The role of trade unions in Russia in ensuring the implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy

Goncharov Vitalii Viktorovich PhD in Law Associate Professor, Dean of the Faculty of Higher Education, Polytechnic Institute (branch), Don State Technical University in Taganrog 347900, Russia, Rostov region, Taganrog, Petrovskaya str., 109a niipgergo2009@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Nagaitsev Viktor Valentinovich ORCID: 0000-0003-0231-8592 PhD in Sociology Head of the Department, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Conflictology, Altai State University 656049, Russia, Altai Territory, Barnaul, Lenin Avenue, 61 niipgergo2009@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Petrenko Elena Gennad'evna PhD in Law Associate Professor of the Department of State and International Law, Kuban State Agrarian University named after I. T. Trubilin 350044, Russia, Krasnodar Territory, Krasnodar, Kalinina str., 13 niipgergo2009@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction.

The issues of consolidation, implementation, protection and protection of the constitutional principle of democracy in the Russian Federation are widely studied in the works of E. S. M. Akhyadov, ^{[2, pp. 27-48]} Z. Z. Dabagaeva, ^{[3, pp. 367-368]} E. N. Kvacheva, ^{[4, pp. 466-468]} N. V. Selikhov, ^{[5, pp. 37-50]} S. A. Avakyan, ^{[6, pp. 4-13]} E. V. Chirkina, ^{[7, pp. 13-27]} V. A. Lebedeva, ^{[8, pp. 3-6]} O. N. Kichalyuk, ^{[11, pp. 201-203]} N. M. Chepurnova, ^{[14, pp. 55-62]} as well as many other authors. Considerable attention in the works of V. V. Goncharov, ^{[9; 10, pp. 4-10]} N. D. Tsyganenko, ^{[12, pp. 81-86]} K. I. Aleshchenko, ^[13] V. V. Komarova, ^[15] as well as a number of other scientists, is paid to the place and role of the institute of public control as the most important legal guarantee of implementation, protection and protection of the constitutional principle of democracy in Russia, as well as the most important and oldest variety of subjects of public control – trade unions. However, the proportion of studies devoted to modern problems that hinder the optimization of the processes of trade union participation in the organization and implementation of public control measures, as well as the development of a system of measures to resolve these problems, seems insufficient.

The need to conduct a scientific study of the role of trade unions in Russia in ensuring the implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy is due to the fact that the full implementation of this constitutional principle is the main condition for increasing the stability of both the state mechanism and society as a whole to negative impacts both inside and outside the country, in order to ensure full and optimal development Of the Russian Federation.

The object of this study is public relations related to the implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy in Russia, as well as the participation of trade unions in this process. The subject of the study is a set of legal norms regulating the mechanism for ensuring the implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy, as well as scientific views on the place of trade unions in the organization and functioning of this mechanism.

The relevance of the subject of the study is confirmed by the fact that according to the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (hereinafter also – FNPR), trade union organizations in 2020-2023 submitted more than 2.4 million appeals to state and local government bodies, as well as to judicial authorities (in defense of the rights and legitimate interests of employees). In addition, the FNPR participated in the preparation of more than 700 draft federal laws, as well as thousands of subordinate regulatory legal acts. ^{[16, pp. 29-31]} This confirms the role and place of trade union organizations in the system of subjects ensuring the implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy.

The purpose of this study is to identify and substantiate the role of trade unions in the Russian Federation in the mechanism of ensuring the implementation of democracy as the most important constitutional principle. The achievement of this goal was achieved through the implementation of a number of research tasks, among which the following can be distinguished: 1) to identify and substantiate the main features of democracy as a constitutional principle in Russia, giving the concept of democracy an author's definition; 2) to analyze the mechanism for ensuring the implementation of the above-mentioned constitutional principle in the Russian Federation; 3) to identify and investigate the main forms and methods of trade union participation both directly in the implementation of forms of direct and indirect democracy in Russia and in the organization and functioning of the mechanism for ensuring the implementation of the specified constitutional principle; 4) identify the main problems associated with the participation of trade unions in the implementation of forms of direct and indirect democracy in the country; 5) develop and justify a system of proposals and recommendations to enhance the role of trade unions in ensuring the implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy in Russia, paying special attention to the processes of optimization and improvement of the Constitution The Russian Federation and the current legislation regulating the legal status and activities of trade unions in the country.

