Constitution and Government

The foundations of the Soviet sociopolitical and economic system, the principles and procedures by which the various bodies of state authority and administration are established, and the fundamental rights, liberties, and duties of citizens are fixed in the Constitution of the USSR. The first Soviet constitution was the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1918; formulated under the direct guidance of V. I. Lenin, it consolidated the gains of the October Revolution and defined the class essence of the Soviet state as the state of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The first Union constitution—the Constitution of the USSR of 1924—defined the principles governing the establishment of the socialist state as a union.

The Constitution of the USSR of 1936 represented the legislative confirmation of the victory of socialist social relations in the USSR, and it reorganized the system of government accordingly. It significantly broadened the scope and guaranteed the exercise of Soviet citizens’ democratic rights and freedoms, abolished all restrictions on citizens’ voting rights, replaced the multistage electoral system with direct elections, and instituted the secret ballot in place of open balloting.

In the 40 years following adoption of the Constitution of the USSR of 1936 all aspects of society were affected by major and fundamental changes. With socialist ownership holding undivided sway, the country’s economy changed beyond recognition. Acting as a single powerful organism, the national economy is developing by combining the advances of the scientific and technological revolution with the advantages of the socialist system.

The social composition of society has changed as well. The Soviet working class, which accounts for two-thirds of the total population, is made up of educated, technologically literate, and politically mature people whose labor increasingly approximates that of engineering and technical personnel. Today’s kolkhoz peasants, who grew up under and were molded by the conditions of the kolkhoz system, manage a complex technology. The educational level of kolkhoz workers and their way of life often differ but little from those of city people. The intelligentsia is now a socialist intelligentsia truly rooted in the people, and its relative importance in Soviet society is growing proportionately with the people’s increasingly higher cultural level and the increasing importance of science in the building of communism. The peoples and nationalities of the USSR enjoy true equality. All the Soviet republics have achieved a high level of economic and cultural development; the economy of each republic is an inseparable part of the national economy as a whole.

All these circumstances have fostered the constantly increasing social homogeneity of Soviet society, continued strengthening of the invincible alliance of the working class, kolkhoz peasants, and people’s intelligentsia, closer ties of friendship among the peoples of the USSR, and development of the new historical community made up of the Soviet people. With the building of mature and advanced socialism and the adoption of the political ideology of the working class by all strata of the population of the Soviet Union, the state that was formed as a dictatorship of the proletariat became the state of all the people.

Life in the Soviet state proceeds under the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which has acted as the guiding, organizing, and mobilizing force of Soviet society since its inception. The problems facing the CPSU have become even more complex and multifaceted, resulting in the party’s expanded role and greater exercise of its guiding influence over life in the USSR and over Soviet foreign policy.

Significant changes have taken place in the international position of the USSR, in the entire sociopolitical makeup of today’s world, and in the disposition of forces in the world arena. The capitalist encirclement of the USSR has been eliminated. With the forging of the mighty socialist community, socialism has become a world system. The imperialist colonial system has disintegrated; new independent states, opposed to imperialism, have emerged to replace the former colonies. The international reputation and influence of the Soviet Union have grown immeasurably.

All these profound changes in Soviety society and in the international position of the Soviet state—changes that have taken place since adoption of the Constitution of the USSR of 1936—were the basic reasons on which revision of the Soviet Constitution was predicated.

The distinctive features of a socialist constitution, as outlined by V. I. Lenin, were preserved and elaborated in the draft of the new constitution, which was prepared by a constitutional commission headed by L. I. Brezhnev.

After discussion of the draft—a discussion that truly involved all the people—the Constitution of the USSR was adopted at the Seventh (Extraordinary) Session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Ninth Convocation, on Oct. 7, 1977.

The Constitution of the USSR summarizes the experience of constitutional development in the USSR and in other socialist countries. It preserves the many fundamental provisions of the Constitution of 1936 that have stood the test of time; these provisions are still appropriate to the essence of the socialist system and its development in the current phase. At the same time the new Constitution of the USSR contains new features that meet the demands of our time and thus enrich the Soviet Union’s constitutional experience. It also generalizes the updating and improvement of legislation that has been effected in the USSR.

The Constitution of the USSR is a concise summary of the 60-year development of Soviet socialist statehood. The Constitution’s new features are primarily directed at the extension and intensification of socialist democracy.

The Constitution of the USSR has the power of supreme law.

All laws and other enactments by agencies of the state are issued on the basis of, and in conformity with, the Constitution of the USSR. The Constitution of the USSR is amended by decision of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the total number of deputies in each of its chambers.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is a socialist state of the whole people, expressing the will and interests of the workers, peasants, and intelligentsia—the working people of all the nations and nationalities of the country (art. 1 of the Constitution of the USSR).

