Constitution Day in Russia Date in the current year: December 12, 2024

Russia became an independent state in 1991, amidst the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In 1992, the parliament passed amendments to the 1978 constitution to reflect the sovereignty of the Russian Federation, but Russia still needed to replace the old Soviet constitution with a new supreme law.

In June 1993, President Boris Yeltsin convened the Constituent Assembly. The draft of the Constitution was adopted in July 12, but it was immediately rejected by the Supreme Soviet (Russian government). This eventually led to the constitutional crisis in October 1993. One the crisis was resolved, the Constitution was approved during a constitutional referendum held on December 12.

In 1994, Boris Yeltsin officially designated December 12 as Constitution Day and declared it a public holiday and a non-working day. However, in 2004 the Russian Parliament excluded Constitution Day from the list of non-working public holidays. Since 2005, it has been observed as an official commemorative day. Russian Constitution Day is typically marked with public speeches and official ceremonies.