in 1937-1988 the highest organ of state power in the Soviet Union. According to the USSR constitution of 1936, the Supreme Soviet was elected for 4 years on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage. The Constitution of the USSR of 1977 increased the term of the legislature of the next convocation to 5 years. The VS consisted of equal chambers - the Council of the Union and the Council of Nationalities. The legislative activity of the Supreme Council was carried out in two forms: directly by passing laws and by approving decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Council issued between, as a rule, two short sessions. Laws were voted on separately by the chambers. A law was considered approved if a simple majority of votes was cast for its adoption in each of the chambers; amending the Constitution required a supermajority in each chamber. The Law "On Amendments and Additions to the Constitution (Basic Law of the USSR", adopted on December 1, 1988, established a two-tier structure of legislative bodies - the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR and the bicameral Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Within the framework of the new structure, the Supreme Council received the status of a permanent legislative, administrative and control body of state power. A significant increase in the duration of sessions to 3-4 months brought the activities of the Supreme Council closer to the practice of Western representative institutions. However, the method of formation (its members were elected by the Congress of People's Deputies), its accountability to the Congress, the principle of responsibility of deputies to voters (including the right of recall) gave comparisons The introduction of the post of President of the USSR in March 1990 significantly limited the rights of the Supreme Council to monitor compliance with the Constitution of the USSR and deprived it of its administrative function.
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
the highest body of state power of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the representative body of the Soviet people, elected by the citizens of the USSR for a term of 4 years on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot.
V. S. of the USSR is a true representative of the entire Soviet people, possessing all the fullness of state power in a socialist state (see). All citizens of the USSR who have reached the age of 18 have the right to participate in the elections of deputies to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, regardless of race and nationality, gender, religion, educational qualification, settlement, social origin, property status and past activities, with the exception of insane people and persons convicted by the court with disenfranchisement. Every citizen of the Soviet Union who has reached the age of 23 can be elected a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
V. S. USSR exercises all the rights assigned to the USSR in accordance with Art. 14 of the Constitution, since they are not included, by virtue of the Constitution, within the competence of the bodies of the USSR accountable to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR: the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Council of Ministers of the USSR (see) and the ministries of the USSR. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR resolves the most important questions of the state life of the USSR, in particular questions of war and peace, approves the unified state budget and national economic plans, resolves questions about the admission of new republics to the Union, approves, with the consent of the Union republics, changes in the boundaries between them, the formation new territories, regions, as well as new autonomous republics, etc.
The legislative power of the USSR is exercised exclusively by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. This ensures its true supremacy and the stability of Soviet legislation. Issuing laws only representative body of the Soviet people testifies to true democracy Soviet state, that the law in the USSR is a valid expression of the will of the people.
V. S. USSR has an unlimited right to control the activities of state bodies. power and control. This finds its expression, firstly, in the fact that the deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR enjoy the right to request (see the Request of a Deputy of the Supreme Soviet) both in relation to the Government as a whole and in relation to individual members of the Government. The Government of the USSR or the Minister of the USSR, to whom the request of a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR is addressed, are obliged to give an oral or written answer in the corresponding chamber within no more than three days. Secondly, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR may, when it deems it necessary, appoint commissions of inquiry and revision on any question. All institutions and officials are obliged to comply with the requirements of these commissions and provide them with necessary materials and documents.
V. S. of the USSR consists of 2 chambers: the Council of the Union and the Council of Nationalities (see). The bicameral structure of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR is due to the multinational composition of the population of the Soviet Union. The peoples of the Soviet Union, along with common interests, also have their own special, specific interests connected with their national characteristics. The Soviet of the Union represents the common interests of all the working people of the USSR. The Council of Nationalities represents the special, specific interests of the nationalities united & the USSR. In accordance with this, the Soviet of the Union is elected by the citizens of the USSR according to electoral districts according to the norm: 1 deputy per 300,000 population; The Council of Nationalities is elected by the citizens of the USSR in the union and autonomous republics, autonomous regions and national districts according to the norm: 25 deputies from each union Soviet socialist republic (see), 11 deputies from each autonomous Soviet socialist republic (see), 5 deputies from each autonomous region (see) and 1 deputy from each national district (see). As a result of such a system, all the nationalities of the multinational Soviet socialist state are represented in the Council of Nationalities, including those that number only a few thousand people. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR is, consequently, the representative body of both the entire Soviet people as a whole and of all their nationalities.
Both chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR are equal in rights. Their equality is guaranteed by the Constitution of the USSR. They equally own the legislative initiative. A law is considered approved if it is adopted by both chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR by a simple majority of votes. In the event of disagreement between the chambers, the issue is referred to a conciliation commission (see Conciliation Commission) formed by the chambers on an equal footing. If the conciliation commission does not come to a consensus decision, or if its decision does not satisfy any of the chambers, the issue is considered by them a second time. If in this case, too, the chambers do not reach a consensus decision, then the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dissolves the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and calls new elections. The terms of office of both chambers are the same. Chamber sessions begin and end at the same time. During the sessions, both chambers have a common, unified agenda. Each Chamber elects a Chairman and 4 Vice-Chairmen. The chairmen of the chambers direct their meetings and are in charge of their internal routine. Joint meetings of the chambers are presided over by their chairmen in turn.
Regulations (see) chambers are the same. Both chambers have the same permanent commissions (see Commissions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Supreme Soviets of the Union and Autonomous Republics): mandate, legislative proposals, budgetary and foreign affairs. The order of formation of both chambers is equally democratic.
The Supreme Soviet of the USSR, at a joint meeting of both chambers, elects the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which is accountable to it in all its activities, forms the Government of the USSR - the Council of Ministers of the USSR, which is responsible to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and is accountable to it. V. S. of the USSR elects the Supreme Court of the USSR (see) and special courts (see) and appoints the Prosecutor General of the USSR.