All power in the USSR belongs to the people (art. 2). The sovereignty of the people means that the people rule undivided in all spheres of socialist society and that society is governed exclusively by the will of the people and in the people’s interest.

The profoundly democratic political system of socialist society is the mechanism of the people’s power, serving as the organizational and political foundation of the Soviet people’s sovereignty. It is a system that assigns to the masses the decisive role in political activity and in the implementation of the program of building communism. The political system of the USSR includes the socialist state, the Communist party of the Soviet Union, the public organizations of working people, and the work collectives.

According to the Constitution of the USSR the highest goal of the Soviet state is to build a classless communist society—a society in which communist self-government will evolve. The principal objectives of the people’s socialist state are to build the material and technical basis for communism, to perfect socialist social relations and transform them into communist relations, to mold the citizen of communist society, to raise the working people’s material and cultural standard of living, to safeguard the country’s security, and to promote peace and international cooperation.

The goals and challenges of the Soviet people’s state as well as its class essence, profound democratism, and creative role are fully expressed in its functions. The principal internal functions of the Soviet people’s state are economic organization, cultural and educational activity, control over the measure of labor and of consumption in accordance with the principle of socialism “from each according to his ability, to each according to his work,” the provision of social services, the maintenance of socialist law and order, and protection of the interests of society, socialist ownership, and citizens’ rights and liberties.

The state is concerned with the improvement of working conditions, the protection and scientific organization of labor, and the reduction and ultimate elimination of heavy physical labor through the comprehensive mechanization and automation of production processes in all sectors of the economy. The policy of increasing the level of wages and real incomes of working people is being consistently implemented on the basis of labor’s increasing productivity. Social consumption funds are set up in order to more fully satisfy the Soviet people’s needs. Various state systems are functioning and expanding in the USSR—the public health and social security systems, trade, public catering, and community and municipal services. The country has a uniform system of public education that is being improved.

The principal nondomestic functions of the Soviet people’s state are the struggle for peace, the reinforcement of international security, the establishment of peaceful coexistence among states with different social systems, mutual aid and fraternal cooperation with the countries of the socialist community, support for the struggle of the world’s peoples for national liberation and social progress, the defense of the Socialist Motherland. The USSR consistently follows a Leninist policy of peace; it advocates strong measures for international security and wide-ranging international cooperation. The Constitution of the USSR (art. 28) prohibits war propaganda. The international treaties of the USSR are concluded and executed, as well as formally terminated, in the manner prescribed by the law of July 6, 1978, adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

The political foundation of the USSR is made up of the Soviets of People’s Deputies; it is chiefly through them that the people exercise state power. All other state bodies are under the control of, and accountable to, the Soviets (art. 2).

The Soviet state is organized and functions according to the principle of democratic centralism—namely, the electiveness of all bodies of state authority from the lowest to the highest, the accountability of these bodies to the people, and the obligation of lower bodies to observe the decisions of higher ones. Democratic centralism combines central leadership with local initiative and creative activity and with the responsibility of every state body and official for the work entrusted to them.

The Soviet state and all its bodies operate on the basis of socialist law, ensure the maintenance of law and order, and safeguard the interests of society and the rights and freedoms of citizens.

The political system of the socialist society in the USSR organically combines the state and social forms of the people’s power. The guiding and directing force of Soviet society, as well as the nucleus of its political system and of its state and public organizations, is the Communist Party of the Soviet Union—the tried and tested vanguard of the working class and of all working people. Armed with knowledge of the laws governing the development of society, the Communist Party directs the entire creative activity of the Soviet people into the building of communism. In providing political leadership for all workers’ organizations, whether state or public, the Communist Party does not replace them but rather operates within the framework of the Constitution of the USSR.

Another social form of the people’s power is the activity of the many public organizations and associations of working people, reflecting the latter’s all-around participation in the management of society. “Trade unions, the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, cooperatives, and other public organizations,” states Article 7 of the Constitution of the USSR, “participate . . . in managing state and public affairs and in deciding political, economic, and social and cultural matters.” The public organizations ensure fuller satisfaction of the Soviet people’s material and non-material wants and contribute to the implementation of the citizens’ rights and freedoms.

Under the Constitution of the USSR, work collectives are assigned an important place in the political system of Soviet society; they play a major role in stimulating citizens to higher levels of work and public activity and instilling in the working people the personal qualities of the moral code demanded of the builders of communism. The work collectives participate in discussions and decisions on state and public affairs, in planning production and social development, in training and placing personnel, and in discussing and deciding questions pertaining to the management of enterprises and institutions, the improvement of working and living conditions, and the use of funds allocated both for developing production and for social and cultural measures and material incentives. The work collectives foster socialist competition, promote the spread of progressive methods of work and the strengthening of production discipline, educate their members in the spirit of communist morality, and endeavor to raise their political consciousness, cultural level, and professional qualifications.

