the Constitutional Commission of the Congress of People's Deputies of Russia (the commission itself was headed by Boris Yeltsin) and participated in the drafting of a new Russian constitution. The press emphasized that Zorkin was almost the only serious and well-known lawyer at that time who did not support Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and agreed to write a new Russian constitution. As Zorkin later explained to reporters, the commission took as a basis political system United States, counting on a strong parliament (the lawyer even believed that the parliament could approve all ministers).

Zorkin also defended the concept of a presidential republic in Russia before his colleagues on the commission and deputies of the Supreme Soviet. On May 4, 1991, during the discussion of bills on the establishment of the post of president in the RSFSR, Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article "Presidential Power in Russia" written by Zorkin in collaboration with Yuri Ryzhov. In an article on the analysis of shortcomings different types democratic state of law, it was explicitly stated that Russia should make a choice in favor of a republic with a strong presidential power.

Around the same time, Zorkin became a professor in the department of state-legal disciplines at the All-Union Law Correspondence School of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs.

On August 19, 1991, during an attempt to seize power in the country by members of the State Committee on the State of Emergency, Zorkin signed a statement by a group of lawyers - members and experts of the Constitutional Commission - that the actions of the State Emergency Committee were an attempted coup. On the same day, the statement was broadcast by Western radio stations.

Partly as a result of the fact that he once again supported Yeltsin, at the V Congress of People's Deputies of Russia on October 29, 1991, Zorkin was elected a member of the Constitutional Court of Russia (the very institution of the Constitutional Court in the Russian Federation was established on December 15, 1990, and the law on it was adopted on July 12, 1991),. 757 parliamentarians then voted for Zorkin's candidacy. On November 1 of the same year, at the first meeting of the Constitutional Court, Zorkin was elected chairman of the court by secret ballot, for an unlimited period, becoming the first person to hold this position.

On October 30, 1991, the Constitutional Court began its work and, by its very first decision, issued in January 1992, declared President Yeltsin's decree on the unification of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and state security agencies unconstitutional. As Zorkin explained to reporters, if the president is elected by popular vote, then this only gives him a mandate for power, but not an indulgence.

The most high-profile case of the Constitutional Court of the first composition was the so-called "case of the CPSU", the consideration of which began on May 26, 1992 (communist deputies submitted to the court the question of the legality of Yeltsin's decrees to ban the CPSU and the Communist Party of the RSFSR, in response, democratic deputies led by Oleg Rumyantsev introduced the question of the constitutionality of the CPSU). The case was completed on November 30, 1992 with a decision that allowed the grassroots structures of the Communist Party of the RSFSR to recreate the central leadership of the party,. According to Zorkin, this process was "the first experience of political compromise in Russia." It was precisely such a decision, as Zorkin argued, that the country then needed.

At the same time, the media noted that the trial, which actually summed up the Soviet period of the country's development under the leadership of the CPSU (b) - CPSU, ended in nothing. The court recognized that the CPSU and the Communist Party of the RSFSR were not "parties" in the literal sense of the word, but did not dare to either ban or justify these organizations. The court also considered itself not entitled to decide what and to whom belongs from the property of the CPSU, confining itself to stating the fact that the property of the Communist Party consisted of the actual party, state and ownerless. Only in July 1996 did the Constitutional Court begin publishing the materials of the "case of the CPSU".

On December 1, 1992, the 7th Congress of People's Deputies of Russia began. Zorkin took part in its work. He addressed the deputies, declaring that all calls by the authorities to dissolve the congress are unconstitutional and illegal. At the same time, he called on both supporters and opponents of the Congress to strictly comply with constitutional norms,.

On December 9-10, 1992, the conflict between the president and the congress escalated (Yeltsin addressed the people, calling for a referendum - to determine which political course the Russians trust: the presidential one, on the transformation of society, or the congress, the Supreme Council and its chairman Ruslana Khasbulatova Yeltsin sharply criticized the congress "for curtailing reforms," ​​and after his speech he defiantly left the meeting). Then Zorkin (on behalf of all members of the Constitutional Court) proposed to immediately start consultations between Yeltsin and Khasbulatov to work out a compromise and overcome the crisis. He pledged to participate in consultations,. At the same time, Zorkin emphasized that if a compromise is not reached, then the Constitutional Court will raise the issue of the constitutional responsibility of the country's leadership,,,.

