Human rights activists have spoken out against amendments to the Constitution of Kabardino-Balkaria.
The exclusion from the Constitution of Kabardino-Balkaria of provisions guaranteeing territorial integrity and inviolability, as well as the powers of the head of the KBR to preserve the republic's territorial integrity, threatens the republic's future, human rights activists stated.
Human rights activists sent a collective statement to the head and members of parliament of Kabardino-Balkaria. They oppose the prosecutor's office's demand to exclude from the republic's Constitution provisions on guarantees of the integrity and territorial inviolability of the republic, as well as on the powers of the head of the KBR to ensure the security and territorial integrity of the KBR.
"On June 3, 2026, the KBR Parliament accepted for consideration the protest submitted by the republic's prosecutor's office at the end of March of this year. This concerns the exclusion of parts 2 and 3 of Article 5, as well as parts 1 and 2 of Article 78 and part 1 of Article 80 of the KBR Constitution. We believe that the decision adopted by Parliament is deeply erroneous and dangerous for the future of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic as a subject of the Russian Federation. We insist on preserving the constitutional guarantees of statehood and territorial integrity of the republic. The protest of the KBR prosecutor's office ignores the direct provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. In particular, part 2 of Article 5 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation states: "The republic (state) has its own constitution and legislation." This means that The Constitution of the Russian Federation recognizes the republic as a state, and therefore, enshrining the concepts of "statehood," "head of state," and "territorial integrity" in the Constitution of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic is not only acceptable but also necessary for the development of federal relations," the human rights activists emphasized. The supervisory body's assertion that protecting the security and integrity of the state falls exclusively within the powers of the President of the Russian Federation is a misrepresentation. The President of the Russian Federation ensures the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation as a single federal state, but this does not preclude the right of the constituent entities of the Federation to enshrine in their constitutions guarantees of territorial integrity as an integral part of a single state, they believe.
If the provision on the inviolability of its territory disappears from the republic's Basic Law, the federal center will gain the legal ability to change the borders of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic unilaterally, without taking into account the opinion of its multinational people.
"The exclusion of provisions enshrining the principle of territorial integrity from the Constitution of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic is the most destructive aspect of the proposed amendments. If the provision on the inviolability of its territory disappears from the republic's Basic Law, the federal center will gain the legal ability to change the borders of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic unilaterally, without taking into account the opinion of its multinational people. Such a development could lead to the following consequences: the transfer of territories where Kabardians, Balkars, and others have lived for centuries. "The republic's territorial integrity is at stake, and the republic's territorial integrity is at stake. The republic's territorial integrity is at stake, and the republic's territorial integrity is at stake. The republic's territorial integrity is at stake, and the republic's territorial integrity is at stake. The republic's territorial integrity is at stake, and the republic's territorial integrity is at stake. They also emphasized the republic's continued existence as a national-territorial entity. They also emphasized that the 1992 federal contractual model, which underlies the Constitution of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, is being systematically dismantled. "We call for this process to be stopped while there is still a chance. The country is undergoing a consistent unitarization, which effectively contradicts the principles of a federal structure and threatens the security and integrity of the Federation itself. Such ill-considered steps, which infringe on the national interests of peoples, will inevitably lead to an increase in separatist sentiments, which is certainly not in the interests of the Russian state," the statement reads.
We are not calling for confrontation with the federal center, but demand the preservation of minimal constitutional guarantees that allow us to be not just a republic on paper, but a full-fledged subject of the Federation, as enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
According to its authors, given that Kabardino-Balkaria is a republic with two titular peoples, for decades the constitutional formula of "statehood, integrity, and the head of the republic as guarantor" has served as the basis for interethnic harmony.
"The exclusion of these symbols is perceived "This is nothing less than a renunciation by the federal center of the guarantees given to the peoples of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic when signing the Federal Treaty, and a signal that the republic's opinion regarding its territory no longer matters. We are not calling for confrontation with the federal center, but demanding the preservation of the minimum constitutional guarantees that allow us to be not just a republic on paper, but a full-fledged subject of the Federation, as enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. We categorically oppose the exclusion from the Constitution of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic of key provisions concerning statehood and territorial integrity," the statement reads.
Preserving the constitutional provisions challenged by the prosecutor's office is a necessary condition for the implementation of the principles of federalism, the authors of the document noted, calling on parliament members not to accept the protest filed by the Kabardino-Balkarian Prosecutor's Office.
The statement was signed by Marx Shakhmurzov, Chairman of the Kabardino-Balkarian Branch of the Russian Association of Victims of Political Repression, and Khakim, Chairman of the Kabardino-Balkarian Branch of the Yabloko Party. Kuchmezov, Chairman of the Kabardino-Balkarian Regional Human Rights Center Valery Khatazhukov, Honored Architect of the KBR Muzaryb Bzhakhov, public figure Ismel Meshev, PhD in history Zaurbek Kozhev, artist Zaudin Tokov, public figures Mukhamed Berkhamov and Azamat Shormanov, and journalist and editor-in-chief of the Made in KBR channel Alim Pshibiev.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on October 27, 2022, the Dagestan Parliament adopted amendments to the Constitution of the republic, including those that relieved the head of the republic of the obligation to respect the territorial integrity of Dagestan.
The discussion of constitutional amendments took place in Dagestan in a tense atmosphere of mutual recriminations, both from opponents of the changes and from the authorities. On October 25, 2022, the then head of Dagestan Sergey Melikov criticized activists opposing the amendments, declaring that "certain citizens who call themselves social activists and supposedly care about the integrity of the republic are themselves creating the ground for disunity among Dagestanis."