The political system of Soviet society aims chiefly at the further extension of socialist democracy—namely, citizens’ increasingly broader participation in the management of public and state affairs, continuous improvement of the machinery of state, heightening of the activity of public organizations, strengthening of the system of people’s control, consolidation of the legal foundations of the functioning of the state and of public life, greater openness and publicity, and constant responsiveness to public opinion.

The people’s power in the USSR is based on the solid foundation of the guarantees, fixed in the Constitution of the USSR, whereby such power is secured. Foremost among such guarantees are the economic system of the Soviet state and its basic feature—socialist ownership of the means of production in the form of state property (belonging to all the people) and kolkhoz and cooperative property. Socialist ownership also embraces the property of trade unions and other public organizations which they require to carry out their stated purposes.

The state protects socialist property and provides the conditions for its growth. The principal form of socialist property is state property—that is, the common property of all the Soviet people. The land, its minerals, waters, and forests are the exclusive property of the state. The state owns the basic means of production in industry, construction, and agriculture, the means of transport and communication, the banks, and other property, such as the property of state-run enterprises and most urban housing.

The kolkhozes and other cooperative organizations, as well as their joint enterprises, own their means of production and the other assets they need in order to carry out their statutory functions. The land occupied by kolkhozes is assigned to them for their free use in perpetuity. The state promotes the development of kolkhoz and cooperative property and its approximation to state property.

Earned income is the basis of the personal property of Soviet citizens. Their personal property may include articles of everyday use and of personal consumption or convenience, implements and other objects of a small-holding, a house, and earned savings. The personal property of citizens and the right to inherit it are protected by the state. Citizens may be granted the use of plots of land for subsidiary small-holdings (including the keeping of livestock and poultry), for growing fruits and vegetables, or for building individual dwellings.

The Constitution of the USSR views the labor of the Soviet people, free from exploitation, as the source of growing social wealth and greater well-being for the people and for each Soviet citizen. Socially useful work and its results determine a person’s status in society. By combining material and moral incentives and encouraging innovation and a creative attitude toward work, the state helps transform labor into the prime vital need of every Soviet citizen. The economy of the USSR is an integral economic complex comprising all the elements of the country’s social production, distribution, and internal exchange.

Another important constitutional guarantee of the people’s power, as well as the social basis of the USSR, is the indestructible alliance of the workers, peasants, and intelligentsia. “The state,” according to Article 19 of the Constitution of the USSR, “helps enhance the social homogeneity of society, namely the elimination of class differences and of the essential distinctions between town and country and between mental and physical labor, and the all-round development and drawing together of all the nations and nationalities of the USSR.”

The socialist society, as embodied in the Soviet state, gives its citizens historically unprecedented opportunities to satisfy their material and nonmaterial wants and to develop all aspects of their personality; it gives them true freedom, based on social justice—based, that is, on the liberation of all working people from exploitation and national oppression and the abolition of private ownership of the means of production.

Personal freedom in the USSR finds expression in the equality of Soviet citizens before the law, in the rights and freedoms provided and guaranteed by the Soviet state to its citizens, and in the identity of the rights and obligations imposed by society on its members.

Citizens of the USSR enjoy all said rights and freedoms and are held responsible before the state and society for the performance of prescribed obligations. Uniform federal citizenship has been established for the USSR. Every citizen of a Union republic is a citizen of the USSR; a citizen of an autonomous republic is a citizen of the Union republic of which the autonomous republic is a part, as well as a citizen of the USSR. Soviet citizenship reflects the socialist nature of relations between the state and members of society; it gives every citizen opportunity to enjoy all the material and nonmaterial benefits of socialist society, to be an active participant in the management of society and the state, and to enjoy the protection and assistance of the Soviet state when abroad. The Law on Citizenship of the USSR defines the grounds and procedure for acquiring or forfeiting Soviet citizenship.

Citizens of other countries and stateless persons living in the USSR enjoy most of the rights and freedoms granted to Soviet citizens. Some rights, however, such as the right to vote, belong to Soviet citizens alone. A special right granted to foreigners in the USSR is the right of asylum. True to its international obligations, the Soviet state grants this right to foreigners persecuted for defending the interests of the working people and the cause of peace, for participation in the revolutionary and national liberation movement, or for progressive social, political, scientific, or other creative activities.

The USSR has no classes or social groups, nor does it have nations or nationalities holding privileged status in the society or placed by law in worse conditions than other social strata. The equal rights of Soviet citizens—the equality of all before the law—are founded on the liberation of all working people from exploitation and unemployment, on equal pay for equal work, and on the nature of Soviet socialist democracy, which operates for all the people.