Upon the expiration of the powers or in the event of early dissolution of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, new elections are called by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR within a period of not more than 2 months from the date of the expiration of the powers or the dissolution of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The newly elected Supreme Soviet of the USSR is convened by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR no later than three months after the elections. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR carries out its activities on a sessional basis. Sessions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR are convened by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR: ordinary - twice a year, extraordinary - at the discretion of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR or at the request of one of the union republics. The first session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the new convocation is opened by chambers by the oldest deputies of the chambers. Subsequent sessions, if they begin separately for the chambers, are opened by the presidents of the chambers; if the session begins with a joint meeting of the chambers, then it is opened by one of the chairmen of the chambers.
The order of the day of the session is established directly by the chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR at the first meeting of the session; questions are submitted for consideration by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR; The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Government of the USSR, the chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the permanent committees of the chambers and the deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. At the first meeting of the session of the chamber, the procedure for discussing the issues accepted for consideration by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR at this session is established. As a rule, reports on issues of the order of the day are heard at joint sessions of the chambers. By decision of the chambers, issues can be discussed both at separate and at their joint meetings.
Rapporteurs on the agenda of the session are approved by the chairmen of the chambers. Each group of deputies of the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities, numbering at least 50 people, may nominate its own co-rapporteur. Sessions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and its chambers are conducted in accordance with the regulations established by the chambers at the first session. Debates on individual issues are terminated by decision of the chambers. Voting is done by a show of hands or deputy mandates. Issues are decided by a simple majority of votes. To amend the Constitution of the USSR, a qualified majority is required, namely, at least 2/3 of the votes in each of the chambers. Sessions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR continue until the entire agenda of the day is exhausted.
The deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR enjoy the legislative initiative, the right to request and parliamentary immunity(see Right of legislative initiative, Immunity of a deputy); they are obliged to fulfill the will of the voters who sent them, to report to them, and can be recalled at any time by the decision of the majority of voters in the manner prescribed by law (see Right to Recall a Deputy). The Soviet people elect the best representatives of the working class, peasantry, and intelligentsia of our country, nominated by the bloc of Communists and non-Party people, as deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In accordance with the fundamental interests of the Soviet people, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR directs the development of the Soviet state along the road to communism with all its activities. In doing so, it relies on the fundamental economic law of socialism; ensuring the maximum satisfaction of the constantly growing material and cultural needs of the whole society through the continuous growth and improvement of socialist production on the basis of high technology. This finds vivid expression in the laws issued by V. S. USSR on perspective plans development National economy USSR, on the state budget of the USSR, and others. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR is pursuing a consistent policy of peace and cooperation among the peoples, and is waging an unremitting struggle against the preparations by the imperialists for a new world war. Examples of this are the Statement of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 19, 1950 on support for the proposals of the Standing Committee of the World Congress of Peace Supporters on the prohibition of atomic weapons, the establishment of international control over the observance of this prohibition and the declaration of a war criminal by the government that will be the first to use atomic weapon, Law for the Protection of Peace (see) of March 12, 1951, etc.
The Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which is the bearer of the sovereign state will of the Soviet people, is fundamentally different from the bourgeois parliaments (see), obedient bodies in the hands of the imperialist bourgeoisie. While the Supreme Soviet of the USSR exercises full power in the state, the bourgeois parliaments play a secondary role in the state mechanism. In the capitalist countries, "real "state" work is done behind the scenes and carried out by departments, chancelleries, and headquarters. In parliaments, they only talk with the express purpose of cheating the "common people" (V. I. Lenin, Soch., vol. 25, p. 395). Unlike the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which is a truly representative body of the people, bourgeois parliaments are not really representative bodies due to restrictions on the electoral right, terror, bribery, extortion and other methods of pressure on voters during election campaigns, as well as direct election fraud.
The bicameral structure of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR has nothing in common with the bourgeois bicameral system. Chambers in bourgeois parliaments are unequal. The upper house enjoys more rights than the lower house. The upper house is formed in an even less democratic way than the lower one: in elections to the upper house, higher age and other qualifications are applied, in particular for passive suffrage, which significantly narrows the circle of persons eligible to be elected to the upper house; in some cases, indirect elections are used, and sometimes, as, for example, in the House of Lords in England, the vast majority of the members of the House receive their seats in the House by inheritance or are appointed.
The experience of creating in the USSR a truly representative body of the people, which has full power in the state and heads the entire system of state bodies, is being used by the countries of people's democracy.
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1937 - 1990).
The Constitution of the USSR of 1936 introduced fundamental changes in the system of all governing bodies of the country. Universal, equal, direct suffrage was granted to all citizens over the age of 18, with the exception of the mentally ill and those deprived of voting rights by the court. As the highest all-union body of state power, the Constitution determined the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, which became the successor. He was elected by secret ballot of citizens.
The elections of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 1st convocation were held on December 12, 1937, and on January 12-19, 1938, the first session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was held. II convocation - in February 1946. In the future, the term of office of deputies was limited to 4 years: III convocation - 1950-1954, IV 1954-1958; V 1958-1962; VI 1962-1966; VII 1966-1970; VIII 1970-1974; IX 1974-1978; X - 1979-1984; XI - 1984-1989
The Supreme Soviet of the USSR consisted of two equal chambers: the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities. Members of the Soviet of the Union were elected by the entire population of the USSR in constituencies with an equal population. For elections to the Council of Nationalities, there was a special representation rate: 32 deputies from each union republic, 11 deputies from autonomous republics, 5 deputies from an autonomous region, and 1 deputy from each autonomous district.
If there were disagreements between the chambers, the solution of the disputed issue was transferred to the conciliation commission, which was to be formed by both chambers on an equal footing. In case of new disagreements, the Presidium of the Supreme Council, in accordance with Art. 47 and 49 of the Constitution, could dissolve the Supreme Council and call new elections. However, for all 53 years of existence of the Supreme Soviets, such conflicts did not arise.
