Russian constitutional crisis

A power struggle between President Boris Yeltsin and Russia’s parliament that culminated in the October 1993 shelling of the White House in Moscow.

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Decree No. 1400: Boris Yeltsin’s September 21, 1993 decree dissolving Russia’s legislature and calling for new parliamentary elections. The decree triggered the showdown by claiming powers the existing constitution did not grant the president.
Boris Yeltsin: The first president of the Russian Federation, who led the government during the 1993 constitutional crisis. His effort to dissolve parliament set the conflict in motion.
Russian Constitution of 1978: The constitution of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, amended repeatedly and still in force during the 1993 crisis. Its accumulated amendments left executive and legislative powers in conflict.
Russian Constitution of 1993: The constitution adopted by popular vote in Russia on December 12, 1993, establishing a strong presidency and a bicameral legislature. Its presidential powers answered the institutional conflict on terms set by Yeltsin’s government.
Supreme Soviet of Russia: The standing legislature of the Russian Federation under the 1978 constitution, which opposed Yeltsin during the 1993 crisis. Its claim to constitutional legitimacy directly contested the president’s authority.
Constitutional Court of Russia: Russia’s highest court for reviewing whether laws and government actions conform to the constitution. The court ruled Yeltsin’s decree unconstitutional, giving parliament a legal basis to declare him removed.
Ruslan Khasbulatov: A Russian politician who chaired the Supreme Soviet during the constitutional crisis of 1993. He led parliament’s resistance and remained inside the White House during the standoff.
Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The process by which the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, creating fifteen independent states. The new Russian state inherited institutions never designed for its post-Soviet presidency.
1993 Russian legislative election: The December 1993 election that chose members of Russia’s new Federal Assembly. The election replaced the legislature dissolved during the crisis.
Congress of People’s Deputies of Russia: Russia’s highest state authority under the 1978 constitution, composed of elected deputies who selected the Supreme Soviet. It voted to remove Yeltsin after his decree sought to dissolve parliament.