Equality of rights for citizens of the USSR is guaranteed in all areas of economic, political, social, and cultural life. Citizens of the USSR are equal before the law regardless of their origin, social or property status, race or nationality, sex, education, language, attitude toward religion, type and nature of occupation, place of residence, and other circumstances. The Constitution of the USSR specifically proclaims and guarantees equal rights for women and men as well as for citizens of different races and nationalities.

Socialism put an end to women’s subordinate status in the family. Article 53 of the Constitution of the USSR confirms the equal rights of women in family relations: “Marriage is based on the free consent of the woman and the man; the spouses are completely equal in family relations.”

The legal status of citizens in the USSR is grounded in their basic—that is, constitutional—rights and freedoms; from these flow other specific rights, secured by law and applying to all areas of life. Basic social and economic rights, political rights and freedoms, and the rights and freedoms of individuals are those that most fully reflect the socialist concept of personal freedom and the state’s concern for the members of society.

Social and economic rights include the right to work—that is, the right to guaranteed employment and to pay corresponding to the quantity and quality of work performed and not below the minimum wage established by the state—including the right to choose a trade or profession, occupation, and type of work in accordance with one’s inclination, ability, professional training, and education and with due regard to the needs of society; the right to rest and leisure; the right to health protection; the right to material support in old age or in case of sickness, complete or partial disability, or loss of the breadwinner; the right to housing; the right to education; the right to enjoy cultural benefits; the right to personal property and its inheritance; and freedom of scientific, technical, and artistic work.

Political rights and freedoms include the right to vote; the right to participate in the management of state and public affairs and in the discussion and adoption of laws and measures of national and local significance; the right to submit proposals to state bodies and public organizations for improving their activity and the right to criticize shortcomings in their work; the right to associate, in accordance with the aims of building communism, in public organizations that promote political activism and initiative and satisfy the varied interests of Soviet citizens; and freedom of speech, of the press, and of assembly, meetings, street processions, and demonstrations.

Personal rights and freedoms include freedom of conscience—that is, the right to profess or not to profess any religion and to conduct religious worship or atheistic propaganda; inviolability of the person and of the home; protection of the privacy of citizens and the confidentiality of correspondence, telephone conversations, and telegraphic communications; the right of citizens of the USSR to protection by the courts against encroachments on their honor, reputation, life, and health; the right to personal freedom and property; and the right to lodge complaints against the actions of officials and state and public bodies (complaints must be examined according to the procedure and within the time-limit established by law). The family enjoys the protection of the state.

A fundamental distinctive feature of the rights and freedoms of Soviet citizens is that they are real and that they are ensured through material, political, and legal means. For example, under the Constitution of the USSR (art. 40), the right to work is ensured by the socialist economic system, steady growth of the productive forces, free vocational and professional training, improvement of skills, training in new trades or professions, and development of systems of vocational guidance and job placement. The exercise of such political freedoms as freedom of speech and of the press is ensured by placing public buildings, streets, and squares at the disposal of the working people and their organizations, by the wide-ranging dissemination of information, and by the opportunity to use various media, including the press, television, and radio (art. 50).

The rights and freedoms of Soviet citizens do not lose their class character in the advanced stage of the socialist society; they serve the interests of the working people and help strengthen the socialist order and build communism. “Enjoyment by citizens of their rights and freedoms,” according to Article 39 of the Constitution of the USSR, “must not be to the detriment of the interests of society or the state, or infringe the rights of other citizens.”

The legal status of Soviet citizens is defined not merely by their rights but also by the obligations they bear toward society and the state. Under the Constitution of the USSR, the basic duties of citizens include the obligation to observe the Constitution of the USSR and Soviet laws, to comply with the standards of socialist conduct, and to uphold the honor and dignity of Soviet citizenship; to work conscientiously in one’s chosen and socially useful occupation in compliance with labor discipline; to preserve and protect socialist property, combat misappropriation and squandering of state and socially-owned property, and make thrifty use of the people’s wealth; and to safeguard the interests of the Soviet State and enhance its power and prestige.

Defense of the Socialist Motherland is the sacred duty of every citizen of the USSR, and military service in the ranks of the armed forces of the USSR is an honorable duty of Soviet citizens. In addition, it is the duty of every citizen of the USSR to respect the national dignity of other citizens and strengthen friendship among the nations and nationalities of the multinational Soviet state; to respect the rights and lawful interests of other individuals, to be uncompromising toward antisocial behavior, and to help maintain public order by all possible means; to protect nature and conserve its riches; and to be concerned with the preservation of historical monuments and other cultural assets. On the international level, it is the duty of citizens of the USSR to promote friendship and cooperation with peoples of other lands and help maintain and strengthen world peace.

