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Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR adopted — Day of Russia
On June 12 1990 the First Congress of People’s Deputies of the Russian Federation adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR).
Apart from the proclamation of the RSFSR’s state sovereignty, the Declaration included a whole number of important clauses: for the first time equal rights for all political parties and public organizations were recognized in the RSFSR; it proclaimed the principle of separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers, as well as priority of the Constitution and laws of the RSFSR across the whole territory of RSFSR; it stated the need to significantly expand the rights of the autonomous republics, regions, districts, krais and oblasts of the RSFSR.
The Declaration was signed in conditions, when former Soviet Union Republics one by one gained independency, therefore in Russia as well the Day of signing the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR was called the Independence Day.
By the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation Boris N. Yeltsin of June 2 1994 the Day when the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Russia was adopted — June 12 — was declared the national holiday of Russia. Since June 16 1998 it is called the Day of Russia, but it was only on February 1 2002 that the holiday officially received its new name, when conditions of the new Labor Code came into effect.
The Day of Russia is one of the “youngest” holidays celebrated in Russia; it is considered to be the symbol of national unity and common responsibility for the present and the future of our Fatherland. For many Russians the Day of Russia or the Day of signing the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR is a holiday, which contributes to patriotic upbringing of the youth.
Lit.: Кузьмин В. Между Рождеством и 7 Ноября. День России восполнил недостаток государственных праздников новой страны // Российская газета. 2004. 11 июня (№ 3500); О государственном суверенитете РСФСР: Декларация от 12 июня 1990 г. // Ведомости Съезда народных депутатов РСФСР и Верховного Совета РСФСР. 1990. (№ 2). Ст. 22; О государственном празднике Российской Федерации: Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 2 июня 1994 г. // Собрание законодательства РФ. 1994. 6 июня. (№ 6). Ст. 591.
From the Presidential library materials:
История Российского государства: территории и границы. СПб., 2010;
Alma-Ata Protocol on creation of CIS signed 20 years ago // On this day. 21 December 1991;
The Belavezha Accords signed 20 years ago // On this day. 8 December 1991.