The congress supported the proposal of the head of the Constitutional Court,. As a result of consultations organized on Zorkin's initiative between Yeltsin and Khasbulatov, a compromise resolution "On the Stabilization of the Constitutional System of the Russian Federation" was presented to the congress, which was supposed to stop the crisis of power in Russia. On December 12, 1992, the resolution was adopted by the congress. The consequences of the compromise reached were the resignation of Acting Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar and the appointment of Viktor Chernomyrdin as Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, the freezing of constitutional amendments that change the balance of executive and legislative powers, and the decision to hold a referendum on the foundations of a new constitution in early 1993,,, . One of the amendments (namely, to Article 121-6 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation) played the role of a time bomb. This amendment provided for the immediate (even without the conclusion of the Constitutional Court) termination of the powers of the president, if he tries to use his powers to change the national-state structure of the Russian Federation and the dissolution or suspension of the activities of any legally elected bodies of state power. However, it did not say who and by what procedure ascertains the termination of the president's powers (the congress returned to the issue of adopting this amendment the following year).

Since that time, the media began to reproach Zorkin for partiality, and his position was considered by Yeltsin's supporters as pro-parliamentary, not pro-presidential (although Zorkin himself considered his views "centrist" and believed that for Russia "it would be ideal for citizens to move towards centrism from the flanks ") .

On December 29, 1992, Zorkin became the first laureate of the National Accord award, established by the editors of the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper and the National Accord non-governmental committee - "for a civil act committed by him on December 9-10, 1992" (the commission for awarding prizes was headed by the writer Sergey Zalygin).

On February 9-12, 1993, the Constitutional Court considered the so-called "case of the Federal Tax Service". The public movement National Salvation Front was created on October 24, 1992 by representatives of several opposition political organizations in Russia. The creators of the Federal Tax Service called it their main task to support the bloc of deputy factions "Russian Unity", which sought to counteract the "anti-constitutional" actions of the president and headed by him executive power, as well as the re-establishment of a single union state. The presidential decree to prevent the creation of the Front and the dissolution of its organizing committee was declared unconstitutional. The court regarded this decree as an intrusion of the executive power into the sphere of judicial competence. After the decision on the "case of the Federal Tax Service" in the radical democratic press, accusations against the Constitutional Court of "political unreliability" became more frequent, which began after the decision on the "case of the CPSU" .

At the end of February 1993, Zorkin organized consultations between representatives of President Yeltsin and Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation Khasbulatov. He spoke in favor of lifting the moratorium on holding a referendum, provided for by the compromise December resolution "On the Stabilization of the Constitutional Order of the Russian Federation."

In early March 1993, an extraordinary - VIII - Congress of People's Deputies was held. He canceled the December agreement of the authorities and decided to consider holding a referendum on April 11 inappropriate. On March 12, amendments to the Constitution, frozen at the 7th Congress, came into effect, limiting the power of the president: both an amendment on the immediate termination of the powers of the head of state in the event of an attempt by the president to dissolve parliament, and an amendment regarding the right of parliament to suspend the presidential decrees. In fact, the parliament had the opportunity to completely neutralize for an indefinite period all legislative acts adopted by the president as part of the reforms - that is, Russia was turning into a parliamentary republic. And although Zorkin had previously objected to this, at the congress he joined Yeltsin's opponents, even though he refrained from direct accusations against him. In one of his statements, Zorkin almost verbatim repeated the words of Khasbulatov, who announced a "return to constitutionality" in the country. Zorkin, in particular, stressed that "a bad constitution is better than none."

