Constitutional searches began in Russia long before the adoption of the first Constitution. In our state, there was no document with that name. The Code of Main Laws was created. It summarized the main provisions that truncated the role of the Constitution. However, representatives of liberal society with the development of society increasingly advocated the introduction of the Main Law of the State.
The history of the adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation
The first official discussion of the Code of Basic Laws took place in 1918, on July 10. On that day the Fifth All-Russian Congress of Soviets took place. On July 19, the official Code of Basic Laws of the country entered into force after publication. Shortly before that, in March of the 17th year, the monarchy fell. As historical accounts and facts testify, the newly arrived liberal government, despite the propaganda of introducing constitutional freedoms, did nothing to bring these ideas to life. After the Bolsheviks came to power, the situation in the country begins to change somewhat. At the Second Congress of Peasant and Worker Deputies in 1917, some decrees were signed on October 25-26. It is from this period, according to some authors, the history of the Russian Constitution began.
1917 year. 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 to adopt a decree was the formation of a revolutionary workers 'and peasants' government. It went down in history as the “Council of People's Commissars” (Council of People's Commissars). A few months later, the Third Congress takes place. It signed a declaration on the rights of the exploited and working people. Contemporaries perceived this document as a kind of “small Constitution”. This Declaration was of great importance in the development of society at that time. At the
Constituent Assembly in 1918, January 5, the Bolsheviks proposed ratification of this document. However, most of the Social Revolutionaries refused to do this, which entailed the cessation of the Assembly. As contemporaries noted, this particular event is considered to be a genuine
social revolution, while the events of the October Revolution were perceived as a bourgeois-democratic revolution.
Events after the Third Congress of Soviets
The Declaration of Rights, signed at the Third Congress, was not a full-fledged Code of Basic Laws. The document required serious revisions. Active preparation began a little later - in April 1918. Work on the document was completed in the summer of that year, and on July 10 the first Constitution of the country was adopted.
What happened after the formation of the Soviet Union
The history of the Constitution was marked by the adoption in 1924, January 31, of the country's Basic Law. However, this was far from 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" - was adopted in 1977. Significant changes to the Basic Law began to be introduced by Gorbachev. In 1985, perestroika began in the country, but he failed to complete the transformation. In 1993, a crisis of power occurred, the Supreme Council was dissolved. Boris Yeltsin, who served as President at the time, announced constitutional reform. Some time later, a referendum was held in December. As a result, on December 12, in 1993, a new Constitution of the Russian Federation, still in force , was adopted.