Regulation of federal relations in Soviet constitutions and constitutional draft of the early 1990s

In its state structure, the Russian Empire, as is known, was a unitary state (with only some elements of federalism in relations with Poland and Finland). After the October Revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks, who took power into their own hands, were determined to form federal relations, given the large number and diversity of peoples (ethnic groups) living in Russia. This approach caused some discussions, but the position of the federalists prevailed, and the principle of federalism was already spelled out in the very first Constitution of the RSFSR. The article identifies the main trends in the constitutional regulation of federal relations in Soviet constitutions and, in more detail, in alternative drafts of the new Russian constitution that were developed, published and discussed after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. It is noted that although the USSR and the RSFSR had a federal structure, the principle of federalism itself found minimal and contradictory constitutional regulation (for example, the Constitutions of the USSR did not even contain the word "federation", and the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1978, despite its name (Soviet federal republic), did not use the term "subject of the federation"). This cannot be said about the draft Constitutions of Russia - they pay considerable attention to this issue, which can obviously be explained by the fact that the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1978 during Gorbachev's "perestroika" and especially after the collapse of the USSR (1991) changed significantly, and the principle of federalism had already developed, in particular, the former territories and regions, previously related to local Councils of People's Deputies, received the status of subjects of the Federation, and this approach, with few exceptions, was no longer questioned.