On March 19, 1993, the Constitutional Court of Russia for the first time canceled the orders of the leadership of the Armed Forces. Judges declared unconstitutional 27 orders of the head at once Russian parliament Ruslan Khasbulatov and his deputies (in particular, on the creation of a security unit for the Armed Forces and the establishment of parliamentary control over the activities of newspapers). In addition, the court canceled the joint decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Court and the government on fixing prices for milk, bread and other products: this decision, according to members of the court, was an attempt by the state to interfere in market processes. Thus, according to observers, Zorkin tried to restore his reputation as an independent and objective guardian of the rule of law, which had suffered during the Eighth Congress. According to the Kommersant newspaper, thanks to the cancellation of the orders of the chairman of the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court managed to slightly increase its authority in society.

On March 20, Yeltsin signed a decree calling for April 25, 1993, a referendum on confidence in the president of the Russian Federation and at the same time voting on a draft new constitution and a draft law on elections to the federal parliament. Provisions were introduced into the text of the decree that narrowed the legal options for impeaching the president for violating the constitution. On the same day, speaking on television together with Prosecutor General Valentin Stepankov, Vice President Alexander Rutskoi and Deputy Khasbulatov Yuri Voronin, Zorkin sharply condemned President Yeltsin's decree "On a special management regime until the crisis of power is overcome."

Since that time, a campaign has been launched in the press to discredit Zorkin as "an accomplice of Khasbulatov." It began with a report that the chairman of the Constitutional Court allegedly handed the president the conclusion of the Constitutional Court directly at the funeral of Yeltsin's mother.

On March 26, 1993, the IX Congress of People's Deputies opened, at which Khasbulatov presented a draft resolution on holding early simultaneous elections of the president and congress deputies, agreed upon at a meeting between Khasbulatov and Yeltsin. The deputies did not support the speaker, and Yeltsin and Khasbulatov remained in their posts. At the same time, as a result of a referendum held on April 25, 1993, the president was unable to obtain the consent of voters to change the deputy corps.

In early June 1993, the Constitutional Court adopted a number of decisions that did not suit the president: it confirmed the legality of the appointment of the election of the head of the administration in the Chelyabinsk region (Peter Sumin won the election there, whose powers the president did not recognize - as a result, until October 1993, two administrations operated in parallel in the region ); moved the decision on the legality of the abolition of the post of president of Mordovia to the Constitutional Court of Mordovia (as a result, the popularly elected president of Mordovia, Vasily Guslyannikov, lost his post). At the same time, the state news agency ITAR-TASS refused to distribute through its channels a number of official documents of the Constitutional Court, including a commentary on the legal decision on Mordovia.

That same summer, a number of members of the Constitutional Court, including Deputy Chairman Mykola Vitruk, condemned Zorkin's behavior, deeming his statements on political issues inconsistent with the status of a judge. However, Zorkin did not change his position,. At this time, the name Zorkin gained popularity, he began to be mentioned in the list of the most real contenders for the presidency of the Russian Federation.

On September 21, 1993, Yeltsin signed a decree "On a phased constitutional reform in the Russian Federation", dissolving the Supreme Soviet and the Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation (decree number 1400). Prior to the election of a new parliament, the country was asked to live under the control of presidential decrees and government decrees, and the legislation of the Russian Federation should be considered relevant only in the part that does not contradict the decree. On the same day, Zorkin declared the decree unconstitutional and providing legal grounds for starting the procedure for removing Yeltsin from the presidency. On September 22, 1993, the parliament declared Yeltsin's presidential powers terminated and adopted a resolution on the appointment of Rutskoy as acting president,.

Parliamentarians organized the defense of the White House. On October 3, Rutskoi urged them to start storming the mayor's office and the building of the Ostankino television center. At the same time, Yegor Gaidar, who supported Yeltsin, appealed to Muscovites to take to the streets and defend democracy. After a mob led by General Albert Makashov stormed the mayor's office, Yeltsin signed a decree releasing Rutskoy from his duties as vice president and dismissing him from the army, as well as a decree declaring a state of emergency in Moscow. On the same day, Makashov demanded that the military, who were in the Ostankino building, lay down their arms. The guards of the building refused to obey, and the supporters of the Supreme Council began shelling the TV center. Return fire was opened from the Ostankino. After reinforcements approached the defenders of the television center, Makashov gave the order to retreat to to the white house. On October 4, by order of the President, troops and heavy equipment entered Moscow. After the shooting of the White House building from tank guns, Rutskoi, Khasbulatov and Makashov were arrested. According to some reports, 60 people were killed during the confrontation between the parliament and the president, including participants in the battle for Ostankino, policemen, journalists and bystanders.