The amendments and additions to the Constitution of Russia and Russian legislation developed and justified by the author in the article will make it possible to involve numerous organizations of trade unions both directly in the implementation of forms of direct and indirect democracy in Russia, and in the organization and functioning of the mechanism for ensuring the implementation of this constitutional principle, which will increase the status of this institution of civil society in the eyes of the people of the Russian Federation, so do public authorities.

Research methods and methodology.

A number of scientific research methods are used in the work, in particular: analysis; synthesis; formal-logical; comparative-legal; historical-legal; statistical; sociological; method of analyzing specific legal situations. The empirical basis of this scientific research consists of: legislation on public control, as well as the regulatory legal framework for the organization and activities of trade unions in the Russian Federation; the works of scientists devoted to the study of the problems of formation and functioning of the institute of public control in Russia, as well as the participation of trade union organizations in the functioning of its activities; the practice of the subjects of public control (including – trade union organizations).

The main part.

It seems that democracy is the first and most ancient form of the organization of power inherent in mankind since the pre-state era of its existence. During the period of primitive communal organization of society, people worked together, learned about nature, using its benefits for their preservation and development. At the same time, the participation of each member of the primitive community (more precisely, the adult part of it) in making decisions binding on the entire community, in fact endowed these decisions with elements of sacredness, in particular, the impossibility of casting doubt on them, which later, for example, in Ancient Rome was reflected in the folk saying "Vox populi – vox dei" (the voice of the people is the voice of God).

And, despite the fact that since the inception of the institutions of state and law, democracy has ceased to be the only form of organization of power in society and the state, due to the fact that power began to concentrate in the hands of individual socio-political classes ruling in a particular society and state of a particular socio-economic formation, the practice of appealing to the state The attitude of the apparatus, as well as its individual representatives, to the will and desire of the people has been preserved throughout the history of a state-organized society. At the same time, the concepts of democracy and democracy often acquired a rather perverted content. For example, in the states of Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and in the Slavic states of the era of the slave-owning and feudal periods of their development, democracy and democracy were understood, as a rule, as the possibility and necessity of exercising power over themselves not by all people, but only by personally free citizens of a particular state. Slaves (serfs, colonels, serfs, etc.) did not act as a subject of power, but as an object of property belonging to both individual personally free citizens and their associations, including the states themselves.

In this regard, it seems necessary to identify the main signs of modern democracy in the Russian Federation, justifying its author's definition.

There is no single approach to the definition of "democracy" in the Russian scientific and educational literature. Moreover, there are different points of view regarding the correlation of the concepts of "democracy" and "democracy". At the same time, most authors, after the collapse of the USSR, cunningly refer to democracy only as one of the elements of democracy, its component part. In particular, the authors of the "Great Legal Dictionary" understand by democracy not only democracy, but also "not a complete synonym for democracy ... one of its elements, "people's sovereignty"." ^[1] In our opinion, such a "truncation" of the content of the concept of "democracy" acts, on the one hand, as a kind of reverence for the West, the countries of "developed democracy", and on the other hand, some fear that the real realization of democracy in the country will lead to a transition of power from the "elites" using this power for personal enrichment, to the actual majority of the population, which will allow the latter to use all the material benefits created in society to preserve and develop both society as a whole and each individual member of it.

In modern scientific and educational literature, there are several approaches to the definition of the concept of "democracy", among which the following can be distinguished:

Firstly, a number of authors consider democracy as a sign of a democratically organized society. ^{[2, pp. 27-28]} In their opinion, only that state and society can be considered democratic, in which the right of citizens of the country to implement direct and indirect forms of democracy is enshrined. It is difficult to disagree with this point of view, but it should be noted that in order to consider a particular state and society truly democratic, it is not enough to simply consolidate the need and possibility of public participation in the management of state affairs in the Constitution of the country, as well as current legislation, but it is necessary to create and successfully operate a whole mechanism to ensure the implementation of the principle democracy in the organization and operation of the state mechanism, when the people (the majority of the country's citizens) have a real opportunity to exercise their powers through both direct and indirect forms of democracy.