Both chambers were endowed with the right of legislative initiative. Each chamber elected a chairman and four deputies. The chairman presided over the meetings and determined the internal routine. Joint meetings of the chambers were chaired by their chairmen in turn. Each chamber at the first session of the new convocation, based on a certain representative norm, was to form a special advisory body - the Council of Elders, which was subsequently entrusted with organizational work - setting the agenda, regulations, etc.
At the first meetings, the chambers were supposed to form standing commissions (legislative proposals, budgetary, foreign affairs, etc.) - auxiliary and preparatory bodies of the chambers that acted during the term of the chamber. Their tasks included the preparation of conclusions and amendments to bills, the development of bills on their own initiative or on behalf of the chamber, control over the implementation by ministries and departments of the Constitution of the USSR and other laws, and the chairmen of the chambers and the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR carried out the work of the commissions.
In 1967, the Supreme Council adopted a special regulation on the standing committees of both chambers, defining their composition and regulating their activities. Each chamber created the following permanent commissions: mandate, legislative proposals, planning and budget, foreign affairs; on industry, transport and communications; construction and building materials industry; agriculture; health and welfare; public education, science and culture; youth affairs; on trade, household services and public utilities; for nature protection; on consumer goods; on issues of work and life of women, protection of motherhood and childhood.
The main form of activity of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR were sessions, which were to be convened twice a year. The issue of a quorum was decided by the deputies themselves. The constitution provided for holding both ordinary and extraordinary sessions. An extraordinary session could be convened at the request of the Presidium or one of the Union republics, but the deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR did not have this right under the Constitution of 1936. The Constitution of the USSR of 1977 expanded the rights of deputies, establishing a norm of 2/3 of the votes of any of the chambers, but no one took advantage of this right.
The work of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR took place in the form of sessions, usually convened twice a year. In the period between sessions, since 1936, its Presidium, elected by the chambers, has been the highest legislative and administrative body, but the legal status of the Presidium has not been defined in the Constitution.
Formally, the Presidium was defined as a body elected and accountable to the chambers. His competence included convening sessions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, interpreting laws, issuing decrees and calling new elections to the Supreme Soviet. Later, in 1938, the Presidium received the right to accept and deprive the citizenship of the USSR, to declare martial law in the country, and by supplementing the Constitution of 1948, the Presidium received the right to denounce international treaties of the USSR, establish state awards, honorary and military ranks of the USSR.
Extraordinary measures characteristic of the legislative activity of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR found their development in the lawmaking of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In the 1940s, new emergency laws were periodically issued, the scope of which either expanded to the limit, or narrowed. These include the law of 1938 on labor discipline, the laws of 1939 on equating the production of incomplete or poor-quality products with wrecking, on the establishment of a mandatory minimum of workdays for collective farmers, the failure to comply with which threatened the peasant with exclusion from the collective farm, i.e. loss of all means of subsistence. In 1940, laws were passed on the prohibition of unauthorized leaving enterprises, on absenteeism, on tougher liability for petty theft in production, etc. In 1941-1944. followed by unprecedented decrees for the deportation of many peoples. In 1947, a decree was issued on forced labor on collective farms, on the basis of which, for evading labor or not working out the norm (176 workdays per year), by a resolution of the village Council, the violator could be deported with his family for 5 years. Decree of June 4, 1947 increased criminal liability for theft of state and public property (from 2 to 25 years)
In 1941-1945. The Presidium adopted a number of decrees to transfer the economy to a military footing, to expand the rights and powers of the military authorities, to increase taxes and legally issued a whole series of repressive acts against individual peoples and nationalities in the USSR, which led to a redrawing of the territorial division of the country and amendments to the Constitution.
The Presidium also developed and approved the regulations on elections, set the day for their holding and formed constituencies, it also approved the composition of the Central Election Commission and established uniform forms of election documentation.
But the main focus of the work of the Presidium was the issues of state building. He considered and resolved the issues of Soviet construction, established the system and competence of the central state bodies to manage the economy and culture, formed ministries and departments. In the period between sessions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, he could release or appoint ministers.
Initially, the functions of the Presidium were interpreted as the duties of a "collegiate president", but very quickly he began to issue legislative decrees. As a result, among the laws adopted by the Supreme Council at sessions, laws that approved the decrees of the Presidium began to predominate, which, in turn, further emphasized the decorative essence of Soviet "parliamentarism", where the role of people's deputies was reduced to stamping already actually adopted bills and personal reception citizens with their complaints and suggestions.
In the Constitution of the USSR of 1977, the Presidium was defined as a permanent body of the Supreme Soviet, accountable to it and performing its functions between sessions. He ensured the preparation of draft laws for consideration and the publication of laws and other acts; organized the joint work of the standing committees and gave instructions to the standing committees; listened to the reports of state and public bodies on the consideration of the recommendations of the standing commissions; heard deputies about their reports to voters.
The chairmen of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR were: M.I.Kalinin (1938-1946), N.M.Shvernik (1946-1953), K.E.Voroshilov (1953-1957), M.P.Georgadze (1957-1960) , L.I. Brezhnev (1960-1964, 1977-1982), A.I. Mikoyan (1964-1965), N.V. Podgorny (1965-1977), Yu.V. Andropov (1983-1984), K.U. Chernenko ( 1984-1985), A.A. Gromyko (1985-1988), M.S. Gorbachev (1988-1989). On May 25, 1989, due to the change in the nature of the activity of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the post of Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was introduced, which until March 15, 1990 was occupied by M.S. Gorbachev, and then, in connection with the election of M.S. Gorbachev as President of the USSR , until September 4, 1991 - A.I. Lukyanov.