On October 6, 1993, Zorkin resigned from the post of head of the Constitutional Court (under pressure from his colleagues and presidential structures), and his deputy Nikolai Vitruk began to perform the duties of chairman of the Constitutional Court,. At the same time, Zorkin himself told reporters that after the events of October 3-4, he "cannot fulfill his duties in the current conditions",.

On December 1, 1993, Zorkin's powers as an ordinary member of the court were also terminated - on charges of the judge's participation in political activities. They were restored only at a meeting of the Constitutional Court on January 25, 1994 - after the adoption of a new constitution (adopted on December 12, 1993), which, according to Zorkin, endowed the president with too much rights and powers,. Soon, by decree of President Yeltsin, the very activity of the Constitutional Court was suspended for some time (it was resumed only in February 1995),,.

On the eve of the State Duma elections of the first convocation (December 1993), various electoral associations (Agrarian Party of Russia, Russian Christian Democratic Movement) offered Zorkin to run for deputies of the Federal Assembly on their federal lists. Zorkin refused these proposals.

In mid-March 1994, Zorkin joined a group of deputies of the Federal Assembly, publicists and public figures who initiated the creation of a new patriotic movement "Consent in the name of Russia". In their "Appeal to the Citizens of Russia", the organizers of the movement promised to "restore the power of the Russian statehood, protect the national market and national capital, provide conditions for Russia's breakthrough into the post-industrial future, stop crime, prevent unemployment and hunger, and give every citizen of the country a decent standard of living" . Zorkin signed this appeal and the movement's policy statement. In addition to him, the document was also signed by Alexander Rutskoi, Aman Tuleev, Gennady Zyuganov, Pyotr Romanov, Stanislav Govorukhin and Nikita Mikhalkov.

Already on March 21, 1994, a working meeting of members of the Constitutional Court recommended Zorkin to resolve the issue of his stay on the court. In behind-the-scenes conversations, members of the court told the Kommersant newspaper that "they respect Valery Dmitrievich, but otherwise Yeltsin will not allow the court to start work." Then the acting chairman of the Constitutional Court Vitruk bluntly stated that Zorkin should resign. Sources of the publication then claimed that Zorkin himself was ready to leave the Constitutional Court and take up political activity and, perhaps, stand as a candidate for the next presidential election (in June of the same year, the media spoke of Zorkin's nomination as a candidate as a final decision).

The movement "Consent in the name of Russia", having not achieved any success, actually ceased to exist by October 1994,. February 14, 1995 Zorkin was included in the second chamber of the Constitutional Court. He joined the commission on improving the structure of the apparatus of the Constitutional Court and personnel,.

In 1995, several proposals were made to Zorkin to enter the federal list of the Derzhava movement headed by Rutsky, but he again preferred to remain a member of the Constitutional Court. A few months later, Zorkin's wife, Tamara Vasilyevna, and daughter Natalya were registered among the members of the initiative group that nominated Alexander Rutskoy as a candidate for the presidency of the Russian Federation.

In the summer of 1995, when considering the "Chechen case" in the Constitutional Court (a number of parliamentarians demanded that all acts of executive power adopted at the time of the military operation in Chechnya be declared unconstitutional), Zorkin allowed himself, disagreeing with the verdict of the Constitutional Court, to express a dissenting opinion. So, if the court as a whole found all presidential decrees and resolutions of the Russian government on Chechnya not contrary to the constitution (with the exception of decrees on the possibility of deportation from Chechnya of citizens officially residing in other regions of Russia, and the possibility of depriving journalists of the right to work in Chechnya without a court decision) , then Zorkin stated that the court did not examine enough facts to make a decision. Zorkin voted against the court order,.

