War of Laws
Encyclopedia
The War of Laws was the series of conflicts between the Federal Government of the Soviet Union
, and the governments of the Russian Federation and other constituent republics
during the last years of the USSR, which eventually led to the dissolution of the union
. When Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev
and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
decided to formally release their control of the USSR satellite territories, the individual governments began to reassert their own sovereignty and dominance in their respective areas. This included making their own laws separate from the USSR and refusing to pay taxes to the Moscow government. This worsened the Soviet Union's economic disintegration, and was a major factor in its 1991 collapse.
developed between the Soviet government and its union republics
. Multiple laws were passed by the republics giving them jurisdiction over their own territory; these were overturned by Moscow as unconstitutional. In response, the republics officially stated that Moscow's rulings were not relevant to the matter over which the original law had been passed. This led to a constant conflict over constitutional wording and whether the republics or Moscow was supreme in the law.
The republics began to assert their sovereignty over their regions: first Lithuania
, in 1989, followed by the other 14 in 1990. Native languages
were readopted instead of Russian
, alienating
some large cities made up of Russian citizens, which in turn led to the creation of even more individual, smaller republics
. These new governments continued the war of laws by rejecting new laws passed by Moscow and creating their own. While sometimes the laws passed by the republics were contradictory, they were largely almost identical to those being passed in Moscow, forming a system of what was termed "parallel power".
For instance, Tatarstan
, having a majority population of Muslim Tatars
, declared itself an independent state with the right to self-determination in 1990 and claimed ownership of its massive oil reserves. It set itself free of Russian law and Russian taxes as did many of Russia's 89 regions.
by means that wouldn't have been considered before. Gorbachev responded to this by putting marketization
and reform
on hold in order to focus on reorganizing the USSR in order to maintain its unity. The Treaty of the Union was made that gave more control to the republics over their own affairs, an attempt to keep them in the Union. However, this act was far too late and no amount of publicizing made the republics change their minds from withdrawal.
The vacuum of power that had been created was filled with the arrival of Boris Yeltsin
, who attempted to gain support for himself while denouncing Gorbachev. Gorbachev, and the Kremlin
, responded with a censure of Yeltsin and his remarks. However, these rebukes by high leaders of government and industry could be sharply contrasted with the feelings of the normal citizen, who supported Yeltsin and his words.
The anti-government feelings were influenced further by the August Coup that involved the attempted assassination of Gorbachev. It was put down, but with the effect of destabilization that reduced Gorbachev's power drastically. Control of the situation moved toward the republics and Lithuania
, Latvia
, and Estonia
were given independence. The other twelve republics settled on much less strict forms of Soviet governance. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was declared ended officially with the signing of the Belavezha Accords
between Russia, the Ukraine
, and Belarus
.
The result of the signing was the Commonwealth of Independent States
, which still exists today, and the resignation of Gorbachev. He was replaced by Boris Yeltsin, new leader of a post-Soviet Russia.
were largely stripped of power, replaced with other Russian citizens, though many Soviets were able to switch over to a nationalistic stance and retain their positions.
After the new government reorganized itself, Yeltsin found himself in a position that should have offered him the ability to change Russia as he saw fit, but this was undermined by the Russian parliament
. Another war of laws began between Yeltsin and parliament, a conflict that also trickled through the lower echelons of the government. Pressured to find a way to go around the parliament, Yeltsin made major concessions to his subject regions with the signing of the Federal Treaty in an attempt to gain their favor in his legal battle. He even went further with the creation of the Russian Constitution
that gave more powers to the republics still affiliated with Russia.
, a country in the Caucasus
region, near where the Middle East
meets Europe
and Asia
, has frequently been the source of conflict in recent decades. These conflicts have arisen between itself and its neighboring, seceded nations of Abkhazia
and South Ossetia
. The ongoing war between Georgia and Abkhazia has seen the need of intervention
from regional superpower, Russia, time and again.
