What Makes the Russian Constitution “Russian”? The Historical Building Blocks of Russia's Highest Law
Speakers): Will Pomeranz, Deputy Director, Kennan Institute.
The 1993 Russian constitution recently marked its 25th anniversary. This constitution is often analyzed in comparison to its western counterparts, but what is often overlooked is the influence of Russia’s own constitutional history. Russia experienced three revolutions and lived under seven constitutions during the twentieth century. Upon close analysis, one can identify certain features of tsarist and Soviet constitutional law – both in terms of theory and terminology – that managed to work their way into the 1993 constitution. Such linkages are not that surprising; all three regimes faced a similar challenge, namely how to use law as a means to govern a diverse and dispersed multinational population. This presentation will address the continuities in Russian constitutional law and how certain longstanding ideas and practices ultimately manifested themselves in the 1993 constitution.