In the spring of 1996, an initiative group for the nomination of candidates for the presidency of Russia (according to other sources, two groups at once) turned to Zorkina with a proposal to run for the post of head of state. The status of a judge of the Constitutional Court does not allow him to engage in any kind of political activity, so Zorkin had to choose between participation in elections and judicial powers. Zorkin chose to remain a judge,. In a statement sent to the editorial office of the RIA Novosti news agency, he explained that his nomination would "impede the unification of constructive forces and does not meet the requirements of the moment."

In early 1997, there were reports in the media that Zorkin could again be elected to the post of chairman of the Constitutional Court (the head of the Constitutional Court was to be elected before February 24). Tamara Morshchakova (who at that time held the position of deputy chairman of the court and known for her democratic views), the representative of military justice Vladimir Strekozov and the judge of the Constitutional Court Marat Baglai, whom the press called "cautious and competent," were considered candidates for the chairpersons of the Constitutional Court, thereby opposing him to the one who received the epithet " impulsive" to Zorkin. As a result, it was Baglai who headed the court, and Zorkin remained an ordinary member of the Constitutional Court,.

According to Obshchaya Gazeta, in order to make Baglai the chairman of the Constitutional Court, Zorkin and Strekozov, whom the media called representatives of the "internal opposition", were previously taken out of the game by Baglai's supporters. By tradition, only three candidates were included in the ballot, identified by preliminary "soft" voting (when the judges are free to cast their votes not to one, but to several of their colleagues). Supporters of the election of Baglai, according to the publication, at the preliminary stage cast their votes for Morshchakova (who has repeatedly stated that she does not want to head the court) and judge Olga Khokhryakova, whom no one considered a serious competitor to Baglai. As a result, in the final vote, Baglai's rivals received three votes for two, and the rivals were not considered at all.

For several years, Zorkin worked in court, without becoming the object of close media attention. So, in 1998, the press mentioned him only as a speaker on the so-called "case of cash registers" (the Constitutional Court considered complaints from small entrepreneurs about the law on the use of cash registers, which imposed a fine of up to 350 minimum wages on a retail outlet for an undrawn check). In the report, Zorkin pointed out that the punishment provided for by this law interferes with the freedom of entrepreneurial activity enshrined in the country's basic law, and, therefore, is unconstitutional. The judge also made it clear to journalists that the Constitutional Court intends to take on the Customs Code, which provides for very harsh penalties for breaking laws. In this regard, the newspapers wrote that the Constitutional Court allegedly arrogated to itself the right not only to bring the current legislation in line with the constitution, but also to make it more humane. However, this scandal had no consequences either for the court or for Zorkin personally.

Moreover, on March 23, 2000, Acting President of Russia Vladimir Putin "for his services in strengthening the rule of law and many years of conscientious work" awarded Zorkin the title of "Honored Lawyer of Russia",,. However, Baglai again won in the election of the chairman of the Constitutional Court.

Only on February 21, 2003, Zorkin was again elected chairman of the Constitutional Court by secret ballot. In total, three candidates applied for the post of chairman in these elections: Baglai, Zorkin and Judge-Secretary of the Constitutional Court Yuri Danilov. In the first round of voting, Zorkin and Baglai received 11 votes each, and Danilov 10. In the second round, Zorkin won, although most of the media again predicted Baglai's victory (he was already 72 years old, but the age limit of 70 years for judges had not yet come into force ) .

Upon taking office, Zorkin announced that he did not intend to make personnel revolutions in the Constitutional Court (indeed, even Baglai remained in his place - as an ordinary judge - until 2005). Zorkin did not change the course that the Constitutional Court had previously followed. Under him, the confrontation between the Supreme and Constitutional Courts also began. The reason for it was the question of which of the highest judicial bodies of the country has the right to cancel government regulations. The issue arose in the summer of 2002, but was resolved only in November 2003, and this time the Constitutional Court acted as the government desired (by recognizing as constitutional the decision of the cabinet of ministers canceled by the Supreme Court and indicating that the Supreme Court had exceeded its competence).

