Treaty of Federation

The Treaty of Federation (Федеративный договор) was a treaty signed on 31 March 1992 in Moscow between the Russian government and 18 of the 20 autonomous republics of Russia. The objective of the treaty was to prevent ethnic separatist movements from disintegrating the newly independent Russian Federation, as had happened to the Soviet Union.

The autonomous regions agreed to remain part of Russia in return for a greater autonomy and a larger share of natural resources. Chechenya and Tatarstan refused to sign the treaty. The treaty established republics as having greater power compared to other federal subjects of Russia. This legal imbalance was addressed by the Russian Constitution of 1993, which stipulated that all federal subjects had equal rights in their relationships with the federal government.