CONSTITUTION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION AS APPROVED BY RF PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN AND SUBMITTED TO NATIONAL REFERENDUM IN DECEMBER 1993
Article 65. 1. The Russian Federation shall consist of the subjects of the Fe
deration: Republic of Adygeya (Adygeya), Republic of Altai, Republic of Bashkor
tostan, Republic of Buryatia, Republic of Dagestan, Ingush Republic, Kabardin-B
alkar Republic, Re
public of Kalmykia -- Khalmg Tangch, Karachayevo-Cherkess Republic, Republic of
Karelia, Republic of Komi, Republic of Mari El, Republic of Mordovia, Republic
of Sakha (Yakutia), Republic of North Ossetia, Republic of Tatarstan (Tatarsta
n), Republic of Tu
va, Udmurt Republic, Republic of Khakasia, Chechen Republic, Chuvash Republic -
- Chavash Republics; Altai Territory, Krasnodar Territory,
Krasnoyarsk Territory, Maritime Territory, Stavropol Territory,
Khabarovsk
Russian Constitution (p28 of 77)
Territory; Amur Region, Arkhangelsk Region, Astrakhan Region, Belgorod Region,
Bryansk Region, Vladimir Region, Volgograd Region, Vologda
Region, Voronezh Region, Ivanovo Region, Irkutsk Region, Kaliningrad Region, Ka
luga Region, Kamchatka Region, Kemerovo Region, Kirov Region, Kostroma Region,
Kurgan Region, Kursk Region, Leningrad Region, Lipetsk Region, Magadan Region,
Moscow Region, Mur
mansk Region, Nizhny Novgorod Region, Novgorod Region, Novosibirsk Region, Omsk
Region, Orenburg Region, Oryol Region, Penza Region, Perm Region, Pskov Region
, Rostov Region, Ryazan Region, Samara Region, Saratov Region, Sakhalin Region,
Sverdlovsk Region
, Smolensk Region, Tambov Region, Tver Region, Tomsk Region, Tula Relation, Tyu
men Region, Ulyanovsk Region, Chelyabinsk Region, Chita Region, Yaroslavl Regio
n; Moscow, St. Petersburg -- federal cities; Jewish
Autonomous Region; Aginsky Buryat Autonomous Area, Komi-Permyak Autonomous Area
, Koryak Autonomous Area, Nenets Autonomous Area, Taimyr (Dolgan-Nenets) Autono
mous Area, Ust-Ordynsky Buryat Autonomous Area, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area, C
hukchi Autonomous
Area, Evenk Autonomous Area, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area.
Russian Constitution (p29 of 77)
2. Accession to the Russian Federation and formation of a new subject of
the Russian Federation within it shall be carried out as envisaged by the
federal constitutional law.
Article 66. 1. The status of a republic shall be defined by the Constitution o
f the Russian Federation and the constitution of
the republic in question.
2. The status of a territory, region, federal city,and autonomous region and au
tonomous area shall be determined by Constitution of the Russian Federation and
the Charter of the territory, region, city of federal importance, autonomous r
egion, autonomous
area, adopted by the
legislative (representative) body of the relevant subject of the Russian
Federation.
3. A federal law on autonomous region, autonomous area may be adopted at the no
mination from the legislative and executive bodies of an autonomous region, aut
onomous area.
4. Relations between autonomous areas within a territory or region may be regul
ated by the federal law and an agreement between bodies of state power of the a
utonomous area and, respectively, bodies of state power of the territory or the
Russian Constitution (p30 of 77)
region.
5. The status of a subject of the Russian Federation may be changed only
with mutual consent of the Russian Federation and the subject of the Russian Fe
deration in accordance with the federal constitutional law.
Article 67. 1. The territory of the Russian Federation shall incorporate the t
erritories of its subjects, the internal and territorial seas and the air space
over them.
2. The Russian Federation shall have sovereign rights and exercise jurisdiction
on the continental shelf and in the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Fed
eration under the procedure stipulated by the federal law and norms of internat
ional law.
3. The boundaries between the subjects of the Russian Federation may be changed
by their mutual agreement.
Article 68. 1. The state language of the Russian Federation throughout its ter
ritory shall be the Russian language.