Secondly, a number of scientists consider democracy as a principle of the constitutional system ^{[3, pp. 367-368]} and as the main element of the constitutional system of a democratic state ^{[4, pp. 466-468]} Indeed, democracy acts as the main and system-forming constitutional principle enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, article 3 of which explicitly states that multinational The people of Russia are the bearer of sovereignty and the only source of power in the country, exercising it both directly (through the institutions of free elections and referendums) and indirectly (through the activities of state authorities and the activities of local governments, as well as their officials).

Thirdly, a number of authors consider democracy to be a type of rights that may belong to collective entities. ^{[5, pp. 37-50]} However, this point of view is debatable and needs to be clarified. Indeed, the process of realizing the sovereign and unconditional right of the people to exercise their power, enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, requires the participation of the people in this process both in the form of a set of individuals and their associations. This is due to the fact that the complexity of the mechanism of public power in Russia (unlike, say, democratic states of the Ancient world) requires citizens of the country to combine efforts, including volitional, material, temporary, etc. resources (by creating certain types of associations of people, for example, political parties and movements, trade unions, etc. to protect their rights and freedoms). But this does not mean at all that democracy can be exercised exclusively by collective subjects. And any restriction on the right of an individual citizen to participate in the implementation of direct and indirect forms of democracy is a direct violation of the constitutional principle of democracy enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Fourth, a number of authors attempt to define democracy as a set of institutions of direct and indirect democracy. As S. A. Avakian rightly notes: "The problems of democracy never lose their relevance for a number of reasons: the constitution speaks about the ownership of power to the people, therefore it is necessary to find out its essence and ways of implementation; to what extent is democracy really implemented by the people or they are only given the opportunity to form bodies to which the powers of public authority are given; how effectively democracy as a practice and as a scientific category." ^{[6, p. 4]} Such a definition, despite its apparent vagueness and uncertainty, quite accurately characterizes democracy as a complex and dialectically developing social phenomenon and process in which both individual citizens of the country and their collective associations participate, including the apparatus of public power itself (bodies state authorities and local self-government, as well as their officials).

Fifthly, a number of authors, exploring the concept of "democracy", contrast it with the institutions of public power in general. ^{[7, pp. 13-27; 8, pp. 3-6]} At the same time, the people and public authorities are correlated as a source of power and a form of indirect democracy. However, an analysis of the dynamics of the development of the current legislation of the Russian Federation allows us to note that, despite the prohibition of usurpation of power and misappropriation of authority enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, public authorities in practice become increasingly uncontrollable and unaccountable to the population in their organization and activities. This can be seen, for example, in the emasculation of real power among citizens of the Russian Federation in terms of exercising control over public authorities, in particular, through the organization and functioning of the institute of public control in Russia, which was studied in more detail in our early works. ^{[9; 10, pp. 4-10]}

In this regard, it seems that democracy as a constitutional principle in the Russian Federation has a number of features, among which the following can be distinguished: 1) belonging to the people of supreme sovereignty, that is, its independence in foreign affairs and supremacy in all internal affairs in the state and society; 2) the possibility of unlimited exercise by the people of their powers within the country directly through a number of state-legal and public institutions, which include, in particular, free elections, as well as a referendum (at the same time, this list of forms of direct democracy is not exhaustive, it can be changed and supplemented by the people at their discretion); 3) the right of the people to delegate their powers to individual public authorities and their officials; 4) the right and opportunity of the people to exercise control over the execution of delegated powers by public authorities and their officials to achieve the common good and satisfy common interests in order to ensure the preservation and development of Russian society and the state; 5) the right of the people to revoke delegated powers at any time if they are carried out in the interests and for purposes contrary to the achievement of the common good and satisfaction of common interests, or hindering the preservation and development of Russian society and the state.

