The Constitution Of Russia: Who Were Its Authors?

The Constitution of the Russian Federation was drafted by the 1993 Constitutional Conference, which was attended by over 800 participants. It was then approved by the President of the Russian Federation and adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993. The Constitution came into force on 25 December 1993, at the moment of its official publication, and abolished the Soviet system of government. The 1993 Constitution is one of the longest-standing constitutions in Russian history, second only to the Soviet Union's 1936 Constitution, which was in effect until 1977.

Explore related products

Defending the Constitution: Alan Dershowitz's Senate Argument Against Impeachment

$16.99 $16.99

Pro(se)letariets: The Writing of the Trans-Atlantic Worker Writer Federation (Working and Writing for Change)

$7.4 $15.95

Which Art In Hope (Spooner Federation Saga Book 1)

$0.99 $12.99

The Love of a Writer (Chinese Edition)

$18.99

Yeltsin: A Life

$26.58 $28.99

The Struggle for Russia

$18.09 $25

The 1993 Constitutional Conference

The conference included representatives from five groups: youth and other civil society organizations, mass movements and religious denominations, producers and entrepreneurs, public and state wards, and the Commission's constitutional arbitration Constitutional Council. Over 800 participants, including different lawyers, worked together to produce a new draft constitution. This draft was then submitted to a referendum by the President of the Russian Federation on December 12, 1993, and became the current Constitution of the Russian Federation following a nationwide vote.

Amendments and revisions

The Constitution of the Russian Federation was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993 and came into force on 25 December 1993. The latest significant reform occurred in 2020, with extensive amendments that altered various sections, including presidential terms, social policies, and the role of Russian law over international ones.

The procedure for amending the Constitution of the Russian Federation is outlined in Chapter Nine. Proposals for amendments and revisions can be submitted by the President of the Russian Federation, the Council of Federation, the State Duma, the Government of the Russian Federation, legislative bodies of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and by groups consisting of no less than one-fifth of the members of the Council of Federation or of the deputies of the State Duma. An update is carried out in the form of a special act: a law of the Russian Federation on amendments to the Constitution, which is adopted by the parliament similarly to the federal constitutional law. This then requires ratification by the legislative bodies of the constituent entities of the Federation.

The 2020 amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation were prepared by a commission appointed by President Putin. They were then approved by nationwide voting on 1 July 2020 and came into effect on 4 July. A total of 41 articles were rewritten, and five more were added. The amendments focused on how power is distributed between the branches of government, with a notable shift towards a united system of government. The lower chamber, the State Duma, acquired the power to approve the Prime Minister and all members of the Government (except for the Security Ministers, who are appointed by the President). The Constitutional Court was also granted the power to assess whether a decision of an international court contradicts the Russian Constitution.

The 2020 amendments also included social and economic directives. For example, the Constitution was supplemented by articles imposing a distinct government attitude towards public health, science, culture, voluntary work, and young people. Additionally, the minimum wage was required to be above the poverty line, and an annual increase in pension payments was guaranteed.

Other notable amendments include the abolition of the High Court of Arbitration in 2014, the adjustment of prosecutor assignments, and the ability of the president to choose up to 10% (17 members) of the Federation Council.

Judicial branch

The Russian Constitution provides for a strong and independent judiciary, with the Constitution of Russia, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the 1996 Federal Constitutional Law on the Judicial System of the Russian Federation as its primary regulators. The judicial branch is independent of the legislative and executive branches, and the Constitution provides for judicial immunity and lifetime appointments for justices. It also affirms that judges need only submit to the Constitution and federal law, with the supremacy of the courts to administer justice.

The judiciary interprets and applies Russian law, with a hierarchical structure. The Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court are at the apex, with the district courts acting as the primary criminal trial courts and the regional courts as the primary appellate courts. The Constitutional Court of Russia is responsible for cases concerning conformity with the Constitution and judicial disputes between federal bodies, between a federal body and a member of the Federation, and between members of the Federation. It also practices constitutional review to decide whether federal laws, presidential decrees, and directives comply with the federal Constitution. The court is composed of 11 judges, with a quorum of 8, and is presided over by the President of the Court.

The judiciary is governed by the All-Russian Congress of Judges and its Council of Judges, with management aided by the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court, the Higher Qualification Board of Judges, the Ministry of Justice, and the various courts' presidents. The Prosecutor General is the most powerful component of the Russian judicial system, and both they and their office are independent of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of power.

