Fundamental changes in the life of the country at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, which led to the collapse of the USSR, the secession of many republics and the formation of a new state system, required the development and approval of a new constitution of the Russian Federation.
Development of a new constitution of the Russian Federation
At the I Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR, which took place in 1990, a Constitutional Commission was formed. For four months of work, the committee prepared and published the first edition of the new Constitution.
The constituent laws established in ancient Greek policies, as a rule, by special legislators, of which the laws of Cleisthenes and Solon in Athens are the most famous, are considered prototypes of modern constitutions.
There were several projects themselves, they were partially adopted, finalized and submitted for consideration by the deputies, and only in April 1992, at the VI Congress of People's Deputies of Russia, the general concept of constitutional reform and the main points of the edition of the Constitutional Commission were approved. The practice of wide discussion had a positive effect on the promotion of the project, however, the people's representatives could not find agreement on the issue of delimiting powers between the executive and legislative bodies. Therefore, none of the subsequent congresses succeeded in adopting a new constitution.
Over the course of several years, together with the draft of the Constitutional Commission, other alternative drafts of the Constitution of the Federation were developed, which were also submitted for consideration by the deputies and discussed with the public. The project approved by the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation was made public in May 1993.
A referendum is a guarantor of high legitimacy
In June 1993, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, a Constitutional Conference was convened, at which the preparatory process of work on the draft of the new Constitution of Russia was completed. The forum brought together about 250 people from among the delegates from the highest state authorities and representatives of the public. The participants discussed the draft Constitution of the Russian Federation, which was introduced by the President, the draft of the Constitutional Commission of the Congress of People's Deputies, as well as other proposals. A month later, the commission ceased its work, and on July 12, 1993, a compromise option was approved. The confrontation between the executive and legislative branches in August - September 1993 exacerbated the political crisis in the government. This development of the situation led to the fact that the draft constitution was submitted by the President to a national referendum. As a result of the referendum, 58.4% voted for the adoption of the draft, which amounted to about 55% of the total number of registered voters.
The Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993 entered into force on the day of its publication in the "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" - December 25, 1993.
On December 12, 1993, the first Constitution in the history of Russia was adopted, the fate of which was decided at a national referendum, which determines the high level of its legitimacy.