To carry out its functions, the Presidium It was the Presidium that formed the working apparatus, which included:
Secretariat of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1950-1989), Secretariat of the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1951-1954) and Secretariat of the Secretary of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1938-1989);
Reception of the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1937-1988);
Office of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1938-1989);
Legal Department (1938-1989);
Department of International Relations (1950-1988);
Information and Statistical Department (1938-1966);
Department for the work of the Soviets (1966-1988);
Department for the work of the standing committees of the chambers. (1966-1988);
Department for accounting and registration of the awarded (1938-1988; since 1959 - Department of awards);
Pardon Preparation Department (1955-1988; since 1984 - Pardon Sector)
Sector of elections;
Sector of administrative-territorial division;
Ensuring the work of the Supreme Council was entrusted to: the Administration of Affairs (1938-1950) and the Financial and Economic Department (1938-1988).
The meetings of the Presidium were convened by its chairman once every two months. The Presidium also carried out work on the reception of the population, consideration of letters and applications from citizens.
The nature of the activities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR has changed since the election and start of work in May 1989 of the first Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR.
The Constitution of 1936, in comparison with the Constitution of 1924, significantly expanded the powers of the all-union bodies, including through control over the implementation of the Constitution and ensuring the conformity of the constitutions of the union republics with the Constitution of the USSR. The right to issue republican codes of laws, issues of labor legislation, legislation on the court and administrative-territorial structure were withdrawn from the union republics in favor of all-union bodies, which meant increased centralization of management. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR also received the right to appoint any investigative and audit commissions, which made it possible to control the activities of any state body.
The term of office of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the first convocation ended in the autumn of 1941, but the outbreak of war forced the elections to be postponed. During the years of the Great Patriotic War only three sessions of the Supreme Council took place (in June 1942, in February 1944, in April 1945). At the first of them, the deputies ratified the Anglo-Soviet treaty on an alliance in the war, at the second, decisions were made to expand the rights of the union republics in the field of foreign relations and national defense and the union budget for 1944, the April session approved the law on the budget of 1945.
At the sessions of the newly elected Supreme Soviet of the USSR in March 1946 (1946-1953), the budgets of the USSR and reports on their execution were discussed, and the decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet were approved. Despite some criticisms of the work of the state apparatus, calls for a reduction in the tax burden on agriculture, none of the proposals of the deputies, put forward on their own initiative, was implemented.
After the death of Stalin, deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR 1954-1962. many measures were proposed and even developed to expand the rights of the Union republics in economic and cultural development, to expand the foreign policy activities of the Supreme Soviet, and much more. A lot was done to restore justice in relation to the repressed peoples and nationalities in the USSR, to restore their rights, but the initiatives of the deputies of the Supreme Council did not receive any further development.
The new definition under the USSR Constitution of 1936 of the Council of People's Commissars (since 1946 - the Council of Ministers of the USSR) as "the highest executive and administrative body of state power" also contributed to the belittling of the role of the Supreme Council. Such a formulation of the question of the place and role of the government in the life of the country, intensifying the tendency to bureaucratize the state and party apparatus, only emphasized the decorative organs of representative power in the USSR.
The USSR Constitution of 1977 did not change the fundamental foundations of state life. During the discussion, the newspapers and the Constitutional Commission received a little less than 500,000 proposals. Workers' letters contained criticism of the political and electoral system of society, the place and role of Soviets as organs of power, and so on. But the opinion of the people was never heard. Moreover, after its adoption, the centralization of state administrative functions in the hands of party bodies intensified. The role of state governing bodies was hypertrophied, and the role of the Soviets was reduced to almost nothing.
The change in the political leadership of the party and the country served as the beginning of an era of attempts to renew the state and socio-political structures in the country. During the process, which received the name "perestroika of the Soviet society", a period of renewal of all spheres of life began, new political public organizations.
On December 1, 1988, two laws were adopted - “On Amendments and Additions to the Constitution (Basic Law) of the USSR” and “On Elections of People's Deputies of the USSR”, which significantly changed the system of the highest representative bodies of the USSR.
Budget Commissions (since 1966 - Planning and Budget Commissions);
Council of the Union and Council of Nationalities (1938-1989);
Economic Commission of the Council of Nationalities (1957-1966);
Commission for Legislative Proposals of the Council of the Union of the Council of Nationalities (1938-1989);
Editorial Commission for the introduction of amendments and additions to the text of the Constitution of the USSR (1946-1947).
E-book "STATE DUMA IN RUSSIA IN 1906-2006" Transcripts of meetings and other documents.; Apparatus State Duma Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation; Federal Archival Agency; Information company "Kodeks"; OOO "Agora IT"; Databases of "Consultant Plus" company; OOO NPP Garant-Service.
Constitution, was the main legislative body of the country. He was called upon to represent the interests of the people in the person of the deputies. But to what extent was it possible to do this in the realities of the Soviet era? Let's look at the history of the formation and further development of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and also analyze in detail its main tasks and functions.
Before the formation of the Supreme Soviet, the Congress of Soviets of the USSR, consisting of deputies who were elected at local congresses, was considered the highest legislative body in the state. This body was chosen by the CEC, which, in turn, was responsible for the formation of the executive branches of power. The Congress of Soviets was established immediately after the formation of the USSR in 1922 and abolished in 1936, when it was replaced by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Before the proclamation of the Soviet Union, similar functions were performed by the Congresses of Soviets of specific republics: All-Russian, All-Ukrainian, All-Belarusian, All-Caucasian. A total of eight All-Union Congresses of Soviets were held from 1922 to 1936.
In 1936, another Constitution was adopted in the Soviet Union, according to which the powers of the Supreme Council and the Central Executive Committee of the USSR were transferred to a new institution - the Supreme Council. Unlike its predecessor, this collegiate body assumed direct election by the entire population of the country, who had the right to vote. It was believed that in this way the people would have more leverage for the formation of power structures than with indirect elections. This was presented as the next step towards the democratization of society, with which the formation of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was connected. So the authorities tried to pretend to be close to the people.