Article 66 of the Constitution of the USSR points out, furthermore, that citizens of the USSR are obliged to concern themselves with children’s upbringing, to train them for socially useful work, and to raise them as worthy members of socialist society, and that children are obliged to care for and help their parents.

Uniform rights and duties are an organic and inherent part of the socialist system. It is not simply that they apply equally to all members of society. Under socialism, duties are closely tied to rights and ensure the latter’s exercise. For example, the right to rest and leisure, the right to maintenance in old age and in case of sickness, and the right to education are ensured by the citizens’ conscientious and highly productive work, the careful execution of the laws, and the enhancement of socialist discipline. The Soviet people’s obligations coincide with their own interests, their hopes for the future, and their ideas of duty and happiness. Fulfillment of one’s obligations therefore is increasingly an internalized need for all socially conscious members of socialist society.

The USSR is an integral, federal, multinational state based on the principle of socialist federalism as a result of the free self-determination of nations and the voluntary association of equal Soviet socialist republics. The Soviet federation joins together more than 100 nations and nationalities constituting the Soviet people—a new historical community of people that was formed in the course of the building of socialism. The USSR embodies the state unity of the Soviet people and draws all its nations and nationalities together for the purpose of building communism. The Soviet state is so organized as to ensure that the interests of all the people will match the interests of the separate nations and nationalities; it is organized to promote the unity of socialist society.

There are 15 Union republics in the USSR. They are the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic, the Tadzhik Soviet Socialist Republic, the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, and the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is solidly founded on the voluntary association of the republics and their completely equal rights. Each Union republic retains the right to freely secede from the USSR. All the Union republics enjoy equal rights with respect to managing their internal affairs and participating in decision-making by federal bodies on matters that come within the jurisdiction of the USSR. The Soviet Union extends to each republic equal protection of the republic’s sovereign rights and interests.

The USSR is a sovereign state. Its sovereignty lies in its self-sufficiency and independence from other countries and in the supremacy of federal power throughout the USSR. As a sovereign state, the USSR follows an independent foreign policy, guided by the will and the interests of the Soviet people. The supremacy of the state’s power is manifested in the laws of the USSR, which are mandatory for all its agencies, institutions, organizations, and citizens. Article 74 of the Constitution of the USSR states that the laws of the USSR are equally applicable through all the Union republics. In case of a discrepancy between the law of a Union republic and an all-Union law, the law of the USSR shall prevail.

The sovereignty of the USSR reflects the full power of the Soviet people and is secured by the economic and military might of the Soviet state, the unity of socialist society, and the friendship between the Soviet nations.

The USSR determines its own jurisdiction—that is, the rights and duties as well as the issues that are directly within its competence. The jurisdiction of the USSR is established by the Constitution of the USSR (art. 73).

The jurisdiction of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, as represented by its highest bodies of state authority and administration, extends to various distinct areas. In the area of building the state, its jurisdiction covers the admission of new republics to the USSR; endorsement of the formation of new autonomous republics and autonomous regions within Union republics; determination of the state boundaries of the USSR and approval of changes in the boundaries between Union republics; establishment of the general principles for the organization and functioning of republic and local bodies of state authority and administration; ensurance of uniformity of legislative norms throughout the USSR; control over observance of the Constitution of the USSR; and ensurance of conformity of the constitutions of Union republics to the Constitution of the USSR.

In the area of economic, social, and cultural growth, federal jurisdiction covers pursuance of a uniform social and economic policy and management of the country’s economy; determination of the main lines of scientific and technological progress and the general measures for rational exploitation and conservation of natural resources; the drafting and approval of state plans for the economic and social development of the USSR and approval of reports on the fulfillment of such plans; the drafting and approval of the consolidated state budget of the USSR and endorsement of the report on its execution; management of a single monetary and credit system; determination of the taxes and revenues forming the state budget of the USSR; the formulation of policies concerning prices and wages; direction of the sectors of the economy and of enterprises and amalgamations under federal jurisdiction; and general direction of industries under federal and republic jurisdiction.

In the area of foreign relations, defense, and state security, federal jurisdiction extends to issues of war and peace; defense of the sovereignty of the USSR and the safeguarding of its frontiers and territories; the organization of defense; direction of the armed forces of the USSR; state security; representation of the USSR in international relations; the USSR’s relations with other states and internal organizations; establishment of the general procedure for, and coordination of, the relations of Union republics with other states and with international organizations; and foreign trade and other forms of external economic activity on the basis of state monopoly. The settlement of other issues of national importance is also within federal jurisdiction.

The Constitution of the USSR thus places issues of national importance under the jurisdiction of the USSR, ensuring the independence of the Union republics in the management of their internal affairs.