Thus, we believe that democracy as a constitutional principle in Russia should be understood as the historically established and enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation belonging to the multinational people of Russia of unlimited sovereignty and supreme power, which they can exercise in order to achieve the common good and satisfy common interests in order to ensure the preservation and development of Russian society and the state both directly and and indirectly.

It seems that the mechanism for ensuring the implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy includes the following elements:

Firstly, the consolidation of the constitutional principle of democracy, as well as its main forms (direct and indirect), in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. This is not only about the above-mentioned article 3 of the Constitution of the country, but a number of others. For example, according to part 2 of Article 130 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, local self-government is carried out by citizens through a referendum, elections, other forms of direct expression of will, through elected and other local self-government bodies. ^[5]

Secondly, the details of the forms and methods of democracy in the current legislation of the Russian Federation (federal, regional and municipal). In particular, the forms of direct expression of will mentioned in Part 2 of Article 130 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation are detailed in Federal Law No. 131-FZ dated 06.10.2003 "On General Principles of Organization of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation", and the forms of direct and indirect democracy at the regional level are detailed, for example, in Federal Law No. 414 dated 12/21/2021-Federal Law "On the general principles of the organization of public power in the subjects of the Russian Federation".

Thirdly, the system of legal guarantees enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as detailed in the current legislation, allowing for the full implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy at the federal, regional and local levels.

This system of legal guarantees includes:

a) The consolidation in the Constitution of the country and the current legislation of the prohibition under threat of punishment (up to criminal liability) for the seizure of power belonging to the people, the misappropriation of powers, their retention, implementation for purposes contrary to the development of society and the state.

b) The existence of a complex system of public authorities, the main objectives of which are to ensure the implementation of constitutional principles, including the principle of democracy, as well as their legal protection and protection. Among such public authorities are the Institute of the President of the Russian Federation (acting as a guarantor of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of its citizens), constitutional justice bodies (federal level), and other law enforcement agencies in the Russian Federation.

c) A set of civil society institutions, through which both the implementation of certain forms of democracy is carried out, and compliance with the current legislation of the country, as well as the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of citizens are ensured during this implementation. Of particular interest among these civil society institutions is the institute of public control, which is enshrined in a number of federal laws, in particular, in Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 07/21/2014 "On the Basics of Public Control in the Russian Federation".

Thus, the institutions of civil society are the most important elements in the mechanism for ensuring the implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy.

Among these institutions of civil society, it is necessary to single out trade unions, which in Russia are the oldest institutions of civil society, along with political parties.

Trade unions in the Russian Federation are represented by both primary trade union organizations and their associations (all-Russian trade unions, all-Russian unions (associations) of trade unions, interregional trade unions, interregional unions (associations) of trade unions, territorial organizations of trade unions, territorial unions (associations) of trade unions).

Primary trade union organizations, which are the main unit of trade unions in the Russian Federation, on the basis of Article 3 of Federal Law No. 10-FZ of 12.01.1996 (as amended on 12/21/2021) "On Trade Unions, their rights and Guarantees of activity" are voluntary associations of trade union members working, as a rule, in the same organization, regardless of ownership forms and subordination, either in a branch, representative office or other separate structural subdivision of the organization, or with an employer - an individual entrepreneur acting on the basis of the charter of an all-Russian or interregional trade union or on the basis of the charter of the primary trade union organization adopted in accordance with the charter of the relevant trade union.

How can trade unions participate both directly in the implementation of forms of direct and indirect democracy in Russia, and in the organization and functioning of the mechanism for ensuring the implementation of this constitutional principle?

Trade unions have historically been established to represent and protect workers' rights in labor relations. However, this goal is not the only one in the activities of trade unions. They have a broad system of rights in terms of defending the socio-economic interests of trade union members both before employers (and their associations) and in state and local government bodies, including law enforcement agencies. Unlike the period of the USSR's existence, which lasted from 1922 to 1991, trade unions in the Russian Federation have a smaller set of rights and powers. So, in Soviet times, the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, in fact, had the powers of the union ministry, crowning the system of trade union organizations in the USSR. But at the same time, trade union organizations had great powers, especially in terms of monitoring compliance with labor legislation, actively participating in its development and improvement.

