# 1993 Russian constitutional referendum

A constitutional referendum was held in Russia on 12 December 1993. The new constitution was approved by 58% of voters, and came into force on 25 December.

## Background

Since 1992, President Boris Yeltsin had been arguing that the 1978 constitution was obsolete and needed replacing. He called for a new constitution which would grant more powers to the President. However, two competing drafts of a new constitution were drawn up by the government and the Congress of People's Deputies. Failure of the two groups to reach a compromise led to Yeltsin dissolving the Congress of People's Deputies in September 1993, leading to a constitutional crisis.
Yeltsin then called a Constitutional Assembly that was sympathetic to his views. The Assembly subsequently drafted a constitution that provided for a strong presidency, and was published on 11 November.

## Name

This referendum was officially named "nationwide voting" (Russian: всенародное голосование, romanized: vsenarodnoye golosovaniye) in documents.
   Раздел второй Заключительные и переходные положения 1. Конституция Российской Федерации вступает в силу со дня официального ее опубликования по результатам всенародного голосования.
Translated:
   Second Section Concluding and Transitional Provisions 1. The Constitution of the Russian Federation shall come into force from the moment of its official publication according to the results of a nationwide voting.

## Results

Voter turnout was officially reported as 54%, over the 50% threshold required to validate the referendum. However, doubts remained over the accuracy of the turnout figure, exacerbated by the quick destruction of ballots and area tallies.
| Choice | Choice | Votes | % |
| For | For | 32,937,630 | 58.43 |
| Against | Against | 23,431,333 | 41.57 |
| Total | Total | 56,368,963 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 56,368,963 | 97.65 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 1,357,909 | 2.35 |
| Total votes | Total votes | 57,726,872 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 106,170,835 | 54.37 |
| Source: Nohlen & Stöver ||||

