Constitutional searches began in Russia long before the adoption of the first Constitution. In our state there was no document with such a name. The Code of Main Laws was created. It collected the main provisions, in a truncated form, fulfilling the role of the Constitution. However, with the development of society, representatives of a liberal society increasingly advocated the introduction of the Main Law of the State.
The history of the adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation
For the first time, the official discussion of the set of Basic Laws took place in 1918, on July 10th. On that day, the Fifth All-Russian Congress of Soviets took place. On July 19, the official Code of Fundamental Laws of the country entered into force after publication. Shortly before this, in March 17, the fall of the monarchy took place. As evidenced by historical references and facts, the newly arrived liberal government, despite the promotion of the introduction of constitutional freedoms, did nothing to put these ideas into practice. After the Bolsheviks came to power, the situation in the country began to change somewhat. At the Second Congress of Peasants and Workersdeputies in 1917, on October 25-26, some decrees were signed. It was from this period, according to a number of authors, that the history of the Russian Constitution began.
1917. How did the history of the Constitution begin? The first decrees of the new Government
The history of the Constitution began with the signing of several provisions that reflected the thoughts and aspirations of the Bolsheviks.
The first was a decree on the formation of a revolutionary workers' and peasants' government. It went down in history as the "Sovnarkom" (Council of People's Commissars). A few months later, the Third Congress takes place. A declaration on the rights of the exploited and working people was signed there. Contemporaries perceived this document as a kind of "small Constitution". This Declaration was of great importance in the development of the society of that time. At the Constituent Assembly in 1918, on January 5, the Bolsheviks proposed the ratification of this document. However, most of the Socialist-Revolutionaries refused to do this, which led to the cessation of the activities of the Assembly. As contemporaries noted, it is this event that is considered a genuine social revolution, while the events of October were perceived as a bourgeois-democratic coup.
Events after the Third Congress of Soviets
The Declaration of Rights, signed at the III Congress, was not a full-fledged Code of Fundamental Laws. The document required major revisions. Active preparation began a little later - in April 1918. Work on the document was completed in the summer of thatthe same year, and on July 10 the country's first Constitution was adopted.
What happened after the formation of the Soviet Union
The history of the Constitution was marked by the adoption in 1924, on January 31, of the Basic Law of the country. However, this was not the last version of the document. In 1936, the so-called "Stalinist Constitution" was adopted. As contemporaries noted, Stalin himself considered this document the most democratic in the world. The history of the Constitution developed further. The next Constitution - "Brezhnev's" - was adopted in 1977. Significant changes to the Basic Law began to be introduced by Gorbachev. In 1985, perestroika was launched in the country, but he did not succeed in completing the transformation. In 1993 there was a crisis of power, the Supreme Soviet was dissolved. Boris Yeltsin, who was President at the time, announced a constitutional reform. Some time later, a referendum was held in December. As a result, on December 12, 1993, a new Constitution of the Russian Federation, which is still in force today, was adopted.