A Union republic is a sovereign Soviet socialist state that has joined the other Soviet republics in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The sovereignty of the USSR and the sovereignty of the Union republics are harmoniously combined and complement one another in the Soviet federation. The sovereignty of the Union republic is manifested in its basic sovereign rights. Each Union republic has its own constitution, which conforms to the Constitution of the USSR and takes into account the specific features of the republic. The territory of a Union republic may not be altered without its consent. The boundaries between Union republics may be altered by mutual agreement of the republics concerned, subject to ratification by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The Union republics determine their own administrative and territorial structure. They have the right to enter into relations with other states, conclude treaties with them, exchange diplomatic and consular representatives, and participate in the work of international organizations.

Outside the spheres that are within federal jurisdiction, the Union republics exercise independent authority on their territory, deciding a broad range of questions pertaining to state, economic, and social and cultural development. A Union republic endorses state plans of economic and social development as well as its own state budget and the reports on fulfillment of both; it manages the sectors of the economy that are under Union-republic or republic jurisdiction as well as the associations and enterprises under republic jurisdiction; it establishes procedures for the use of the land, forests, and waters; and it directs trade and such services as housing and utilities, public amenities, and transportation. The republic has jurisdiction over public education, health and social security, cultural and educational activities, physical training and sports, and conservation of nature; it preserves the public order and the rights of citizens and grants amnesty and pardons to citizens convicted by republic legal bodies. The republic has the right to legislate within the bounds of its jurisdiction.

Union republics participate in decision-making in the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Government of the USSR, and other bodies of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on matters that come within the jurisdiction of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

A Union republic ensures comprehensive economic and social development on its territory, facilitates exercise of the powers of the USSR in the republic, and implements the decisions of the highest bodies of state authority and administration of the USSR. In matters that come within its jurisdiction, a Union republic coordinates and controls the activity of enterprises, institutions, and organizations that are under federal jurisdiction. The Union republics, as represented by their highest bodies of state authority, have the right to propose legislation in the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

The Union republics are unitary states. The RSFSR was the only one to come into being as a federation, formed by the Russian people joining together with other independent peoples in the framework of autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts, and autonomous okrugs. The principal elements of administrative and territorial organization of the Union republics are the krais (which exist only in the RSFSR), oblasts (in the RSFSR, Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Kazakh SSR, Uzbek SSR, Kirghiz SSR, Tadzhik SSR, and Turkmen SSR), raions, cities, urban raions, settlements, and villages.

In addition to the Union republics, other forms of national statehood in the USSR are the autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts, and autonomous okrugs.

The autonomous republic is a Soviet socialist state that is part of a Union republic; in spheres that are not within the jurisdiction of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or of the Union republic, each autonomous republic deals independently with matters within its jurisdiction.

There are 20 autonomous republics in the USSR; 16 of them are in the RSFSR—namely, the Bashkir, Buriat, Dagestan, Kabarda-Balkar, Kalmyk, Karelian, Komi, Mari, Mordovian, Severnaia Osetiia, Tatar, Tuva, Udmurt, Chechen-Ingush, Chuvash, and Yakut ASSR’s; two are in the Georgian SSR—the Abkhazian and Adzhar ASSR’s; one in the Uzbek SSR—the Kara Kalpak ASSR; and one in the Azerbaijan SSR—the Nakhichevan ASSR.

Each autonomous republic has its own constitution, which conforms to the Constitution of the USSR and the Constitution of the Union republic and which takes into account the specific features of the autonomous republic. The territory of an autonomous republic may not be altered without its consent. Unlike a Union republic, an autonomous republic may not engage in external relations with other states.

The autonomous republics have jurisdiction over endorsement of state plans of economic and social development as well as endorsement of their own state budgets; management of the industrial, agricultural, and other enterprises and organizations over which they have jurisdiction; management of local industry; control of procedures for the use of the land, minerals, forests, and waters; and various other areas, including social and cultural development within the republics themselves.

An autonomous republic participates in decision-making, through the highest bodies of state authority and administration of the USSR and of the Union republic respectively, on matters that come within the jurisdiction of the USSR and the Union republic. It ensures comprehensive economic and social development within its territory, facilitates exercise of the powers of the USSR and the Union republic on its territory, and implements the decisions of the highest bodies of state authority and administration of the USSR and the Union republic. In matters lying within its own jurisdiction, an autonomous republic coordinates and controls the activities of enterprises, institutions, and organizations that are under federal or Union republic jurisdiction.

