Constitution Day of the Russian Federation: about the Basic Law and the holiday in its honor

December 12 is Constitution Day of the Russian Federation. What kind of date is this and how it is celebrated is in the Kommersant certificate.

When is it celebrated?

Constitution Day of the Russian Federation is celebrated annually on December 12. The national holiday was established by decree of the first Russian President Boris Yeltsin on September 19, 1994. Until 2004 inclusive, it was a non-working day.

From January 1, 2005, according to amendments to Art. 112 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2004, this day again became a working day. On July 21, 2005, the Constitution Day of the Russian Federation was included in the list of memorable dates in Russia.

On the eve of the holiday, the President of the Russian Federation presents the highest state awards and prizes in the Kremlin. Various festive and cultural events are held throughout the country, in particular law lessons, thematic presentations and exhibitions in educational and cultural institutions, holiday concerts, etc. Anniversaries of the Basic Law are celebrated more widely. In 2013, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, an amnesty was declared.

When was the Constitution adopted

The referendum on the adoption of the new Constitution was held on December 12, 1993. 58 million 187 thousand 755 Russians took part in it, or 54.8% of registered voters. 32 million 937 thousand 630 voters (58.4%) voted for the adoption of the Constitution. The Constitution officially came into force on December 25, 1993, the day it was published.

1993 Constitution

The Constitution consists of a preamble, 2 sections, 9 chapters, 137 articles and 9 paragraphs of transitional and final provisions. According to Art. 134, changes to its text can be proposed by the president, members of the chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the government, legislative bodies of the constituent entities of the federation, as well as a group of senators or deputies numbering at least one fifth of the members of the upper or lower house of parliament. Amendments to the Basic Law can be made by decree of the head of state, federal constitutional law or law on amendment to the Constitution.

How the Russian Constitution was ruled

The first amendments were made on January 9, 1996 by decree of Boris Yeltsin – the Ingush Republic and the Republic of North Ossetia were renamed the Republic of Ingushetia and the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, respectively. In 1996, 2001 and 2003, the president clarified the names of the regions three more times by decrees. The changes affected Kalmykia, Chuvashia and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. Amendments related to the consolidation of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation were introduced five times on the basis of federal constitutional laws (FKZ) – in 2005, twice in 2007 and twice in 2008. The Perm, Kamchatka and Transbaikal territories appeared in the document, six districts and three regions were excluded.

On December 30, 2008, amendments proposed by President Dmitry Medvedev were introduced into the text of the Constitution to increase the term of office of the head of state from four to six years, and the term of office of the State Duma from four to five years. Previously, 392 State Duma deputies voted for their adoption, 57 were against (all from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation). In the Federation Council, 144 senators supported the changes, only 1 was against. Less than two months passed from the moment the bill was submitted to the State Duma until it was signed by the president.

At the same time, the Federal Law “On the control powers of the State Duma in relation to the government of the Russian Federation” was adopted. The document introduced two provisions into the Basic Law obliging the government to report annually to the State Duma on its work. The amendments were supported by 449 State Duma deputies (all voted) and 142 senators (1 was against).

On February 5, 2014, amendments were made to merge the Supreme Court and the Supreme Arbitration Court. The powers of the Russian President regarding personnel appointments in the prosecutor’s office were also expanded. On March 21 of the same year, the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol were included in the country. On July 21, the President of Russia received the right to send his representatives to the Federation Council. Their number should not exceed 10% of the number of senators representing regional authorities.

On March 27, 2019, the Kemerovo region received its second official name – Kuzbass.

In 2020, the Constitution was amended amendmentsthe most discussed of which was the so-called nullification of Vladimir Putin’s presidential terms, which gave him the opportunity to be re-elected for two more terms: in 2024 and 2030.