With Abkhazia originally part of the Georgian republic, its people were under the rule of the Georgian government and, consequently, under the rule of Stalinist
Russia. The migration
of Russians to Georgia and then the further movement of Georgians to the Abkhazia region raised tensions among the Abkhazians about gradually losing their homeland. Petitions to Moscow for allowed separation went unanswered, but a policy preferential toward the Abkazians began to emerge. The ethnic tension
that resulted because of this, especially during détente
, was the ominous sign of the oncoming war
.
As the latter half of the 1980s ended, the Soviet Union began showing signs of its imminent fall. 1988 saw the creation of numerous national movements in both countries, often aimed harmfully at the other. Georgia began the movement of separation from Russia at the expense of the Abkhazians. In response, the Abkhazians officially announced their secession from the Georgian republic.
The Soviet intervention on April 9th, 1989, resulted in the "Tbilisi Massacre". This event pushed the Abkhasians even further away from Georgia in an effort to show themselves as pro-Soviet and the Georgians as offending anti-communists. In an effort to stave off further resentment against itself for invading again, Russia left the region alone to its own whims. What came from this was a war of laws between Georgia and Abkhazia.
's rise to presidency
in 2000, a much more rigid, "unified" Russia was expected to form. While the constituent republics had obtained a large amount of autonomy and sovereignty
after the USSR collapse, their constitutions still considered them to be unified with Russia in one form or another. Putin's presidency led to the passing of several regulations pushing reintegration.
Tatarstan
was the republic that led the way for regional autonomy
, the main region pushing for the policy of "official asymmetry." This stance was imperiled by the creation of legislation known as "federal intervention", in which the president of Russia can remove any leader of a republic and dissolve the republic's legislature if the region twice refuses to obey court decisions in Moscow.
In response, the courts were bombarded with cases in an attempt to change the law, but this only led to further disintegration of laws protecting the regions. Tatarstan was forced to reword its constitution to foster closer ties with the Russian government. The capital, Kazan
, made these conciliatory moves while still remaining independent in some forms. However, nationalistic movements sprouted among the people and the reintegration of Tatarstan became one filled with strife and conflict.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and the governments of the Russian Federation and other constituent republics
Republics of the Soviet Union
The Republics of the Soviet Union or the Union Republics of the Soviet Union were ethnically-based administrative units that were subordinated directly to the Government of the Soviet Union...
during the last years of the USSR, which eventually led to the dissolution of the union
History of the Soviet Union (1985-1991)
The history of the Soviet Union from 1982 through 1991, spans the period from Leonid Brezhnev's death and funeral until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Due to the years of Soviet military buildup at the expense of domestic development, economic growth stagnated...
. When Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
decided to formally release their control of the USSR satellite territories, the individual governments began to reassert their own sovereignty and dominance in their respective areas. This included making their own laws separate from the USSR and refusing to pay taxes to the Moscow government. This worsened the Soviet Union's economic disintegration, and was a major factor in its 1991 collapse.
Early conflicts
During the 1980s, legislative gridlockGridlock
The term gridlock is defined as "A state of severe road congestion arising when continuous queues of vehicles block an entire network of intersecting streets, bringing traffic in all directions to a complete standstill; a traffic jam of this kind." The term originates from a situation possible in...
developed between the Soviet government and its union republics
Republics of the Soviet Union
The Republics of the Soviet Union or the Union Republics of the Soviet Union were ethnically-based administrative units that were subordinated directly to the Government of the Soviet Union...
. Multiple laws were passed by the republics giving them jurisdiction over their own territory; these were overturned by Moscow as unconstitutional. In response, the republics officially stated that Moscow's rulings were not relevant to the matter over which the original law had been passed. This led to a constant conflict over constitutional wording and whether the republics or Moscow was supreme in the law.
The republics began to assert their sovereignty over their regions: first Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, in 1989, followed by the other 14 in 1990. Native languages
National language
A national language is a language which has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a people and perhaps by extension the territory they occupy. The term is used variously. A national language may for instance represent the national identity of a nation or country...
were readopted instead of Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, alienating
Social alienation
The term social alienation has many discipline-specific uses; Roberts notes how even within the social sciences, it “is used to refer both to a personal psychological state and to a type of social relationship”...
some large cities made up of Russian citizens, which in turn led to the creation of even more individual, smaller republics
Soviet republic (system of government)
A Soviet Republic is a system of government in which the whole state power belongs to the Soviets . Although the term is usually associated with communist states, it was not initially intended to represent only one political force, but merely a form of democracy and representation.In the classic...