On December 15, 2003, the Constitutional Court ruled at the request of the Legislative Assembly Ivanovo region. Representatives of the regional Duma asked to check the constitutionality of the provisions of the regional law "On the Municipal Service of the Ivanovo Region", which had previously been recognized by courts of general jurisdiction as contrary to the law. The Constitutional Court, however, did not find inconsistency with the constitution in the law and stressed that the final decision on the issue can only be left to it. Thus, the court put itself in the position of the first among those formally equal, which again caused dissatisfaction in the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (on the sidelines of the Supreme Court, doubts were generally expressed about the need for such an instance as the Constitutional Court).

In October 2004, the conflict between the Constitutional and Supreme Court continued. His new stage began after Zorkin, in an interview with the daily newspaper Izvestia, publicly admitted the fact of bribery in the courts, agreeing with public opinion (67 percent of Russians, according to opinion polls in 2004, considered the Russian judiciary to be corrupt). Zorkin said that "bribery in the courts has become one of the most powerful corruption markets in Russia." The Presidium of the Supreme Court in response demanded to call the head of the Constitutional Court to account. In the decision adopted by the presidium, Zorkin was asked to immediately send to the court the research materials to which he referred in his interview; information about all known facts of corruption in specific courts and in relation to specific judges; information about specific criminal cases, "collapsed" with the participation of corrupt judges. Information that the Chairman of the Constitutional Court sent such data to the Supreme Court did not appear in the press.

In October 2005, Zorkin attracted attention with a statement about the need to restore the institution of confiscation of property in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The head of the Constitutional Court stated that the abolition of such a measure of punishment was unlawful. The idea was supported by the then Prosecutor General of Russia Vladimir Ustinov and Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev. In December of the same year, the authority headed by Zorkin, contrary to its ten-year-old decree, recognized as legitimate the approval of candidates for the post of governor on the proposal of the president instead of direct elections (Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted the corresponding bill to the State Duma shortly after the hostage-taking in the North Ossetian city of Beslan,. Shortly before adoption of this decision, Zorkin prepared the ground for him, stating that "as society develops, the legal positions of the Constitutional Court can be refined. " That is, the previous decision of the Constitutional Court remains valid, but cannot automatically be transferred to the "new situation." "This is the law of the movement of legal positions." , - Zorkin argued his point of view, backing it up with a reference to the experience of the most democratic countries

In January 2006, Zorkin made another unexpected announcement. He told reporters that fines for tax violations should be the exception, not the rule, citing the fact that often taxpayers have to answer for the fault of the legislator's work, and not for their own fault.

In July 2006, the Constitutional Court confirmed the ban on conducting election campaigning at the expense of citizens' personal funds. Zorkin made an exception only for campaigning against all candidates.

In November of the same year, Zorkin again entered into an argument with the Kremlin, speaking out against the transfer of the Constitutional Court to St. Petersburg (although the majority of the judges agreed to the move). Zorkin insisted that such a decision undermines the "independence and prestige" of the court. In the end, the chairman of the Constitutional Court secured for the judges of the Constitutional Court the right to sit both in St. Petersburg and in Moscow - the document approved by the State Duma provided for the "registration" of the Constitutional Court in St. Petersburg, however, it allowed holding off-site meetings and the creation of a representative office of the court in Moscow.

In February 2009, Zorkin was again elected chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. His victory, according to experts, was predictable, since "real opposition to Mr. Zorkin, neither among the judges, nor in federal bodies there is no power", , .

In the autumn of the same year, a scandal broke out in the Constitutional Court: the judge of the Constitutional Court Vladimir Yaroslavtsev gave an interview to the Spanish newspaper El Pais. In it, he criticized the Russian judicial system and, in particular, the decision of the Constitutional Court to refuse to consider the complaint of a journalist