The exhibition dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Constitution opened at the Presidential Library

From December 12 - 29, 2023 the Presidential Library hosted the grand opening of the multimedia exhibition “Constitutional Human Rights: From Projects to Practice” dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The exhibition is organized jointly with the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation.

The multimedia exhibition has been based on materials from the Presidential Library’s collections and reflects events from the 17th century to the present.

Constitutionalism took shape during the Enlightenment, when nation states took shape. And if in Europe demands to limit the supreme power came from below, then in Russia constitutional projects were often initiated by the authorities themselves, and this is a feature of Russian constitutionalism.

The first attempts to limit the power of the monarch date back to the 17th–18th centuries. In the 19th century, projects were developed one after another during the reigns of Alexander I and Alexander II, but they were implemented only in relation to certain territories of the Russian Empire.

The first constitution in the history of Russia was the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1918, adopted at the V All-Russian Congress of Soviets. The modern Basic Law of the Russian Federation was adopted by popular vote in 1993.

The 1993 Constitution introduced the post of Commissioner for Human Rights for the first time. And since 1997, with the adoption of the Federal Constitutional Law “On the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation”, the formation of the institution of state human rights protection began.  

The Presidential Library’s portal features the digital collection Constitution - Basic Law. It includes the texts of the constitutions of the Russian state, starting with the first Constitution of the RSFSR in 1918. The collection introduces the texts of the constitutions of the USSR of 1924, 1936, 1977 (with amendments and additions), as well as the constitutions of the RSFSR of 1925, 1937 and 1978. A large section of the collection is dedicated to the the Constitution of the Russian Federation, in force since 1993, in all its editions, including those approved during the All-Russian vote on July 1, 2020. The text of the document is posted in the electronic collections and published on the official portal, where one can learn about the texts and publications of the constitutions and charters of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

The multimedia exhibition “Constitutional Human Rights: From Projects to Practice” is open in the Presidential Library until December 29, 2023.

To visit the exposition please pre-register by calling (812) 334-25-14 or sending an email at excursion@prlib.ru.       

An expanded version of the multimedia exhibition “Constitutional Human Rights: From Projects to Practice” is also available in the format of the online project. One can view it on the Presidential Library’s portal in the Exhibitions section.

Accreditation of media representatives 

Please forward applications for accreditation following the attached form marked Media Accreditation at media@prlib.ru, hudjakova@prlib.ru Alexandra Khudyakova, tel.: (812) 305-16-21, ext. 167; mob. +7 (981) 788-28-08.

The letter should contain the full name, date and place of birth, passport data (series, number, place of registration), a list of carry-on equipment, contact phone numbers, the name of the media.

We draw the attention of the media representatives that it is necessary to forward applications for accreditation and arrive at the event in advance.

Entrance to the Presidential Library is carried out only by prior registration and upon showing a passport: for media representatives - through entrance № 2, participants and guests of the event - through entrance № 1.

In order to reduce the risks of the spread of a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the use of personal protective equipment during the event is mandatory for all attendees.