An autonomous oblast is a large national state unit that is part of a Union republic and is administratively self-governing. There are eight autonomous oblasts in the USSR; five of them are in the RSFSR (the Adygei, Gorno-Altai, Jewish, Karachai-Cherkess, and Khakass autonomous oblasts), and one each in the Georgian SSR (Iuzhnaia Osetiia), Azerbaijan SSR (Nagorno-Karabakh), and Tadzhik SSR (Gorno-Badakhshan).

An autonomous oblast is not a state and does not have its own constitution, laws, or citizenship. Unlike the ordinary administrative oblasts, however, it has a significant degree of administrative and political autonomy. Thus, the rights of each autonomous oblast are determined by a special law pertaining to it, adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the Union republic upon submission by the Soviet of People’s Deputies of the autonomous oblast concerned. The territory of the autonomous oblast may not be altered without its consent. The autonomous oblast establishes its own division into raions, such division being ratified upon its submission by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Union republic. In the case of an autonomous republic that is part of a krai, the decisions of the republic’s Soviet of People’s Deputies may not be altered or amended by the krai Soviet; only the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Union republic has the right to do so.

An autonomous okrug is a national state unit that is part of a krai or oblast and is administratively self-governing. There are ten autonomous okrugs, all in the RSFSR—the Aga-Buriat, Komi-Permiak, Koriak, Nenets, Taimyr (Dolgan-Nenets), Ust’-Orda Buriat, Khanty-Mansi, Chukchi, Evenki, and Yamal-Nenets autonomous okrugs.

The rights of the autonomous okrugs are determined by special laws pertaining to them, adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR.

The Soviet state carries out its tasks and functions by means of a far-flung system of agencies—a system built in accordance with the principle of socialist democratism. The system includes agencies of state authority and administration, judicial bodies, arbitration bodies, and the procurator system. It ensures full power to the people and the workers’ broadest possible participation in the administration of state affairs.

State authority in the USSR is vested in the soviets of people’s deputies, constituting a single system that includes the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the supreme soviets of Union and autonomous republics, and the local soviets.

The soviets are formed by the citizens of the USSR through free democratic elections conducted on the basis of universal, equal, and direct suffrage by secret ballot.

Through universal suffrage, the opportunity to vote and to be elected to the soviets is guaranteed to all citizens of the USSR who have reached a certain age established by law, regardless of any circumstances such as origin, social or property status, race or nationality, sex, education, language, attitude toward religion, nature of occupation or type of employment, and place of residence. According to Article 96 of the Constitution of the USSR, all citizens of the USSR who have reached the age of 18 have the right to vote and to be elected, with the exception of persons legally certified as insane. A citizen of the USSR who has reached the age of 21 may be elected a deputy to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

Elections are equal (each citizen having one vote and all citizens exercising the franchise on an equal footing) and direct (deputies to all the soviets being elected directly by the citizens). Under this system, a permanent and close bond can be established between citizens and deputies, and the people can exercise constant control over the work of the deputies and of each soviet. Deputies are elected by secret ballot, which enables the electors to express freely their trust or distrust with respect to each candidate.

Deputies are elected to the soviets by electoral districts (okrugs); one deputy is elected from each district. The law sets no limit on the number of candidates seeking election as the deputy for each electoral district. The district electoral commissions must register all candidates who have been nominated in accordance with prescribed procedures.

Elections in the USSR are organized by the working people themselves. Candidates for election to the soviets of people’s deputies may be nominated by the organizations of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the trade unions, the Komsomol, cooperative and other public organizations, work collectives, and meetings of servicemen in their military units. Citizens of the USSR as well as public organizations are guaranteed the right to free and thorough discussion of the candidates’ political and personal qualities and competence and the right to campaign for them at meetings, in the press, and on radio and television.

Elections to the soviets are conducted by electoral commissions consisting of representatives of public organizations and work collectives as well as meetings of servicemen in their military units.

The procedure for holding elections to the soviets of people’s deputies is determined by the laws of the USSR and of Union and autonomous republics. The Law of the USSR on Elections to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was adopted on July 6, 1978.

The expenses involved in holding the elections are met by the state.

Deputies in the USSR maintain a constant relationship with their constituents. According to the Constitution of the USSR and the Law of the USSR on the Status of Deputies (1972), each deputy must strive to implement his electors’ mandates, to study public opinion, to review citizens’ complaints and requests, to carry on organizing work among the people, to set an example in work and in personal life, and to give regular reports on his own activities and on the work of the soviet to his constituents and to the work collectives and public organizations that nominated him. A deputy who has not justified his constituents’ confidence may be recalled at any time by decision of a majority of the electors in accordance with the procedure established by law.