Currently, the number of forms and methods of trade union participation in the implementation of forms of direct and indirect democracy, as well as in the mechanism for ensuring the implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy, is seriously limited by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, current labor legislation, Federal Law No. 10-FZ of 12.01.1996 "On Trade Unions, their Rights and Guarantees of Activity."

However, among such forms of participation can be distinguished, in particular: the right of trade unions, enshrined in article 15 of the above-mentioned Federal Law, to participate in elections of state authorities and local self-government bodies in accordance with federal legislation and the legislation of the subjects of the Russian Federation, to participate in the management of state social insurance funds, employment, medical insurance, pension and other funds, formed at the expense of insurance premiums, as well as the right to exercise trade union control over the use of funds from these funds; the right of trade unions, enshrined in article 19 of the above-mentioned Federal Law, to exercise trade union control over compliance with labor legislation.

The methods of trade union participation in the implementation of forms of direct and indirect democracy, as well as in the mechanism for ensuring the implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy, can be classified into economic (for example, the organization of a strike movement in order to ensure respect for workers' labor rights); organizational and administrative (including, in particular, the nomination of trade union activists in elections to certain public authorities authorities, as well as members of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, public chambers of the subjects of the Russian Federation, public chambers and councils under municipal authorities); socio-psychological (by providing communications with public authorities and their officials in order to ensure the implementation of labor rights and freedoms of employees).

However, the participation of trade unions in the Russian Federation in the implementation of forms of direct and indirect democracy, as well as in the mechanism for ensuring the implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy, is associated with numerous problems, which are caused, according to a number of authors, on the one hand, by common problems of the implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy in the Russian Federation, ^{[11, pp. 201-203]} and with On the other hand, there is a significant decrease in the role of trade unions as civil society institutions in the implementation of forms of democracy in the country. ^{[12, pp. 81-86]} At the same time, the decrease in the role and influence of trade unions in Russia and in the world have common reasons, the main of which is a decrease in the number of workers who are in trade unions. Since the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the number of trade union members in European countries has decreased by more than 2.2 times, in the USA – by 2.3 times. ^{[13, p. 10]}

Another important reason for the weakening of the role of trade unions in Russia and their place in the mechanism of ensuring the constitutional principle of democracy is the general reluctance of public authorities to give trade unions new real powers, which undermines the legitimacy of public authorities in the eyes of workers. As N. M. Chepurnova rightly notes in this regard: "The restoration of the legitimacy of state power is possible through its effectiveness, based on the constitutionally established goal-setting of its functioning, the ideology of mutual responsibility of the government and the people, the involvement of the people in the system of public administration through mechanisms and feedback procedures of government representatives with the people." ^{[14, p. 61]} And one of the main forms of participation of the people in the system of state and municipal government is the participation of public associations and collectives of citizens both directly in state and municipal government, and in the control of these processes by collective entities for compliance by public authorities and their officials with the current legislation.

Due to the fact that the labor activity of citizens is the main source of their income, the activity of trade unions acts as a priority form of involving the people in the public administration system through mechanisms and procedures for feedback from government representatives with the people.

Among the main problems of trade union participation in the Russian Federation in the implementation of forms of direct and indirect democracy, as well as in the mechanism for ensuring the implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy, the following can be identified:

1) The Constitution of the Russian Federation has directly fixed an insufficient number of forms of direct (free elections and referendums) and indirect (activities of public authorities and their officials) democracy. At the same time, at the regional and local levels, the number of forms of democracy is greater, but, firstly, the charters and constitutions of the subjects of the Russian Federation do not contain a universal approach to listing these forms, which undermines the principle of a single legal space in the country, and, secondly, there is a tendency to reduce the number of additional forms of democracy at the regional level and at the local level, as the deficit of regional and municipal budgets increases, from which financing is provided for the implementation of these forms of democracy (for example, holding a gathering of citizens).

