The main directions of the study of federalism in the Russian legal science of the 1920s
Authors: Yashchuk T. F. 
Published: March 2024

The subject of the study is the theory of federalism in the Russian legal science of the 1920s. The purpose of the article is to reconstruct the theories of federalism of the 1920s based on the study of a wide array of publications of this period. The research methodology includes the following methods. The chronological method allowed us to distribute legal facts and their interpretations in chronological order. The comparative legal method was used to compare legal phenomena and institutions of different periods. The method of hermeneutics was used in the interpretation of texts.

The following scientific results were obtained.

The 1920s were a special period in Russian legal science. The ideological demands of the Soviet government formulated an urgent scientific agenda. At the same time, the political regime of this period allowed for relative freedom of scientific activity. The discreteness and continuity in the study of the problems of federalism are noted. In Soviet conditions, the federal theme was of particular relevance because of its practical significance. The development of the theory of federalism was carried out simultaneously with the approval of the Soviet federal state, the legal consolidation of relations between its subjects. The organizational center for the study of the theory and practice of federalism was located in the system of academic scientific institutions.

The problems of federalism in the legal perspective were studied within the framework of state law. In addition, they were part of the subject of a new complex industry, which became known as "Soviet construction".

Publications of the 1920s reflected the interdisciplinarity of research interpretations. In the comparative legal aspect, the theory of federalism and types of federations were studied. In the political aspect, the features of the Soviet federation, its differences from the federations of the bourgeois type were studied. The practice of Soviet construction was analyzed and generalized from a practical perspective. The key research issue of the 1920s was to determine the legal nature of the Soviet Federation. Definitions of the legal nature of the RSFSR and the USSR were given. An important conclusion was made about the continuity and continuity of the forms of the Soviet federation. Many questions remained debatable. Clarity was not achieved on the following issues: on the composition of the subjects of the RSFSR; on the combination of national and state sovereignty. For the first time, the question of the place and role of the historical Russian center within the USSR was raised. During the period of the 1920s, priorities in the study of the problems of federalism changed. At the beginning of the period, the main attention was paid to the study of the federation as an effective way to solve the national issue. The federal structure was considered a transitional form of the Soviet state. A state built on the principles of proletarian internationalism was declared promising. At the end of the 1920s, the concept of a large unified state was most actively developed. It was proved that within the framework of the USSR, national demands are satisfied and the interests of all nations are respected.