Elections to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR were held in December 1937, and he took up his immediate duties from the beginning of the next year.
The Supreme Soviet of the USSR was formed from two chambers with equal rights: the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities. The first of them was elected in proportion to the population in each area. The second - represented each republic or autonomous unit, and for each administrative-territorial form a certain number of deputies was provided, regardless of the number of inhabitants in a given territory. Thus, each republic in the Council of Nationalities was represented by 32 deputies, the autonomous republic - 11, Autonomous region- 5, autonomous region - 1.
The body that controlled the work of this parliamentary structure was the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. He was elected immediately after the beginning of the activities of the Council of a particular convocation. It initially consisted of thirty-eight deputies, although later the number was adjusted. The Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR supervised its work.
Members of the Presidium, unlike other deputies, worked on a permanent basis, and did not meet from session to session.
Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin became the first Chairman of the Supreme Council. In this position, he was almost until his death in 1946, and before that he was the head of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union from the RSFSR. Heading the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Kalinin M. I. acquired the nickname of the "all-Union headman."
Under him, in 1940, due to the fact that the territory of the USSR expanded significantly, including by including new republics and autonomous entities in its composition, as a result of the implementation of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, it was decided to increase the number of members of the presidium by 5 people. However, on the day of Kalinin's resignation, this number was reduced by one. The most famous Decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of that time was issued in July 1941 and was called "On Martial Law". It signified the fact that the Soviet Union accepted the challenge posed by Nazi Germany.
After the war, Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin did not stay long in his high post. because of bad condition health, he had to resign as head of the Supreme Council in March 1946, although he remained a member of the Presidium until his death from cancer in June of that year.
After the resignation of Kalinin, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was headed by Nikolai Mikhailovich Shvernik. Of course, he did not have such great authority as his predecessor to make at least some adjustments to Stalin's policy. Actually, after the death of Stalin in 1953, Shvernik was replaced by a well-known civil war military leader, Marshal Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov, popular among the people. However, he was more of a military man than a politician, so he also failed to develop his own independent line, despite the beginning of the “thaw” under Khrushchev.
In 1960, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev became the head of the Supreme Soviet. After the removal of Khrushchev in 1964, he left this position, becoming the General Secretary of the only party in the state. Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan was appointed head of the Supreme Council, but a year later he was replaced by Nikolai Viktorovich Podgorny, as the previous Chairman tried to pursue an independent policy in some matters.
However, in 1977, Brezhnev again took the post of head of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, where he remained until his death in the fall of 1982. Thus, for the first time in history, the position of the party head (the actual leader of the Soviet Union) and formally the highest post in the country were concentrated in the hands of one person. The congresses of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in those years were purely technical in nature, and all major decisions were made exclusively by the Politburo. It was the era of "stagnation".
In 1978, a new Constitution came into effect, according to which the deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR were re-elected every 5 years, instead of four, as it was before. The number of the Presidium, together with the head, reached 39 people.
This Constitution confirmed that the Supreme Soviet of the USSR is the collegiate head of the Soviet Union. In addition, the Presidium was assigned the exclusive right to ratify and denounce international agreements, introduce martial law and declare war. Among other powers of this body, the prerogative of conferring citizenship, establishing and awarding orders and medals, holding referendums should be noted. However, this is far from a complete list.
After Brezhnev's death in 1982, the tradition of combining the highest party and government positions that he had begun was continued. Vasily Vasilyevich Kuznetsov was appointed Acting Chairman of the Supreme Council until the election of a new General Secretary. After the appointment of Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov as the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, he was also elected to the post of Chairman of the Presidium. However, he did not hold these posts for long, since he died in February 1984.
Again Kuznetsov was placed and. about. head of the Soviet parliament, and again he was replaced after being elected to the post by the new Secretary General - Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko. However, he did not live long, because in a year he life path broke off. Again, the permanent acting head of the Presidium, V. V. Kuznetsov, assumed temporary powers. But this trend was interrupted. It's time for global change.
After Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev came to power in 1985 as General Secretary, the tradition that began with the Brezhnev era, when the highest party leader simultaneously headed the Supreme Council, was broken. This time Andrei Andreevich Gromyko was appointed Chairman of the Presidium, before former Minister foreign affairs. He remained in this position until 1988, when he asked to resign for health reasons. Less than a year later, Andrei Andreevich died. This was, perhaps, the first head of the Supreme Council after the “all-Union headman” Kalinin, who was able to pursue a policy that did not completely coincide with the line of the General Secretary.
At that time in the country, under the leadership of General Secretary MS Gorbachev, a course was being pursued towards the democratization of society, which was given the name "perestroika". It was he who took the chair of the chairman of the Supreme Council after Gromyko's resignation.
Just since 1988, the active phase of perestroika began. It could not help touching on the activities of the Supreme Council itself. The composition of the Presidium was significantly expanded. Now the heads of committees and chambers of the Supreme Council automatically became its members. But more importantly, since 1989, the Supreme Council has ceased to be the collective head of state, since it was single-handedly headed by the Chairman.
Since that year, the format of the meetings has also changed significantly. If before the deputies gathered exclusively at the session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, then from that moment their work began to be carried out on an ongoing basis, as the Presidium had previously functioned.
In the first half of March 1990, a new position was established - the President of the USSR. It was he who now began to be considered the official head of the Soviet Union. In this regard, Mikhail Gorbachev, who assumed this position, renounced the powers of the Chairman of the Supreme Council, transferring them to Anatoly Ivanovich Lukyanov.
It was under Lukyanov that the Supreme Soviet of the USSR completed its functioning. 1991 became the point after which the Soviet state could no longer exist in its former form.
The turning point was the August coup, which was defeated and thus stated the impossibility of conserving the old order. By the way, one of the active members of the coup was the head of parliament, Anatoly Lukyanov, who, however, was not directly part of the GKChP. After the failure of the putsch, he, by permission of the Supreme Soviet, was in pre-trial detention center, from where he was released only in 1992, that is, after the final collapse of the Soviet Union.
