December 12 marks the 25th anniversary of the Russian Constitution.
On December 12, 1993, Russia held a nationwide constitutional referendum, in which 58.4% voted in favor of the document. Russia's constitution came into force on December 25, 1993.
For the first 12 years after its inception, December 12 remained an official holiday. Beginning January 1, 2005, it became a working day under amendments to the national Labor Code (Federal Law of December 29, 2004), passed by the State Duma. In July 2005, Russian Constitution Day was listed among other memorable dates.
In his article published by the Zakon magazine, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev noted inviolability of values fixed in the Constitution. "Our devotion to the founding principles of the Constitution gives us grounds to believe that Russia will never again become an arena of violent civilian conflicts, mass repressions, death and humiliation of millions of people, totalitarianism and cruel social experiments."
Russia's Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko told Rossiyskaya Gazeta that the 1993 constitutional referendum paved the way for social accord.
"The country was trudging through a severe political crisis back then, so the adoption of a constitution - which clarified development goals and principles of state building-eased society’s tensions," the senate speaker said.
"Everyone dreamed of Russia once again becoming a strong, powerful and respected nation, where human rights and freedoms are protected, where law rules and the government reports to the people, where defense capabilities and national security are guaranteed. Everyone wanted our country to have respect and credibility worldwide, pursue an independent foreign policy and so on. And surely, everybody wanted Russia to be a social welfare state," the Federation Council chairperson noted. In her view, the Constitution "provides clear and understandable responses" to society’s demands.
"As 25 years have passed, we can say with a high degree of confidence that the Constitution is an expertly composed document and its provisions do work. I don’t see any serious reason to review them in any foreseeable future," she noted.
"I think a huge positive aspect is that it enshrines the federal structure of our country. It is a matter of concept because we are a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation," TASS cited the senate speaker as saying.
First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov, speaking with Vestnik Kavkaza, stressed importance of the Constitution in the formation of modern Russian society. "We remember the conditions in which it was accepted after the 1993 crisis between the parliament and the president - and, nevertheless, we have been living with it for 25 years, the country and civil society institutions have been developing all this time. It may not be perfect, but there is no doubt that it played a positive role in shaping our modern society. The country has united around a national leader, and we are moving forward," he emphasized.
"It is possible that in time there will be changes in the Constitution, but in any case they will not be cardinal, because Russia is a democratic state, which is inherent in our Constitution by three branches of government - executive, legislative and judicial. It is clear that they had to develop it very quickly in those conditions, perhaps, there were some defects left, but its contribution to the development of Russia as a state and society is still huge," Vladimir Dzhabarov said.
Director of the Institute of Political Studies Sergei Markov, agreed with Dzhabarov. "Russia has a very good Constitution, made on the basis of vast experience by magnificent constitutionalist professionals. I would mention Alekseev, who unfortunately passed away; Oleg Rumyantsev, a former member of the Constitutional Commission, and Shahrai, who joined the work already after Yeltsin took the reins of power. These are very good specialists who have done a great job and built the Constitution on the basis of the best world experience," he explained.
"This is the Constitution of a modern social democratic state, which sets Russia's strategic guidelines. It ensures the separation of powers. It provides human rights and freedoms and the possibility of developing civil society and power," Sergey Markov concluded, also admitting that certain improvements to certain articles of the Constitution are possible in future.