2) Russian legislation makes little use of international and foreign experience in the development of forms of direct and indirect democracy (democracy). Thus, according to V. V. Komarova, the main forms of direct democracy include a referendum, a people's law-making initiative, a people's veto (an abrogative referendum), the institution of general assemblies (gatherings) of citizens at their place of residence, direct expression of the will of citizens in elections, recall of deputies and elected officials, dissolution of elected authorities. ^{[15, p. 7]} In addition, the world practice of the functioning of forms of direct democracy is known for such forms as an imperative mandate, proactive budgeting, direct targeting of taxes and many others. However, not all of them have been consolidated in the current legislation of the Russian Federation.

3) A major problem of the participation of trade unions in the mechanism of implementation of forms of direct and indirect democracy is the presence of a number of contradictions in the current legislation. Thus, the above-mentioned Federal Law No. 10-FZ dated 12.01.1996 "On Trade Unions, their rights and guarantees of activity" secured the right of trade unions to participate in elections, although making a reference rule regarding the fact that the procedure for such participation will be fixed in the relevant electoral legislation. An analysis of the norms of a number of federal constitutional and federal laws, in particular, Federal Law No. 19-FZ of 10.01.2003 "On Presidential Elections of the Russian Federation", as well as Federal Law No. 67-FZ of 12.06.2002 "On Basic Guarantees of electoral rights and the right to participate in a referendum of citizens of the Russian Federation", showed that they Trade unions are not included among the subjects entitled, for example, to nominate candidates for the positions of President of the Russian Federation, heads of regional executive authorities (heads of regions), deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, deputies of regional legislative (representative) authorities, heads of municipalities, deputies of municipal representative authorities. In this regard, it seems that this right of trade unions to participate in the implementation of this form of direct democracy, enshrined in Article 15 of Federal Law No. 10-FZ of 12.01.1996 "On Trade Unions, their rights and guarantees of activity", is fictitious. Nevertheless, as noted by a number of authors, trade unions are actively involved in the processes of monitoring election processes at all levels. For example, the Union of Trade Union Organizations in the Republic of Karelia has concluded a corresponding agreement with the Public Chamber and the Regional Public Headquarters for Monitoring the presidential elections of the Russian Federation. ^[18] This agreement provides an opportunity for trade union activists to participate in public monitoring of the presidential elections of the Russian Federation.

4) An important problem that complicates the participation of trade unions in the mechanism for ensuring the implementation of forms of direct and indirect democracy is the almost complete absence of mentioning trade unions as subjects involved in the implementation of forms of direct and indirect democracy at the municipal level. This applies both to the above-mentioned federal laws dated 06.10.2003 No. 131-FZ "On General Principles of Organization of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation", dated 12/21/2021 No. 414-FZ "On General Principles of Organization of Public Power in the Subjects of the Russian Federation", and numerous regional charters, and constitutions, as well as charters of municipalities.

5) As the analysis of the Federal Constitutional Law No. 5-FKZ dated 06/28/2004 "On the Referendum of the Russian Federation" shows, trade unions are completely excluded from the mechanism of implementation of such an important form of direct democracy as a referendum (both at the federal, regional and municipal levels). As shown by a sociological survey of the heads of primary trade union organizations conducted in 2023, more than 80% of them support the need to amend the legislation on referendums and elections (in terms of granting trade unions the right to participate in the mechanism for the implementation of referendums and elections as the most important forms of direct democracy). ^{[16, pp. 102-103]}

