On L.V. Potapov’s Role in the Preparation and Adoption of the 1993 Constitution of the Russian Federation and the 1994 Constitution of the Republic of Buryatia

The article considers the preparation and adoption of two Fundamental Laws — the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the Constitution of the Republic of Buryatia — and the role of the first President of the Republic of Buryatia Leonid Vasilyevich Potapov in this process. It analyzes the conditions under which the Constitutional Assembly convened, as well as the political and legal aspects of the constitutional crisis of the 1993 autumn, which arose from the standoff between the legislative and executive branches of government. We focus on the influence of federal constitutional processes on regional legislative practice, particularly on the content of the Constitution of the Republic of Buryatia. The article assesses Potapov’s role as Chairman of the Constitutional Commission of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Buryatia in achieving consensus among representatives of the parliament, political parties, and other public associations on the most controversial issues of drafting the Constitution of the Republic of Buryatia. It is emphasized that the Constitution of the Republic of Buryatia laid the ground for new democratic, legal, social, and secular values in the region. In our view, this is largely due to the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, later President of the Republic of Buryatia, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor L.V. Potapov, who took an active part in consolidating the foundations of state power in the republic and their futher reforming taking into account the proposals from federal authorities.