The 2020 amendments to the Constitution significantly diminished the independence of the courts, broadening the President's authority over the judiciary. The President gained the right to propose the removal of judges, nominate leadership throughout the courts, appoint the Prosecutor General and their deputies, and request constitutional reviews of draft legislation. The amendments also reduced the number of judges on the Constitutional Court from 19 to 11 and removed language mandating that cases be decided "self-sufficiently and independently".

Explore related products

Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and Putin: Political Leadership in Russia's Transition (Carnegie Endowment Series)

$22.96

Boris Yeltsin: From Bolshevik to Democrat

$11.2 $20

Russia Under Yeltsin and Putin: Neo-Liberal Autocracy (Transnational Institute Series)

$37

The end of the USSR, the Yeltsin era and the rise of Vladimir Putin: The link between restoring stability and (re)establishing autocratic rule

$8.5

Gorbachev and Yeltsin as Leaders (Russian Edition)

$35.46 $50

Yeltsin's Russia and the West (Humanistic Perspectives on International Relations)

$69.42 $99

Presidential powers

The Constitution of the Russian Federation was approved by the President of the Russian Federation and adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993, coming into force on 25 December 1993. It replaced the 1978 constitution, which had been in place since the Soviet era. The 1993 Constitution is one of the longest-standing constitutions in Russian history, second only to the Soviet Union’s 1936 Constitution.

The Russian Federation Constitution enumerates a "strong presidency". The President of the Russian Federation is the head of state and is endowed with a variety of powers, including:

• The power to dissolve the State Duma (the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia)
• The ability to call elections to the chambers of the State Duma
• The right to introduce draft laws in the State Duma
• The authority to sign and publish federal laws
• The responsibility to present annual messages to the Federal Assembly on the situation in the country and on basic directions of internal and external policies
• The power to suspend acts by organs of executive power that contravene the Constitution, federal laws, international obligations, or human and civil rights and liberties
• The role of supervising the conduct of foreign policy, conducting negotiations, and signing international treaties
• The position of Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
• The ability to call a referendum under procedures established by federal constitutional law

The President of the Russian Federation is also the guarantor of the Constitution and of human and civil rights and freedoms. The President is responsible for taking measures to protect the sovereignty, independence, and state integrity of the Russian Federation, as well as ensuring the concerted functioning and interaction of all bodies of state power.

The President is elected for a term of four years by the citizens of the Russian Federation through a general, equal, and direct vote by secret ballot. The President possesses immunity and enjoys certain privileges, such as the right to propose amendments to the Constitution.

Democratic federal rule-of-law state

The Constitution of the Russian Federation was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993 and enacted on 25 December 1993. The latest significant reform occurred in 2020, marked by extensive amendments that altered various sections, including presidential terms, social policies, and the role of Russian law over international laws. The 1993 Constitution is one of the longest-standing constitutions in Russian history, second only to the Soviet Union's 1936 Constitution.

The Russian Federation is a democratic federal rule-of-law state with a republican form of government. The Constitution guarantees human rights and liberties, civil peace, and accord, preserving the historic unity of the state. It establishes the sovereignty of the Russian Federation over its entire territory, with supremacy given to the Constitution and federal laws. The Russian Federation consists of republics, territories, regions, federal cities, an autonomous region, and autonomous areas, all equal subjects of the Federation.

The Constitution provides for a strong presidency, with the President as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the power to dissolve the State Duma. The legislature is the Federal Assembly, consisting of two chambers: the State Duma (lower house) and the Federation Council (upper house). The State Duma is more significant, as it carries the main responsibility for passing federal laws. The Constitution enumerates a strong and independent judicial branch, providing for judicial immunity, lifetime appointments, and the supremacy of courts to administer justice.

Citizens of the Russian Federation have equal rights and liberties on its territory and bear equal duties, as stipulated by the Constitution. They have the right to freedom of conscience, religious worship, thought, and speech. The Constitution also guarantees freedom of movement within the Federation and the right to freely return to the Russian Federation. It ensures social rights, such as establishing a minimum wage, providing state support for families, and developing a system of social services and government pensions.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation was drafted by the 1993 Constitutional Conference, with over 800 participants, and approved by the President of the Russian Federation. Proposals for amendments can be submitted by the President, the Council of Federation, the State Duma, legislative bodies of constituent entities, and groups consisting of at least one-fifth of the members of the Council of Federation or deputies of the State Duma.

Frequently asked questions