In the article, the principle of direct action of rights and freedoms is considered as an immanent element of the constitutional and legal status of an individual in conjunction with other constitutional foundations. The essential connection between the general norm on the direct action of the constitution and the special one on the direct action of human rights and freedoms is revealed. The direct effect of the constitution does not exclude the indirect implementation of its norms, including those on the rights and freedoms of the individual, in cases when (in the context of the principle of the unity of rights and obligations) the subjective right corresponds to the positive obligation of the state. In a separate block of the article, based on the analysis of legislation and judicial practice (including decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation), the author demonstrates the content and importance of the principle of direct action of rights and freedoms in a kind of "cross of power", where the horizontal line is the branches, and the vertical line is the levels of public power. The constitutional principle under study assumes that the constitutional norms on personal rights and freedoms determine the meaning and content of the activities of all bodies that are part of the unified system of public authority of Russia: legislative, executive, judicial; federal, regional, local self-government.