In September 1991, a law was issued on a significant change in the mode of functioning of the Supreme Council. According to him, the independence of the Council of the Union and the Council of the Republics was consolidated. The first chamber included deputies, whose candidatures were agreed with the leadership of a particular republic. Twenty deputies from each republic of the Soviet Union were elected to the second chamber. This was the last change that the USSR parliament underwent.
Meanwhile, after the failed coup attempt, more and more former Soviet republics declared state sovereignty and secession from the USSR. At the beginning of the last month of 1991, the end to the existence of the Soviet Union was actually put in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, at the congress of the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. On December 25, President Gorbachev resigned. And the next day, at a session of the Supreme Council, a decision was made on its self-dissolution and liquidation of the USSR as a state.
For most of its existence, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was formally considered the collective head of state, endowed with very broad functions, but in reality the real state of affairs was far from being the same. All major decisions relating to state development were made at meetings of the Central Committee of the Party or the Politburo, and in a certain period of time and individually General Secretary. So the activities of the Supreme Council were a screen covering the people who really led the country. Although the Bolsheviks came to power using the slogan: "All power to the Soviets!", But in reality it was never put into practice. Only in recent years, the declared functions of this parliamentary structure have begun to at least partially correspond to the real ones.
At the same time, it should be noted that it was the laws and decrees of the Supreme Council that were a kind of notification of the people and the world community about the decisions that the ruling elite made. Thus, this institution still had certain functions, although they differed significantly from its declarative rights and prerogatives enshrined in the Soviet Constitution.
IN OUR COUNTRY is increasingly deployed election campaign on the election of a new composition of the highest body of state power. In connection with this important event, the editors receive letters with a request to tell about the work of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Our correspondent asked the Chairman of the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR V. P. Ruben to answer questions from readers.
CORR: Vitaly Petrovich! The attacks of our ideological opponents on the Soviet organs of power have become more frequent in the bourgeois press. They write, for example, that the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, with the exception of a few days a year, has continuous "parliamentary vacations", that its deputies do not have enough "professional qualifications", since they work in the Soviet episodically.
RUBEN: About what kind of work and what kind of professionalism in question? Yes, according to their permanent specialty, the deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR are workers and collective farmers (more than 50 percent of them). These are engineers, doctors, teachers, cultural figures, economic and political leaders, in a word, representatives of all specialties in all spheres of life. What's wrong with that? After all, that is precisely why any issue in the Supreme Council is considered in the presence and with the active participation of people whose knowledge, authority, experience in this or that field enjoys nationwide recognition. To our deputies - representatives of the working people - everything that the country lives on is dear. They are vitally interested in the fact that everyone Soviet people lived better. From these positions they approach the solution of their deputy duties. For comparison, let us recall that there is not a single worker, ordinary farmer in the US Congress. And the highest house of parliament - the Senate - the Americans themselves call the "club of millionaires." Such representatives, of course, do not care about the worries of the common man.
As for "episodicity", here, too, the "critics" are at odds with reality.
Yes, the sessions of our highest authority meet twice a year. They review and approve state plans for the economic and social development, State budget of the USSR, adopted laws. However, the Kremlin halls are not empty between sessions either. The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which is its permanent body, works here. The Presidium meets regularly for its meetings (usually 6-7 times a year).
Continuity in the work of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR is also ensured by the permanent commissions of the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities elected from among the deputies. In accordance with the Constitution of the USSR, they are created for the preliminary consideration and preparation of issues within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, as well as to promote the implementation of the laws of the USSR and other decisions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and its Presidium, and to control the activities of state bodies and organizations. Unlike similar commissions in bourgeois parliaments, which meet on a case-by-case basis, commissions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR work regularly. The number of commissions and the number of deputies in them is growing. So, if in all commissions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the first convocation there were 89 deputies, now 34 permanent commissions have been created in the chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, in which 1210 deputies work.
A great deal of work on the preliminary consideration of state plans for the development of the national economy of the country and the budget, and on the preparation of conclusions on them, is carried out on behalf of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, for example, by the planning-budget and other standing commissions of the chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Thus, to consider the State Plan for the Economic and Social Development of the USSR for 1981-1985, the State Plan for the Economic and Social Development of the USSR for 1982, 17 preparatory commissions were formed, in which more than 230 deputies and 200 specialists from ministries and departments worked. The results of the work of the preparatory commissions were considered at the plenary meetings of the planning, budget and other commissions, which were attended by 1,000 deputies.
This is just one of many examples, so there is no reason to reproach the Supreme Soviet of the USSR with inactivity.
CORR: Please tell us more about the work of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the tenth convocation.
RUBEN: The past period after the election of the current composition of the supreme body of power (March 4, 1979), as noted by the XXVI Congress of the CPSU, is characterized by an increase in the role of the Soviets of People's Deputies in the implementation of state, economic and socio-cultural construction, the strengthening of their control over the implementation of the life of laws, behind the work of accountable bodies.
AT modern conditions As Comrade Yu. V. Andropov pointed out, the role of representative bodies in the implementation of the most important economic and organizational function of the socialist state is growing. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the tenth convocation considered and approved the state plans for economic and social development for the eleventh five-year plan and annual plans, the state budget of the USSR, heard reports from the Government of the USSR, reports on the implementation of state plans and budget execution. A number of important, key problems of the national economy were discussed in the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, its Presidium, and the permanent committees of the chambers, including the issues of concentrating capital investments in start-up and most important construction projects, the fulfillment of state plans, assignments for the introduction of the achievements of science and technology into production, and the fulfillment of state plan assignments for the training of qualified workers for agricultural production and their retention in the countryside, as well as a number of other problems.