### By region

| Federal subject | Federal subject | For | For | Against | Against | Invalid/ blank | Total | Registered voters | Turnout |
| Federal subject | Federal subject | Votes | % | Votes | % | Invalid/ blank | Total | Registered voters | Turnout |
| 1 | Adygea | 74,846 | 38.90 | 117,571 | 61.10 | 3157 | 195,574 | 323,612 | 60.43 |
| 2 | Bashkortostan | 721,769 | 42.01 | 996,135 | 57.99 | 52,113 | 1,770,017 | 2,824,125 | 62.67 |
| 3 | Buryatia | 204,779 | 57.96 | 148,547 | 42.04 | 15,479 | 368,805 | 663,957 | 55.55 |
| 4 | Altai | 43,629 | 55.97 | 34,316 | 44.03 | 2818 | 80,763 | 123,091 | 65.61 |
| 5 | Dagestan | 141,697 | 20.86 | 537,601 | 79.14 | 11,332 | 690,630 | 1,089,626 | 63.38 |
| 6 | Ingushetia | 37,583 | 56.90 | 28,469 | 43.10 | 877 | 66,929 | 124,754 | 53.65 |
| 7 | Kabardino-Balkaria | 185,214 | 63.26 | 107,553 | 36.74 | 5849 | 298,616 | 508,683 | 58.70 |
| 8 | Kalmykia | 57,258 | 51.52 | 53,880 | 48.48 | 6359 | 117,497 | 206,944 | 56.78 |
| 9 | Karachay-Cherkessia | 55,512 | 28.00 | 142,743 | 72.00 | 3353 | 201,608 | 286,579 | 70.35 |
| 10 | Karelia | 210,730 | 70.88 | 86,571 | 29.12 | 7760 | 305,061 | 577,618 | 52.81 |
| 11 | Komi | 239,180 | 63.77 | 135,893 | 36.23 | 9158 | 384,231 | 808,418 | 47.53 |
| 12 | Mari | 156,179 | 52.43 | 141,695 | 47.57 | 10,235 | 308,109 | 537,282 | 57.35 |
| 13 | Mordovia | 153,778 | 37.14 | 260,220 | 62.86 | 10,737 | 424,735 | 689,309 | 61.62 |
| 14 | Yakutia | 214,263 | 55.01 | 175,253 | 44.99 | 19,403 | 408,919 | 625,432 | 65.38 |
| 15 | North Ossetia | 132,202 | 53.09 | 116,801 | 46.91 | 7626 | 256,629 | 421,500 | 60.88 |
| 16 | Tatarstan | 264,028 | 74.84 | 88,758 | 25.16 | 13,434 | 366,220 | 2,638,575 | 13.88 |
| 17 | Tuva | 31,310 | 31.21 | 68,999 | 68.79 | 4240 | 104,549 | 165,620 | 63.13 |
| 18 | Udmurtia | 301,026 | 57.45 | 222,912 | 42.55 | 16,452 | 540,390 | 1,134,009 | 47.65 |
| 19 | Khakassia | 99,737 | 58.47 | 70,839 | 41.53 | 5146 | 175,722 | 384,234 | 45.73 |
| 20 | Chechnya | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 21 | Chuvashia | 237,107 | 41.58 | 333,131 | 58.42 | 22,315 | 592,553 | 943,458 | 62.81 |
| 22 | Altai Krai | 524,005 | 51.17 | 499,969 | 48.83 | 22,039 | 1,046,013 | 1,929,497 | 54.21 |
| 23 | Krasnodar Krai | 970,838 | 51.16 | 926,925 | 48.84 | 34,229 | 1,931,992 | 3,546,775 | 54.47 |
| 24 | Krasnoyarsk | 653,489 | 61.84 | 403,173 | 38.16 | 23,596 | 1,080,258 | 2,117,784 | 51.01 |
| 25 | Primorsky Krai | 551,447 | 71.45 | 220,368 | 28.55 | 19,836 | 791,651 | 1,549,823 | 51.08 |
| 26 | Stavropol Krai | 607,825 | 54.15 | 514,693 | 45.85 | 18,948 | 1,141,466 | 1,809,146 | 63.09 |
| 27 | Khabarovsk Krai | 352,619 | 70.46 | 147,843 | 29.54 | 13,692 | 514,154 | 1,081,802 | 47.53 |
| 28 | Amur | 191,060 | 50.24 | 189,231 | 49.76 | 6811 | 387,102 | 670,701 | 57.72 |
| 29 | Arkhangelsk | 410,905 | 73.24 | 150,109 | 26.76 | 12,960 | 573,974 | 1,059,404 | 54.18 |
