Will Spollen

B1
Constitutional Essay
The United States and Russia have clashed for many years, through the cold war and
even recent disagreements. Though, despite the friction between these two countries, their
constitutions certainly have distinct similarities. Certain personal freedoms, protection of the
minorities, a legislative, judicial, and executive branch are just some of the example of the
parallels present between these two governments. Through similarities of the preamble, structure,
and content of Russias and Americas constitutions, these documents prove to be very much
alike.
Structure is the foundation of almost everything, it provides a base to grow upon;
structure is the base for skyscrapers, houses, and perhaps, constitutions. While there are some
smaller differences between the structures of Russias and The United States Constitutions, they
are essentially the same. Both include a preamble, identifying their purpose for creating their
constitution, and providing a brief, but efficient introduction to their documents. Following their
preambles, the main content is presented - this is the beef of the Constitution. The organization
of this content is one of the main differences between the two documents. In the United States
Constitution, each article is presented one by one, and many articles have several Sections
dividing them up. In the Russian Constitution, the structure is more complicated. There are two
sections, the first divided up into chapters which contain various articles, and these articles are
divided up into numbers. (1., 2., etc.). The second section is similar to one article; it contains
nine numbered paragraphs including more information about their constitution. Another
noticeable difference between these constitutions is that unlike the Russian Constitution, the
American Constitution has twenty-seven amendments (some of which are separated into
sections) although much of the content in them is similar to content that is present in the Russian

Will Spollen
B1
Constitutional Essay
Constitution (with no amendments). While the structure is quite similar, the actual content is
arguably even more alike.
Both the American and Russian constitutions are democratic in numerous ways, shown
through the claims present in the articles. They both claim to protect minorities, split government
power through three branches, and protect/give power to the people among many other
democratic aspects and freedoms. The Constitution of Russia claims that they have control over
Protection of the rights of national minorities, and it is to be assumed from this statement that
they do, in fact, protect those rights. This means that those who do not have a say (politically) are
still provided with equal rights. In the Constitution of the United States, it is stated that the
Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States,
are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people with the people receiving some of these
powers, it is ensured that the federal and state governments (those who do have a say) do not
abuse their power. In the American constitution, there are three branches of federal government,
and each of them has their own duties. The Legislative Branch creates laws, the Judicial Branch
decides if people have broken our laws, and the Executive Branch approves laws and leads the
federal government. This creates a smooth distribution of powers through the federal
government. In the Russian Constitution, it is stated that their federal government has control
over the Establishment of federal legislative, executive, and judicial bodies, so, the United
States and Russia essentially have an identical structure of federal government at a glance.
Americas Constitution states that laws cannot be made restricting The freedom of speech, or of
the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government and
again that the Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it
to the States, are reserved respectively, or to the people.. In the United States people have

Will Spollen
B1
Constitutional Essay
power, they have the power to speak freely and petition, and they have many powers not saved
for the country or states. Russias constitution states that the Bearer of sovereignty and the sole
source of power in the Russian Federation shall be its multinational people this means that the
power is in the hands of the people. Just as Americas citizens hold many freedoms and powers,
the people of Russia hold the countrys power. In both the United States and Russia, freedom is
provided and the people are protected and given power, in both countries, democracy is
established. And not only is the content of these documents similar, but even the introduction is
similar.
In both the Russian and American constitutions, there is a Preamble introducing the
constitution, and they happen to be quite similar. The preambles both focus on creating a sound
nation - in the American preamble, it almost begins its constitution with In Order to form a
more perfect union it is starting its preamble and whole constitution by establishing its purpose.
While in the Russian constitution, it ends saying To ensure the well-being and prosperity of
Russia, which again, signifies that the nation is attempting to create a robust nation with its
constitution. Both preambles also focus on keeping peace in their nations, the United States aims
to Insure domestic Tranquility, while Russia attempts to provide Civil Peace and Accord.
Both of these statements mean almost entirely the same thing, and are appropriate stepping
stones to a democratic nation. Most importantly, both of these preambles are the base and
foundation for establishing democracy in their nations; Russias preamble even directly states
that they strive assert The firmness of its democratic basis. Both preambles certainly prove to
be similar, and both do have democratic essences within them, they both provide a strong
beginning/introduction for a fine constitutions.

Will Spollen
B1
Constitutional Essay
The Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Russia have shown to be
extremely (yet perhaps surprisingly) similar. The similarities lay in their structures, content, and
their introductions (Preambles), the content and structure especially are similar, and both
address characteristics to Democracies, and claim to establish those characteristics within their
nations. By reading each nations constitutions, America and Russia themselves do not seem
very different or, in fact, different at all they seem to be democratic nations where life is
peaceful and ruled by the people and their decision, not by a dictator who may limit a citizens
individual freedoms. Both constitutions are both similar and seemingly democratic by their
claims. Through thorough analyzing of both the Russian and American Constitutions, they prove
to be inherently similar and democratic.