Tasks of great historical importance were set before the Soviets of People's Deputies by the decisions of the May (1982) Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, which approved the Food Program for the period up to 1990. In this connection, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR studied the experience of creating regional agro-industrial associations in the Georgian SSR and the Latvian SSR and considered the work of the Soviets of the Byelorussian SSR in implementing the Food Program.
Today, in the practical activities of the Soviets, well-established planning of work, skillful organization of labor and management, and well-organized control over state bodies, enterprises, institutions and organizations subordinate to them, are of paramount importance. It was in this aspect that the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR analyzed the work of the Soviets of People's Deputies of the Ukrainian SSR in monitoring the activities of accountable bodies, the Soviets of the Azerbaijan SSR - in fulfilling the requirements of the legislation on strengthening labor discipline and ensuring rational use labor resources.
The Supreme Soviet of the USSR constantly focuses on improving the well-being of the Soviet people, improving working conditions, living conditions, recreation, medical care and protecting the health of workers.
The scale of construction of children's preschool medical and preventive and health-improving institutions is expanding. The service sector and trade, as well as everyday life services are being improved. Further development received public education, training of qualified personnel.
The Supreme Soviet of the USSR focuses on improving the living conditions of the Soviet people, the fair distribution of housing under public control, ensuring the safety of the housing stock, and makes decisions on other issues of importance to the country.
Exercising control over the use of laws, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR discussed at its meetings the activities of the Councils of People's Deputies of the Moldavian SSR, the Turkmen SSR, and the Novosibirsk Region to comply with the requirements of housing legislation and implement plans for housing construction.
A special place in the activities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was occupied by problems related to improving the working and living conditions of women, caring for children and youth. On these issues, a resolution was adopted on the work of the Soviets of People's Deputies of the Lithuanian SSR, the Uzbek SSR, the Bashkir ASSR and the Omsk Region.
Of great importance are the Decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, adopted on the initiative of the Central Committee of the CPSU, in accordance with which the provision of pensions and social insurance for workers has been markedly improved. A supplement to the pension for work after reaching retirement age has been introduced. From 10 to 20 per cent. the size of the supplement to the old-age pension for continuous work experience at one enterprise, institution, organization has been increased.
The provision of pensions for disabled veterans of the Great Patriotic War and the families of servicemen who died at the front has been improved, and pensions for disabled veterans of groups I, II and III have been increased.
State assistance to families with children has been significantly expanded. The size and duration of the payment of benefits to single mothers have been increased.
CORR: B last years many pieces of legislation have been passed. Please tell us about the most important of them.
RUBEN: As you know, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of December 12, 1977 approved the "Plan for organizing work to bring the legislation of the USSR in line with the Constitution of the USSR", designed for 1978-1982.
Most of the tasks outlined in the plan for the development of new legislative acts and the introduction of amendments and additions to the current legislation have been completed. In pursuance of the plan, 20 new legislative acts were adopted, including 10 laws directly named in the Constitution of the USSR (the Law on Elections to the Supreme Soviet, the Regulations of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Law on the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the Law on the Prosecutor's Office of the USSR, the Law on State Arbitration, etc. .).
More than 30 existing legislative acts have been brought into line with the Constitution of the USSR. The Code of Laws of the USSR is published.
The legislative process in the USSR guarantees the embodiment in the laws of the true will of the Soviet people. During the tenth convocation, a number of bills were submitted for public discussion.
An example of this is the Fundamentals of Housing Legislation of the USSR and Union Republics. The draft of the Foundations was published in the central, republican press for public discussion. More than 20,000 proposals and comments were received on the project. All proposals were summarized and carefully considered in the standing committees of the chambers, and many of them were taken into account and included in the adopted law.
During the period of activity of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the tenth convocation, other bills were also submitted for public discussion, for example, the Law on labor collectives and increasing their role in the management of enterprises, institutions, and organizations. In general, almost 130,000 proposals and comments were received on the project.
CORR: And what is the activity of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in matters foreign policy?
RUBEN: The supreme body of state power pays great and constant attention to international problems.
In the Appeal of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to the parliaments and peoples of the world, adopted at the fifth session, in the Appeal to parliaments, governments, political parties and peoples of the world, adopted at a joint solemn meeting of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, dedicated to the 60th anniversary formation of the USSR, the voice of our party and state sounded firmly, clearly and consistently to the whole world, with new force confirmed that our ideal, our unchanging goal and constant concern is universal peace, friendship and cooperation between peoples.
The resolution "On the International Position and Foreign Policy of the Soviet Union", adopted on the report of a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR Comrade Gromyko A.A. at the eighth session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR contains new constructive proposals of the USSR, aimed at reducing the arms race and ensuring peace on our planet.
The text of the resolution was officially sent to the leaders of the parliaments of countries with which the USSR has diplomatic relations, to the chairmen of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the parliaments.
At the ninth session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the tenth convocation in December 1983, in the adopted resolution "On the International Position and Foreign Policy of the Soviet State", the Supreme Soviet of the USSR decided: to fully and completely approve the Statements of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Comrade Yu.V. Andropov dated September 28 and November 24, 1983, which gave a deep and comprehensive assessment of the causes that caused the current complication international position, the invariable line of the Soviet Union on the preservation and strengthening of peace, curbing the arms race, expanding and deepening cooperation between states was confirmed.
Despite the ongoing attempts by opponents of detente to hinder the development of parliamentary ties with the Soviet Union, the geography of parliamentary contacts expanded.
In total, in 1979 - 1983. delegations of the supreme body of state power of the USSR visited 49 foreign states. The stay of Soviet parliamentarians abroad was actively used to disseminate truthful information about the Soviet Union, explain its peaceful foreign policy, new practical steps and initiatives aimed at preserving global peace and preventing a nuclear catastrophe.
During the same period, 54 delegations of foreign parliaments paid official visits to the USSR.