. These new governments continued the war of laws by rejecting new laws passed by Moscow and creating their own. While sometimes the laws passed by the republics were contradictory, they were largely almost identical to those being passed in Moscow, forming a system of what was termed "parallel power".
For instance, Tatarstan
Tatarstan
The Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt,...
, having a majority population of Muslim Tatars
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
, declared itself an independent state with the right to self-determination in 1990 and claimed ownership of its massive oil reserves. It set itself free of Russian law and Russian taxes as did many of Russia's 89 regions.
USSR collapse
As the splits became more and more pronounced, Moscow and the rest of Russia began speaking of returning to the status quoStatus quo
Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
by means that wouldn't have been considered before. Gorbachev responded to this by putting marketization
Marketization
Marketization is the process that enables the state-owned enterprises to act like market-oriented firms. This is achieved through reduction of state subsidies, deregulation, organizational restructuring , decentralization and in some cases privatization...
and reform
Constitutional amendment
A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...
on hold in order to focus on reorganizing the USSR in order to maintain its unity. The Treaty of the Union was made that gave more control to the republics over their own affairs, an attempt to keep them in the Union. However, this act was far too late and no amount of publicizing made the republics change their minds from withdrawal.
The vacuum of power that had been created was filled with the arrival of Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
, who attempted to gain support for himself while denouncing Gorbachev. Gorbachev, and the Kremlin
Kremlin
A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
, responded with a censure of Yeltsin and his remarks. However, these rebukes by high leaders of government and industry could be sharply contrasted with the feelings of the normal citizen, who supported Yeltsin and his words.
The anti-government feelings were influenced further by the August Coup that involved the attempted assassination of Gorbachev. It was put down, but with the effect of destabilization that reduced Gorbachev's power drastically. Control of the situation moved toward the republics and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, and Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
were given independence. The other twelve republics settled on much less strict forms of Soviet governance. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was declared ended officially with the signing of the Belavezha Accords
Belavezha Accords
The Belavezha Accords is the agreement which declared the Soviet Union effectively dissolved and established the Commonwealth of Independent States in its place...
between Russia, the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, and Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
.
The result of the signing was the Commonwealth of Independent States
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
, which still exists today, and the resignation of Gorbachev. He was replaced by Boris Yeltsin, new leader of a post-Soviet Russia.
Issues in a new Russia
While Yeltsin's rise was timely and seemed to express a new future for Russia, he faced considerable opposition in implementing laws vital to the continuance of Russia. Those members previously SovietsCongress of Soviets
The Congress of Soviets was the supreme governing body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and several other Soviet republics from 1917–36 and again from 1989-91. After the creation of the Soviet Union, the Congress of Soviets of the Soviet Union functioned as its legislative branch...
were largely stripped of power, replaced with other Russian citizens, though many Soviets were able to switch over to a nationalistic stance and retain their positions.
After the new government reorganized itself, Yeltsin found himself in a position that should have offered him the ability to change Russia as he saw fit, but this was undermined by the Russian parliament
Supreme Soviet of Russia
The Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR , later Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation was the supreme government institution of the Russian SFSR in 1938–1990; in 1990–1993 it was a permanent parliament, elected by the Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation.The Supreme Soviet of...
. Another war of laws began between Yeltsin and parliament, a conflict that also trickled through the lower echelons of the government. Pressured to find a way to go around the parliament, Yeltsin made major concessions to his subject regions with the signing of the Federal Treaty in an attempt to gain their favor in his legal battle. He even went further with the creation of the Russian Constitution
Russian constitution
Russian constitution* Constitution of Russia* Russian Constitution of 1906* Russian Constitution of 1918* Russian Constitution of 1978* Judiciary of Russia...
that gave more powers to the republics still affiliated with Russia.