2. The republics shall have the right to institute their own state languages. T
hey shall be used alongside the state language of the Russian
Federation in bodies of state power, bodies of local self-government and
Russian Constitution (p31 of 77)
state institutions of the republics.
3. The Russian Federation shall guarantee all its peoples the right to preserve
their native language and to create the conditions for its study and developme
nt.
Article 69. The Russian Federation guarantees the rights of small indigenous p
eoples in accordance with the generally accepted principles and standards of in
ternational law and international treaties of the Russian Federation.
Article 70. 1. The national flag, State Emblem, and the national anthem, the
ir description and the procedure for their official use shall be established by
the federal constitutional law.
2. The capital of the Russian Federation is the city of Moscow. The status of t
he capital shall be established by the federal law.
Article 71. The jurisdiction of the Russian Federation shall include: a) the
adoption and amendment of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federa
l laws and supervision over compliance with them; b) the federal structure and
territory of the R
ussian Federation; c) regulation and protection of the rights and liberties of
Russian Constitution (p32 of 77)
the human being and citizen; citizenship of the Russian Federation; regulation
and protection of the rights of national minorities; d) establishment of the sy
stem of federal bo
dies of legislative, executive and judiciary power, procedure for the organizat
ion and activities thereof; formation of federal bodies of state power; e) fede
ral and state property and management thereof; f) determining the basic princip
les of federal pol
icy and federal programs in the field of state structure, the economy, the envi
ronment, and the social, cultural
and national development of the Russian Federation; g) establishment of the
legal framework for a single market; financial, monetary, credit and customs re
gulation, emission of money and guidelines for price policy;
federal economic services, including federal banks; h) the federal budget; fede
ral taxes and levies; federal funds of regional development; i) federal power g
rids, nuclear energy, fissionable materials; federal transport, railways, infor
mation and communi
cations; space activities; j) foreign policy and international relations of the
Russian Constitution (p33 of 77)
Russian Federation, international treaties of the Russian questions of war and
peace; k) foreign trade relations of the Russian Federation; l) defense and se
curity; defense pr
oduction; determining procedures for the sale and purchase of arms, ammunition,
military hardware and other equipment; production of fissionable materials, to
xic substances, narcotics and procedure for the use thereof; m) defining the st
atus and protectio
n of the state border, territorial waters, the air space, the exclusive economi
c zone and the continental shelf of the Russian Federation; n) law courts; Pros
ecutor's
Office; criminal, criminal-procedural and criminal-executive legislation;
amnesty and pardon; civil, civil-procedural and arbitration-procedural
legislation; legal regulation of intellectual property; o) federal conflict of
laws; p) meteorological service; standards, models, the metric
system and time measurement; geodesy and cartography; names of geographical
objects; official statistics and accounting; q) state decorations and honorary
titles of the Russian Federation; r) federal state service.
Article 72. 1. The joint jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and the subjec
Russian Constitution (p34 of 77)
ts of the Russian Federation shall include: a) ensuring compliance of the const
itutions and laws of the republics, charters, laws, and other regulatory legal
acts of the territ
ories, regions, federal cities, the autonomous region and autonomous areas with
the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the federallaws; b) protection
of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, protection of the rights of ethn
ic minorities; ens
uring legality, law and order, and public safety; border zone regime; c) issues
of the possession, use and management of the land, mineral resources, water an
d other natural resources; d) delimitation of state property; e) management of
natural resources,
protection of the environment and ecological safety; specially protected natur
al reserves; protection of historical and cultural monuments; f) general questi
ons of upbringing, education, science, culture, physical culture and sports; g)
coordination of h
ealth issues, protection of family, motherhood, fatherhood and childhood; socia
l protection including social security; h) implementing measures to combat cata
Russian Constitution (p35 of 77)
strophes, natural disasters, epidemics and
eliminating consequences thereof; i) establishment of the general guidelines fo
r taxation and levies in the Russian Federation; j) administrative, administrat
ive-procedural, labor, family, housing, land, water and forestry legislation; l
egislation on the
sub-surface and environmental protection; k) cadres of judiciary and law-enforc
ement agencies; the bar, notariate; l) protection of the original environment a
nd traditional way of life of small ethnic communities; m) establishment of gen
eral guidelines of
the organization of the system of bodies of state power and local self-governm
ent; n) coordination of the international and external economic relations of th
e subjects of the Russian Federation, compliance with the international treatie
s of the Russian F
ederation.
