On the issue of the first russian constitution drafting and adoption (controversial matters)

About the author:

Ivan P. Klimov,

Abstract:

The article is devoted to the issue of the Russian Constitution drafts, their authors, content analysis and their modern interpretation. Special attention is paid to the debatable questions, not currently answered in the modern academic literature, namely, when exactly the first Russian constitution was adopted and whether it is possible to consider the fundamental laws of the Russian Empire of 1906 year to be constitutional? Basing on the research conducted, the author comes to the conclusion, that the researchers believing, that Russian constitutions appeared in 1906, and not in 1918 year, possess the reliable evidence. The Code of fundamental laws of land is the first Russian monarchical imposed constitution. Thus, the constitution of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) adopted in 1918, is the second Russian constitution. It may be considered to be the first only among the constitutions of the soviet socialist type.

References:

1. Refer to: Kukushkin, Iu.S., Chistiakov, O.I. Ocherk istorii sovetskoi konstitutsii [Essay on the History of the Soviet Constitution]. Moscow, 1987. 367 p; Istoriia Vsesoiuznoi Kommunisticheskoi partii (bol'shevikov). Kratkii kurs [History of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). Tutorial]. Moscow, 1953. 351 p. (in Russian).

2. Refer to: Kravets, I.A. Konstitutsionalizm i rossiiskaia gosudarstvennost' v nachale XX veka: Uchebnoe posobie [Constitutionalism and Russian Statehood at the Beginning of the 20 th Century. Textbook]. Moscow; Novosibirsk, 2000. 368 p; Iatskova, A.P. Osnovnye gosudarstvennye zakony Rossiiskoi Imperii 23 aprelia 1906 g. — pervaia rossiiskaia konstitutsiia (diss. kand.) [Basic Laws of the Russian Empire April 23, 1906 — First Russian Constitution (Cand. Diss.). Moscow, 2001. 218 p.; Sentsov, A.A. Development of the Form of Russian Government at the Beginning of the 20 th Century. Pravovedenie — Jurisprudence. 1990. № 8. P. 88-93. (in Russian).

3. Kudinov, O.A. Government Draft Constitutions of the Russian Empire in the 19 th Century. Gosudarstvo i pravo — Government and Law. 2004. № 4. P. 73-79; Osaveliuk, A.M. Constitutional Development in Pre-revolutionary Russia. Konstitutsionnoe i munitsipal'noe pravo — Constitutional and Municipal Law. 2012. № 4. P. 77-80. (in Russian).

4. Krupenskii, N.P. Taina imperatora (Aleksandr I i Fedor Kuz'mich) [Mystery of the Emperor (Alexander I and Fyodr Kuzmich)]. Berlin, 1927. Pp. 79-80; Eidel'man, N.Ia. Connection of the Times. Znanie - sila — Knowledge is Power. 1994. № 3; Sakharov, A.N. Aleksandr I [Alexander I]. Moscow, 1998. 287 p. (in Russian).

5. Extract from the Draft Constitution by N.M. Murav'ev / / Khrestomatiia po istorii SSSR [Readings on the History of the USSR]. Moscow, 1989. P. 344-345. (in Russian).

6. Extract from the Constitutional Draft "Russkaia Pravda" (Russian Truth) by P.I. Pestel / / Orlov, A.S., et al. Khrestomatiia po istorii Rossii s drevneishikh vremen do nashikh dnei [Russian Readings on the History of Russia from Ancient Times to the Present Day]. Moscow, 1999. P. 247-248. (in Russian).

7. Istoriia gosudarstva i prava Rossii [History of Russian Government and Law] / Ed. in chief Chibiriaev, S.A. Moscow, 1998. 528 p. (in Russian).

8. Royally Approved Fundamental Laws / / Rossiiskoe zakonodatel'stvo X—XX vekov. V 9-ti t. T. 9 [Russian Legislation from the 10 th to 20 th Century. In 9 vol. V. 9. Moscow, 1994.

P. 42-52. (in Russian).

9. Refer to: Istoriia otechestvennogo gosudarstva i prava [History of State and Law] / Ed. in chief L.E. Lapteva. Moscow, 2013. 682 p. (in Russian).

10. Istoriia gosudarstva i prava Rossii [History of Russian Government and Law] / Ed. by

I.P. Titov. Moscow, 1999. 544 p. (in Russian).

11. Leontovich, V.V. Istoriia liberalizma v Rossii, 1762-1914 [History of Liberalism in Russia. 1762-1914] / Ed. by A.I. Solzhenitsyn. Moscow, 1995. 468 p. (in Russian).

12. Chermenskii, E.D. IV Gosudarstvennaia Duma i sverzhenie tsarizma v Rossii [The Fourth State Duma and the Overthrow of Tsarist Rule in Russia]. Moscow, 1976. (in Russian).

13. Kravets, I.A. The Legal Nature of the First Russian Constitution / / Aktual'nye voprosy pravovedeniia v sovremennyi period. Sb. statei [Actual Issues of Jurisprudence in the Modern Period. Collection of articles]. Tomsk, 1995; Parkhomenko, A.G. Idei rossiiskogo konstitutsionalizma i ikh realizatsiia v otechestvennom konstitutsionnom (gosudarstvennom) prave [Ideas of the Russian Constitution and Their Implementation in State Constitutional Law]. Moscow, 1998; Istoriia gosudarstva i prava Rossii [History of Russian Government and Law] / Ed. by Chibiriaev, S.A. Moscow, 1998; Dzidzoev, R.V. Obrazovanie i razvitie konstitutsionnogo stroia v Rossii [The Formation and Development of the Constitutional System in Russia]. Vladikavkaz, 1996; Iatskova, A.P. Osnovnye gosudarstvennye zakony Rossiiskoi Imperii 23 aprelia 1906 g. — pervaia rossiiskaia konstitutsiia (diss. kand.) [Basic State Law of the Russian Empire April 23, 1906 — First Russian Constitution (Cand. Diss.)]. Moscow, 2001. (in Russian).

14. Kravets, I.A. Konstitutsionalizm i rossiiskaia gosudarstvennost' v nachale XX veka [Constitutionalism and Russian Statehood at the Beginning of the 20 th Century]. Moscow; Novosibirsk, 2000. 368 p. (in Russian).