A House Divided: Critical Remarks on the Loyalty Requirement for Eligibility

The article critically examines the characterization of the restriction established by Article 97 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation as a “civic allegiance” requirement. Without disputing this express constitutional restriction, the author questions whether a specific status rule may be transformed into a general category capable of justifying other restrictions on rights. Loyalty, allegiance, and solidarity are shown to provide no verifiable legal criterion and to create a risk of presumed untrustworthiness. It is argued that introducing such categories into the conceptual framework of constitutional law creates the risk of arbitrary restriction of rights and the substitution of legal analysis with an assessment of a citizen’s internal commitment to the state. The author further addresses the issue from the perspective of the principles of legitimate aim in the restriction of rights, constitutional equality, and the systematic interpretation of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.