2. The provisions of this Article shall equally apply to the republics, territo
ries, regions, federal cities, the autonomous region and autonomous areas.
Article 73. Outside of the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and the powe
Russian Constitution (p36 of 77)
rs of the Russian Federation on issues within the joint jurisdiction of the Rus
sian Federation and the subjects of the Russian Federation, the subjects of the
Russian Federatio
n shall exercise the entire spectrum of state power.
Article 74. 1. No customs frontiers, duties, levies, or any other barriers for
free movement of goods, services, or financial means may be established on the
territory of the Russian Federation.
2. Restrictions on the movement of goods and services may be established under
the federal law, if this is necessary for the protection of the people's safety
, their lives and health, protection of environment and cultural values.
Article 75. 1. The monetary unit of the Russian Federation shall be the ruble.
The monetary emission shall be the exclusive responsibility of the Central Ban
k of the Russian Federation. No other currencies may be issued in the Russian F
ederation.
2. The protection and stability of the ruble is the main function of the Centra
l Bank of the Russian Federation which it shall exercise independently from oth
er bodies of state power.
3. The system of taxes levied to the federal budget and the general principles
Russian Constitution (p37 of 77)
of taxation and levies in the Russian Federation shall be established by the fe
deral law.
4. State loans shall be issued in accordance with the procedure established by
the federal law and placed on a strictly voluntary basis.
Article 76. 1. On issues within the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation f
ederal constitutional laws and federal laws shall be adopted having direct effe
ct throughout the territory of the Russian Federation.
2. On matters within the joint jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and the s
ubjects of the Russian Federation federal laws shall be issued and in accordanc
e with them laws and other regulatory legal acts of the subjects of the Russian
Federation shall
be adopted.
3. Federal laws may not contravene federal constitutional laws.
4. Outside of the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and the
joint jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and the subjects of the Russian Fe
deration republics, territories, regions, federal cities, autonomous regions an
d autonomous areas shall effect their own legal regulation, including the adopt
ion of laws and ot
Russian Constitution (p38 of 77)
her regulatory legal acts. 5. Laws and other regulatory legal acts of the sub
jects of the Russian Federation may not contravene federal laws adopted in acco
rdance with parts 1 and 2 of this Article. In the event of a contradiction betw
een a federal law
and any other act issued in the Russian Federation, the federal law shall apply
. 6. In the event of a contradiction between the federal
law and a regulatory legal act of a subject of the Russian Federation issued in
accordance with part 4 of this Article, the regulatory legal act
of the subject of the Russian Federation shall apply.
Article 77.1. The system of state power bodies of the republics, territories, r
egions, federal cities, the autonomous region, autonomous areas shall be establ
ished by the subjects of the Russian Federation independently in accordance wit
h the basic princi
ples of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation and general princip
les of the organization of legislative and executive bodies of power as envisag
ed by the federal law.
2. Within the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and the powers of the Russ
ian Federation on issues within the joint jurisdiction of the Russian Federatio
Russian Constitution (p39 of 77)
n and the subjects of the Russian Federation the federal bodies of executive po
wer and bodies of
executive power of the subjects of the Russian Federation shall form the single
system of executive power in the Russian Federation.
Article 78. 1. To exercise their powers, the federal bodies of
executive power may set up their own territorial structures and appoint respect
ive officials. 2. By agreement with organs of executive power of the subjects
of the Russian Federation, the federal organs of executive power may delegate t
o them part of the
ir powers provided this does not
contravene the Constitution of the Russian Federation or federal laws.
3. By agreement with the federal organs of executive power, organs of
executive power of the subjects of the Russian Federation may delegate part of
their powers to them.
4. The President of the Russian Federation and the government of the
Russian Federation shall, under the Constitution of the Russian Federation,
exercise the authority of federal state power throughout the territory of the R
ussian Federation.
Russian Constitution (p40 of 77)
Article 79. The Russian Federation may participate in inter-state association
s and delegate some of its powers to them in accordance
with international agreements if this does not restrict human or
civil rights and liberties or contravene the fundamentals of the
constitutional system of the Russian Federation.