Such is only short list affairs with which the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, its Presidium, and various commissions are constantly occupied. But what has been said is enough to convince oneself of the bias and deceitfulness of the bourgeois propagandists, who are trying to judge the activities of the highest organ of state power in the USSR by their own standards.
The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, was the highest representative and legislative body of state power in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which operated from 1938 to 1991. From 1938 to 1989 it met in sessions, in 1989-1991 it was the permanent parliament of the Soviet Union.
Since the Soviet political system rejected the doctrine of the separation and independence of powers, the Supreme Soviet had not only legislative, but also partial executive and supervisory power. The laws issued by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR were the source of law.
The Supreme Council was formally considered the collective head of state (in the intervals between sessions, the legislative, representative and other functions of the Supreme Council were carried out by its Presidium).
The nature of the activities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR has changed since the election and start of work in May 1989 of the first Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR. The Constitution of 1936, in comparison with the Constitution of 1924, significantly expanded the powers of the all-Union bodies, including through control over the implementation of the Constitution and ensuring the conformity of the constitutions of the union republics with the Constitution of the USSR. The right to issue republican codes of laws, issues of labor legislation, legislation on the court and administrative-territorial structure were withdrawn from the union republics in favor of all-union bodies, which meant increased centralization of management. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR also received the right to appoint any investigative and audit commissions, which made it possible to control the activities of any state body.
Extraordinary measures characteristic of the legislative activity of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR found their development in the lawmaking of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In the years 1930-1940, new emergency laws were periodically issued, the scope of which either expanded to the limit, or narrowed. These include the law of 1938 on labor discipline, the laws of 1939 on equating the production of incomplete or poor-quality products with wrecking, on the establishment of an obligatory minimum of workdays for collective farmers, the failure to comply with which threatened the peasant with exclusion from the collective farm, that is, the loss of all means of subsistence. In 1947, a decree was issued on forced labor on collective farms, on the basis of which, for evading labor or failing to work out the norm (176 workdays per year), by a resolution of the village council, the violator could be expelled with his family for 5 years.
The term of office of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the first convocation ended in the fall of 1941, but the outbreak of war forced the elections to be postponed. During the Great Patriotic War, only three sessions of the Supreme Council took place (in June 1942, in February 1944, in April 1945). At the first of them, the deputies ratified the Anglo-Soviet treaty on an alliance in the war, at the second, decisions were made to expand the rights of the union republics in the field of foreign relations and national defense and the union budget for 1944, the April session approved the law on the budget of 1945.
The new definition under the USSR Constitution of 1936 of the Council of People's Commissars (since 1946 - the Council of Ministers of the USSR) as "the highest executive and administrative body of state power" also contributed to the belittling of the role of the Supreme Council.
The USSR Constitution of 1977 did not change the fundamental foundations of state life. During the discussion, the newspapers and the Constitutional Commission received a little less than 500,000 proposals. The workers' letters contained criticism of the political and electoral system of society, the place and role of the Soviets as organs of power. But the opinion of the people was never heard. Moreover, after its adoption, the centralization of state administrative functions in the hands of party bodies intensified. The role of state governing bodies was hypertrophied, and the role of the Soviets was reduced to almost nothing.
The work of the Supreme Council was led by the Presidium, which was re-elected at the beginning of the work of the Council of each convocation at a joint meeting of both chambers from among the deputies. The composition of the Presidium was not permanent and was determined by the Constitution of the USSR. In the Constitution of the USSR of 1977, the Presidium was defined as a permanent body of the Supreme Soviet, accountable to it and performing its functions between sessions.
The Presidium was authorized to ratify and denounce international treaties, introduce martial law in certain areas or throughout the USSR, order general or partial mobilization, declare war, and appoint ambassadors of the USSR. In addition, the functions of the Presidium included: issuing decrees; interpretation of applicable laws; exercising the right of pardon; admission to Soviet citizenship, deprivation of it and approval of voluntary withdrawal from Soviet citizenship; establishment of orders, medals, honorary titles of the USSR and awarding them; establishment of military ranks, diplomatic ranks.
The change in the political leadership of the party and the country served as the beginning of an era of attempts to renew the state and socio-political structures in the country. In the course of the process, which received the name "restructuring of Soviet society", a period of renewal of all spheres of life began, new political public organizations appeared. On December 1, 1988, two laws were adopted - "On Amendments and Additions to the Constitution (Basic Law) of the USSR" and "On Elections of People's Deputies of the USSR", which significantly changed the system of the highest representative bodies of the USSR. Beginning in 1989, the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR became the sole head of state, and beginning in 1990, the President of the USSR.
In June 1988, general secretary The Central Committee of the CPSU, MS Gorbachev, at the 19th Conference, announced a policy of political reform. December 1, 1988 was adopted new law USSR "On the Election of People's Deputies of the USSR" and introduced necessary changes to the 1977 Constitution of the USSR. On September 5, 1991, the Congress adopted the anti-constitutional Law of the USSR "On Organs of State Power and Administration of the USSR in transition period”, which radically changed the structure of government.
According to the law, during the transitional period, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was the highest representative body of power in the USSR, consisting of two independent chambers: the Council of Republics and the Council of the Union. The Council of the Republics included 20 deputies from each union republic from among the people's deputies of the USSR and the union republics, delegated by the supreme authorities of these republics. The Council of the Union was formed by the deputations of the union republics from among the people's deputies of the USSR in agreement with the highest authorities of the union republics.
For the period until the beginning of the work of the unconstitutionally formed Supreme Council, the powers of the legally elected Supreme Council and its bodies were retained. On December 26, 1991, the session of the unconstitutional Council of the Republics adopted a declaration on the termination of the existence of the USSR in connection with the formation of the CIS. On the same day, an order was issued, which spoke of the release of people's deputies of the USSR from performing official duties on a permanent basis in the Council of the Union of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the bodies of the chamber from January 2, 1992.