6) For most forms of direct and indirect democracy, an exhaustive list of collective entities that can participate in their implementation is not clear. The same applies, for example, to such an important form of democracy, which is at the same time the most important legal guarantee of the realization of democracy in the country, as the institution of public control. As we have already proved in previous studies, ^{[10, pp. 4-10]} trade unions are indeed the most important type of subjects of public control, but their full-fledged activity in such a status requires making a system of serious changes and additions to the current legislation in terms of expanding the number of relevant powers of trade unions in terms of carrying out certain forms of public control measures. Considering that one of the most important forms of ensuring the constitutional principles of democracy and the participation of Russian citizens in the management of state affairs is the institution of public control, it is impossible not to note the enormous potential of trade union organizations as a subject of public control. Thus, according to the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (hereinafter also – FNPR), trade union organizations in 2020-2023 submitted more than 2.4 million appeals to state and local government bodies (in defense of labor rights and interests of employees). ^{[16, p. 80]} In particular, within the framework of the functioning of trade union organizations only in JSC "Russian Railways" (hereinafter also – JSC "Russian Railways") and SUE "Moscow Metro" have almost 7 thousand public inspectors, who conducted almost 250 thousand public inspections only in 2022 and only as part of the work of JSC "Russian Railways", revealing 365.2 thousand violations, and more than 50 thousand proposals for elimination were sent to employers violations. ^[17]

Conclusion.

In order to resolve the above-mentioned problems of trade union participation in the Russian Federation in the implementation of forms of direct and indirect democracy, as well as in the mechanism for ensuring the implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy, it is necessary to develop and justify a system of proposals and recommendations to enhance the role of trade unions in ensuring the implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy in Russia, paying special attention to the processes of optimization and improvement of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the current legislation regulating the legal status and activities of trade unions in the country.

Among these suggestions and recommendations are the following:

First, it is necessary to consolidate in the Constitution of the Russian Federation a broader list of forms of democracy that can be implemented at the federal, regional and municipal levels, for example, by including in this list the institute of public control in Russia. In turn, the current federal and regional legislation, as well as legal acts of local governments, should detail the forms of direct and indirect democracy mentioned in the Constitution of the country, describing in detail the methods of their implementation. In the event that the Constitution of Russia leaves this list open, indicating that these forms and methods can be supplemented at the level of federal and regional legislation, as well as legal acts of local self-government, then the subjects of the Russian Federation and municipalities should carry out this work using the organizational and legal support of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation in order to to fully implement the principle of a single legal space in Russia.

Secondly, it is necessary to study the positive experience of the constitutional and legislative consolidation and implementation of forms and methods of direct and indirect democracy abroad. The solution of this task should be entrusted to the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (with the involvement of the Public Chamber of Russia in this process).

Thirdly, the powers of collective entities (in particular, trade unions) should be expanded in terms of their participation in the implementation of forms of direct and indirect democracy, as well as in the mechanism for ensuring the implementation of these forms of democracy. For example, trade unions should be included in the list of subjects of legislative (law-making) initiatives at the federal, regional and municipal levels when preparing draft laws and other regulatory legal acts (at least in the field of labor legislation).

Fourth, it is necessary to eliminate contradictions and inconsistencies in the current legislation regarding the participation of trade unions in the implementation of certain forms of democracy in the Russian Federation. For example, in order to implement the provisions provided for in Article 15 of Federal Law No. 10-FZ of 12.01.1996 "On Trade Unions, their Rights and Guarantees of Activity" concerning the right of trade unions to participate in elections of state authorities and local self-government bodies in accordance with federal legislation and the legislation of the subjects of the Russian Federation, appropriate changes should be made and amendments to the legislation on elections and referendums concerning the inclusion of trade unions in the list of subjects entitled to nominate candidates for elective positions in state and local government bodies, as well as in the list of subjects that can initiate federal, regional and local referendums.

Fifthly, trade unions should be explicitly consolidated among the subjects of public control (as the most important form of democracy and a legal and institutional guarantee of the implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy in the Russian Federation as a whole) by making appropriate amendments and additions to federal laws No. 212-FZ dated 07/21/2014 "On the Foundations of Public Control in the Russian Federation", dated 04.04.2005 No. 32-FZ "On the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation", dated 06/10/2008 No. 76-FZ "On Public control over ensuring human rights in places of forced detention and on assistance to persons in places of forced detention".

This will, on the one hand, enhance the role of trade unions in the mechanism for ensuring the implementation of the constitutional principle of democracy, and on the other hand, strengthen trade unions as the most important institution of civil society in the country, standing guard over labor rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of citizens.