On December 12, 2013, the chief state document of our country, the Сonstitution of the Russian Federation, turns twenty years old.
The Constitution of the Russian Federation has survived two political crises that occurred during the decade of the 90’s.
The current Constitution was preceded by the first constitution of the RSFSR, which was adopted on the 10th of July, 1918 in connection with the formation of that state. In the process of organizing the Soviet political establishment in accordance with the principle “All power to the Soviets,” power was centralized in the upper organs of the Soviet government. Thus, during the first convocation of its second session, the USSR Central Executive Committee drafted the Constitution of the USSR. The Second Congress of Soviets approved the final form of the Soviet Constitution on January 31, 1924.
This Constitution was replaced by the 1936 Constitution, also known as Stalin’s Constitution. The eighth extraordinary gathering of the Congress of Soviets approved this Constitution on December 5th, 1936.
The 1977 Constitution (connected with the legacy of Leonid Brezhnev), was approved during the extraordinary seventh session of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union’s ninth convocation, October 7, 1977. This constitution retained the existing constitutional order, but the difference was that it specifically enumerated the powers of the Presidium of the USSR’s Supreme Soviet. This Constitution was operational until the collapse of the USSR.
The current constitution was adopted after a referendum on December 12, 1993. This referendum was held during the difficult transition period during the early 90’s and was intended to stabilize the new government and economic structures by investing more power in the president. The referendum was held simultaneously with elections to the legislature, which had been dissolved. 54.8 percent of registered voters took part in the election, of which 58.4 percent voted in favor of the new Constitution.
The Russian Constitution is the fundamental low of the state, the nucleus of the entire legal system of the country, which defines the meaning, content, and application of laws. It emphasizes significance of citizens’ rights and freedoms as well as the significance of the executive and legislative branches of power. In it are fixed the foundations of public order and territorial governance. The constitution does not prescribe, as previously, a centrally-planned economic system based on government property, it equally protects all forms of ownership, and it controls the free development of civil society.
In the USSR until 1977, Constitution Day celebrations were held on December 5th each year. Then the holiday was moved to October 7th (the day the new Constitution of the USSR, the “Constitution of Developed Socialism,” was adopted). From 1994, by the orders of the President of Russia (“On the Constitution Day of the Russian Federation” and “On the non-working day December 12th,”) the date of December 12th was established as a state holiday.
The tradition of Constitution Day celebrations extends into contemporary Russia as well. For about 10 years December 12th was an official day off. However, on December 24, 2004, the State Duma adopted amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which changed Russia’s holiday calendar.
Since January 1st, 2005, the 12th of December is no longer a holiday off. It exists today as a memorial.