| 30 | Astrakhan | 208,298 | 58.48 | 147,914 | 41.52 | 8791 | 365,003 | 723,936 | 50.42 |
| 31 | Belgorod | 311,577 | 44.95 | 381,649 | 55.05 | 11,758 | 704,984 | 1,055,318 | 66.80 |
| 32 | Bryansk | 293,494 | 42.36 | 399,442 | 57.64 | 12,377 | 705,313 | 1,094,780 | 64.43 |
| 33 | Vladimir | 425,548 | 59.63 | 288,121 | 40.37 | 19,230 | 732,899 | 1,227,727 | 59.70 |
| 34 | Volgograd | 503,391 | 48.72 | 529,808 | 51.28 | 28,743 | 1,061,942 | 1,926,086 | 55.13 |
| 35 | Vologda | 393,088 | 69.84 | 169,761 | 30.16 | 13,633 | 576,482 | 974,026 | 59.19 |
| 36 | Voronezh | 502,358 | 45.16 | 610,006 | 54.84 | 19,293 | 1,131,657 | 1,922,595 | 58.86 |
| 37 | Ivanovo | 343,390 | 64.02 | 193,015 | 35.98 | 14,274 | 550,679 | 966,579 | 56.97 |
| 38 | Irkutsk | 621,676 | 74.16 | 216,571 | 25.84 | 17,947 | 856,194 | 1,767,955 | 48.43 |
| 39 | Kaliningrad | 251,575 | 66.33 | 127,711 | 33.67 | 8949 | 388,235 | 691,226 | 56.17 |
| 40 | Kaluga | 250,653 | 50.60 | 244,750 | 49.40 | 9896 | 505,299 | 806,958 | 62.62 |
| 41 | Kamchatka | 86,239 | 71.03 | 35,176 | 28.97 | 2574 | 123,989 | 286,983 | 43.20 |
| 42 | Kemerovo | 683,552 | 62.30 | 413,681 | 37.70 | 37,252 | 1,134,485 | 2,147,965 | 52.82 |
| 43 | Kirov | 412,671 | 61.38 | 259,682 | 38.62 | 19,851 | 692,204 | 1,199,823 | 57.69 |
| 44 | Kostroma | 201,711 | 58.00 | 146,048 | 42.00 | 7237 | 354,996 | 594,812 | 59.68 |
| 45 | Kurgan | 264,749 | 57.24 | 197,794 | 42.76 | 9186 | 471,729 | 780,223 | 60.46 |
| 46 | Kursk | 274,704 | 43.79 | 352,647 | 56.21 | 10,119 | 637,470 | 996,385 | 63.98 |
| 47 | Leningrad | 466,167 | 67.58 | 223,604 | 32.42 | 15,586 | 705,357 | 1,258,387 | 56.05 |
| 48 | Lipetsk | 229,086 | 42.38 | 311,525 | 57.62 | 12,352 | 552,963 | 923,922 | 59.85 |
| 49 | Magadan | 60,854 | 68.56 | 27,912 | 31.44 | 1732 | 90,498 | 186,780 | 48.45 |
| 50 | Moscow | 1,841,771 | 62.94 | 1,084,423 | 37.06 | 90,718 | 3,016,912 | 5,374,056 | 56.14 |
| 51 | Murmansk | 284,984 | 71.30 | 114,698 | 28.70 | 8824 | 408,506 | 806,705 | 50.64 |
| 52 | Nizhny Novgorod | 820,215 | 57.47 | 607,076 | 42.53 | 41,952 | 1,469,243 | 2,832,863 | 51.86 |
| 53 | Novgorod | 202,832 | 63.04 | 118,936 | 36.96 | 7709 | 329,477 | 559,612 | 58.88 |
| 54 | Novosibirsk | 509,592 | 51.52 | 479,479 | 48.48 | 23,205 | 1,012,276 | 2,005,969 | 50.46 |
| 55 | Omsk | 491,751 | 57.79 | 359,208 | 42.21 | 22,419 | 873,378 | 1,506,471 | 57.98 |
| 56 | Orenburg | 482,966 | 58.02 | 349,472 | 41.98 | 20,026 | 852,464 | 1,551,638 | 54.94 |
| 57 | Oryol | 186,463 | 42.61 | 251,090 | 57.39 | 7361 | 444,914 | 687,002 | 64.76 |
| 58 | Penza | 289,550 | 39.91 | 435,965 | 60.09 | 13,496 | 739,011 | 1,152,399 | 64.13 |
| 59 | Perm | 715,229 | 79.79 | 181,122 | 20.21 | 24,379 | 920,730 | 1,995,770 | 46.13 |
| 60 | Pskov | 241,283 | 56.96 | 182,353 | 43.04 | 6498 | 430,134 | 643,485 | 66.84 |
| 61 | Rostov | 929,506 | 51.50 | 875,503 | 48.50 | 41,588 | 1,846,597 | 3,236,960 | 57.05 |
