Abstract: The subject of the study is the theory and practice of implementing the legislative process of Russian regions through the referendum procedure. The object of the study was public relations regulated by acts on holding regional referendums on the adoption of laws. The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as the legal regulation of the referendum legislative process, the advantages and disadvantages of the institute, provides an overview of the practice of holding referendums in a number of Russian regions. Special attention is paid to the possibility of implementing the people's legislative initiative in the referendum process of the Russian regions. It is noted that the phenomenon under study depends on the political alignment of forces in a particular subject of the Russian Federation. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that the consideration of the referendum as an alternative legislative mechanism of the subjects of the Russian Federation was not carried out in Russian constitutional law. The findings of the study also have a scientific novelty. The main conclusions are as follows: the referendum legislative process at the level of the regions of Russia is a convenient tool for attracting citizens to lawmaking and, as a result, improving the quality of civil society and the rule of law. A special contribution of the author to the study of the topic can be considered the analysis of the practice of regional referendums, in addition, the author has attempted to assess the strengths and weaknesses of such a variant of the legislative process.