Constitution Quote by Masha Gessen
“In the 1990s, there was a lot of reform, and there was a lot of forward movement on a lot of fronts in Russia. There was fundamental economic reform. There was a new constitution and an electoral system built from scratch. But the judicial system was probably the most difficult to reform.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Commentary on Russian reforms, early 2000s
Reforming Russia's judiciary proved far harder than economic or constitutional changes.
In simple terms: Judicial reform is toughest.
Key Takeaway
Focus on legal system changes.
Themes
politics
reform
law
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
political
commentary
When to use this quote
- policy making
- legal advocacy
- civil society activism
- comparative politics
Key Concepts
institutional inertia
rule of law
Questions to Reflect On
- How can entrenched legal cultures be shifted?
- What incentives encourage judicial independence?
A Different Perspective
Legal reforms face entrenched interests and cultural resistance.
![“Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then [these?], any man might instantly use what another had invented; so that the inventor had no special advantage from his own invention. The patent system changed this…” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/449/abraham-lincoln-88_adoption_next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in_1828.jpg)
