Das Referendum in den Föderationssubjekten und Gemeinden des heutigen Russlands

Compared to other European countries, referendums are quite frequently held in Russia, especially at the municipal level – since 1993, there have been more than 1,300. The author for the first time examines the normative structure and practical use of the referendum in the federal subjects of Russia (referendum at the regional level, the level of a single federal subject and the municipal level) based on original Russian sources. Thus, the perception of the Russian doctrine relating to the referendum is made accessible to non-Russian readers. The referendum at the federal level is not the prior object of the present research due to lack of its practical use. The aim is to make conclusions about the past and future development of the normative structure and practical use of the referendum in Russia, to compare them and to propose amendments to the legal basis in order to improve the applicability of the referendum in Russia.