Responding to a question on a possible change in the status of the State Council, the President said that the Constitution is an evolving instrument and therefore at some stage it may include new articles on the State Council thus additionally formalising its status.

The President emphasised that the State Council performs all of its tasks and represents the federal nature of the Russian state as it consists of the governors from all Russian regions.

The State Council of the Russian Federation is an advisory body to the Head of State, which deals with issues of the highest importance to the state as a whole. The council was established by a decree the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin on September 1, 2000, reviving a body first constituted during Imperial Russia.

The current State Council is the third in the history of Russia.

The State Council considers issues of particular importance to the state, such as the development of governmental institutions, economic and social reforms and other objects affecting the public as a whole. The sessions are the principal medium for the work of the State Council and are held four times a year without a rigid timetable. Each session focuses on a single issue. On the eve of a session of the State Council, the Presidium meets to discuss the following day’s issue.

It has also become accepted practice to discuss some issues at joint sessions of the State Council’s Presidium and the Security Council, sometimes with the participation of other presidential advisory bodies.

The State Council in session