The Georgia-Abkhazia War
GeorgiaGeorgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, a country in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
region, near where the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
meets Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, has frequently been the source of conflict in recent decades. These conflicts have arisen between itself and its neighboring, seceded nations of Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
and South Ossetia
South Ossetia
South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....
. The ongoing war between Georgia and Abkhazia has seen the need of intervention
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
from regional superpower, Russia, time and again.
With Abkhazia originally part of the Georgian republic, its people were under the rule of the Georgian government and, consequently, under the rule of Stalinist
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
Russia. The migration
Population transfer
Population transfer is the movement of a large group of people from one region to another by state policy or international authority, most frequently on the basis of ethnicity or religion...
of Russians to Georgia and then the further movement of Georgians to the Abkhazia region raised tensions among the Abkhazians about gradually losing their homeland. Petitions to Moscow for allowed separation went unanswered, but a policy preferential toward the Abkazians began to emerge. The ethnic tension
Ethnic hatred
Ethnic hatred, inter-ethnic hatred, racial hatred, or ethnic tension refers to feelings and acts of prejudice and hostility towards an ethnic group in various degrees. See list of anti-ethnic and anti-national terms for specific cases....
that resulted because of this, especially during détente
Détente
Détente is the easing of strained relations, especially in a political situation. The term is often used in reference to the general easing of relations between the Soviet Union and the United States in the 1970s, a thawing at a period roughly in the middle of the Cold War...
, was the ominous sign of the oncoming war
War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)
The War in Abkhazia from 1992 to 1993 was waged chiefly between Georgian government forces on one side and Abkhaz separatist forces supporting independence of Abkhazia from Georgia on the other side. Ethnic Georgians, who lived in Abkhazia fought largely on the side of Georgian government forces...
.
As the latter half of the 1980s ended, the Soviet Union began showing signs of its imminent fall. 1988 saw the creation of numerous national movements in both countries, often aimed harmfully at the other. Georgia began the movement of separation from Russia at the expense of the Abkhazians. In response, the Abkhazians officially announced their secession from the Georgian republic.
The Soviet intervention on April 9th, 1989, resulted in the "Tbilisi Massacre". This event pushed the Abkhasians even further away from Georgia in an effort to show themselves as pro-Soviet and the Georgians as offending anti-communists. In an effort to stave off further resentment against itself for invading again, Russia left the region alone to its own whims. What came from this was a war of laws between Georgia and Abkhazia.
Russia's modern War of Laws
With Vladimir PutinVladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
's rise to presidency
Russian presidential election, 2000
Russian presidential elections were held on 26 March 2000. Incumbent Prime Minister, and acting President Vladimir Putin, who had succeeded Boris Yeltsin on his resignation December 31, 1999, was seeking a four-year term in his own right and won the elections in the first round. Polling stations...
in 2000, a much more rigid, "unified" Russia was expected to form. While the constituent republics had obtained a large amount of autonomy and sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
after the USSR collapse, their constitutions still considered them to be unified with Russia in one form or another. Putin's presidency led to the passing of several regulations pushing reintegration.
Tatarstan
Tatarstan
The Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt,...
was the republic that led the way for regional autonomy
Regional autonomy
Regional autonomy is the term for the decentralization of governance to outlying regions. Recent examples of disputes over autonomy include:* The Basque region of Spain* The Catalonian region of Spain...
, the main region pushing for the policy of "official asymmetry." This stance was imperiled by the creation of legislation known as "federal intervention", in which the president of Russia can remove any leader of a republic and dissolve the republic's legislature if the region twice refuses to obey court decisions in Moscow.
In response, the courts were bombarded with cases in an attempt to change the law, but this only led to further disintegration of laws protecting the regions. Tatarstan was forced to reword its constitution to foster closer ties with the Russian government. The capital, Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
, made these conciliatory moves while still remaining independent in some forms. However, nationalistic movements sprouted among the people and the reintegration of Tatarstan became one filled with strife and conflict.