| 62 | Ryazan | 327,812 | 50.58 | 320,304 | 49.42 | 13,465 | 661,581 | 1,019,518 | 64.89 |
| 63 | Samara | 705,425 | 56.87 | 534,884 | 43.13 | 33,205 | 1,273,514 | 2,424,184 | 52.53 |
| 64 | Saratov | 586,019 | 51.06 | 561,711 | 48.94 | 23,346 | 1,171,076 | 2,009,819 | 58.27 |
| 65 | Sakhalin | 147,406 | 63.96 | 83,052 | 36.04 | 5863 | 236,321 | 473,474 | 49.91 |
| 66 | Sverdlovsk | 1,299,299 | 79.84 | 327,990 | 20.16 | 38,543 | 1,665,832 | 3,426,954 | 48.61 |
| 67 | Smolensk | 236,097 | 42.82 | 315,289 | 57.18 | 9944 | 561,330 | 873,729 | 64.25 |
| 68 | Tambov | 257,133 | 41.99 | 355,301 | 58.01 | 13,331 | 625,765 | 977,867 | 63.99 |
| 69 | Tver | 387,026 | 51.34 | 366,841 | 48.66 | 16,657 | 770,524 | 1,239,450 | 62.17 |
| 70 | Tomsk | 217,624 | 68.45 | 100,308 | 31.55 | 9061 | 326,993 | 728,062 | 44.91 |
| 71 | Tula | 488,714 | 58.22 | 350,643 | 41.78 | 23,602 | 862,959 | 1,441,233 | 59.88 |
| 72 | Tyumen | 282,917 | 67.77 | 134,576 | 32.23 | 11,935 | 429,428 | 883,203 | 48.62 |
| 73 | Ulyanovsk | 314,216 | 51.16 | 299,926 | 48.84 | 14,056 | 628,198 | 1,059,023 | 59.32 |
| 74 | Chelyabinsk | 1,009,544 | 77.21 | 298,000 | 22.79 | 27,893 | 1,335,437 | 2,631,098 | 50.76 |
| 75 | Chita | 224,548 | 56.81 | 170,739 | 43.19 | 10,428 | 405,715 | 790,137 | 51.35 |
| 76 | Yaroslavl | 397,898 | 66.33 | 202,013 | 33.67 | 16,348 | 616,259 | 1,098,483 | 56.10 |
| 77 | Moscow (City) | 2,474,524 | 69.94 | 1,063,406 | 30.06 | 75,817 | 3,613,747 | 6,987,494 | 51.72 |
| 78 | Saint Petersburg | 1,391,887 | 71.61 | 551,765 | 28.39 | 28,408 | 1,972,060 | 3,760,852 | 52.44 |
| 79 | Jewish AO | 44,406 | 64.85 | 24,071 | 35.15 | 2152 | 70,629 | 137,038 | 51.54 |
| 80 | Agin-Buryat AO | 19,201 | 69.90 | 8,270 | 30.10 | 846 | 28,317 | 44,387 | 63.80 |
| 81 | Komi-Permyak AO | 46,432 | 81.44 | 10,580 | 18.56 | 1603 | 58,615 | 102,909 | 56.96 |
| 82 | Koryakia | 9,267 | 73.98 | 3,259 | 26.02 | 792 | 13,318 | 22,828 | 58.34 |
| 83 | Nenets AO | 13,338 | 74.41 | 4,587 | 25.59 | 554 | 18,479 | 31,470 | 58.72 |
| 84 | Taymyr | 13,815 | 81.80 | 3,074 | 18.20 | 507 | 17,396 | 29,411 | 59.15 |
| 85 | Ust-Orda Buryat AO | 45,577 | 80.89 | 10,764 | 19.11 | 996 | 57,337 | 82,871 | 69.19 |
| 86 | Khanty-Mansi AO | 253,458 | 81.84 | 56,224 | 18.16 | 5919 | 315,601 | 794,131 | 39.74 |
| 87 | Chukotka | 31,503 | 75.88 | 10,015 | 24.12 | 876 | 42,394 | 75,661 | 56.03 |
| 88 | Evenkia | 5,176 | 68.94 | 2,332 | 31.06 | 177 | 7685 | 13,863 | 55.44 |
| 89 | Yamalo-Nenets AO | 102,430 | 80.34 | 25,069 | 19.66 | 2676 | 130,175 | 284,532 | 45.75 |
| Total | Total | 32,937,630 | 58.43 | 23,431,333 | 41.57 | 1,357,909 | 57,726,872 | 106,170,835 | 54.37 |
| Source: Central Election Commission of Russia ||||||||||
* ↑ Tatarstan authorities called on the population to boycott the popular vote (which resulted in an extremely low turnout), but did not interfere with his conduct
* ↑ Chechen authorities prevented the holding of the popular vote in the republic.