The highest body of state authority in the USSR is the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which consists of two chambers—the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities—having equal rights and an equal number of deputies. The Soviet of the Union represents the general interests of the Soviet people; its members are elected from electoral districts that are equal in population. The Soviet of Nationalities reflects the distinctive features and developmental requirements of the nations and nationalities of the USSR; it has 32 deputies from each Union republic, 11 deputies from each autonomous republic, five deputies from each autonomous oblast, and one deputy from each autonomous okrug. The term of office of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR is five years.

The Supreme Soviet of the USSR is empowered to make decisions on all matters within the jurisdiction of the USSR, as defined by the Constitution of the USSR. The following are the exclusive prerogative of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR: adoption and amendment of the Constitution of the USSR; admission of new republics of the USSR and endorsement of the formation of new autonomous republics and autonomous oblasts; approval of the state plans for the economic and social development of the USSR, of the state budget of the USSR, and of reports on their execution; and the establishment of agencies, or bodies, of the USSR accountable to the Supreme Soviet. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR exercises control over the activities of all state bodies accountable to it.

The laws of the USSR are enacted by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR or by a nationwide vote, or referendum, held by decision of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR is elected at a joint sitting of the two chambers of the Supreme Soviet. The Presidium consists of a chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, a first vice-chairman, 15 vice-chairmen (one from each Union republic), a secretary of the Presidium, and 21 members. The Presidium is a standing body of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR; it is accountable to the Supreme Soviet for all its work, and within the limits prescribed by the Constitution of the USSR it exercises the functions of the highest body of state authority of the USSR in the period between sessions of the Supreme Soviet.

The Supreme Soviet of the USSR and its chambers establish standing and temporary commissions, whose members are elected from the body of deputies, to deal with questions related to the work of the Supreme Soviet.

The highest body of state authority in each of the Union and autonomous republics is the republic’s supreme soviet, which is empowered to deal with all matters within the republic’s jurisdiction as defined by the Constitution of the USSR and the constitution of the republic. The following are the exclusive prerogative of the supreme soviet of a Union or autonomous republic: adoption and amendment of the constitution of a Union republic; endorsement of state plans for economic and social development and of the republic’s budget and endorsement of reports on their fulfillment; and establishment of bodies that are accountable to the republic’s supreme soviet.

The laws of Union and autonomous republics are enacted by their supreme soviets. The laws of a Union republic may also be enacted by a popular vote, or referendum, held by decision of the republic’s supreme soviet.

The term of office of the supreme soviets of Union and autonomous republics is five years.

The supreme soviet in each of the Union and autonomous republics elects a presidium of the supreme soviet—a standing body that is accountable for all its work to the supreme soviet itself. Within the limits prescribed by the republic’s constitution, the presidium of the supreme soviet of a Union or autonomous republic exercises the functions of the highest body of state authority between sessions of the supreme soviet. The composition and powers of the presidiums of the supreme soviets of Union and autonomous republics are defined by the constitutions of the republics.

The bodies of state authority in the krais, oblasts, autonomous oblasts, autonomous okrugs, raions, cities, urban raions, settlements, and rural communities are the respective soviets of peoples’ deputies. A local soviet deals with all matters of local significance, in accordance with the interests of the entire state and of the citizens living in the particular area under the Soviet’s jurisdiction. The local soviets implement the decisions of higher bodies of state authority, direct the activities of lower soviets of people’s deputies, participate in discussions on matters of republic-level or nationwide significance, and submit proposals concerning such matters.

The local soviets are in charge of state, economic, social, and cultural development within their territory; they endorse plans for economic and social development and the local budget; they provide guidance to subordinate state bodies, enterprises, institutions, and organizations; they ensure observance of the laws, maintenance of law and order, and protection of citizens’ rights; and they help strengthen the country’s defense capacity.

Within the limits of their powers, the local soviets ensure the comprehensive economic and social development of their respective areas; they exercise control over compliance with the law on the part of enterprises, institutions, and organizations that are subordinate to higher authorities and are located in their area; and they coordinate and supervise the activities of such organizations with respect to land use, conservation of nature, construction, employment of manpower, production of consumer goods, and social, cultural, communal, and other public services and amenities. The term of office of local soviets is 2½ years.

People’s control bodies, formed by the soviets of people’s deputies, combine state control with control by the working people at enterprises, kolkhozes, institutions, and organizations.

The state administrative bodies are directly charged with the organizational work of implementing the enactments of the bodies of state authority, and they adopt the necessary administrative measures to accomplish the tasks of economic, social, and cultural development. Typically, a state administrative body is subordinate both to the soviet by which it was established and to the corresponding higher body of state administration. There are three distinct levels in the system of state administrative bodies—namely, the higher, central, and local bodies. The higher bodies of state administration are the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the councils of ministers of Union and autonomous republics.

The highest executive and administrative body of state authority in the USSR is the Council of Ministers of the USSR—that is, the government of the USSR. It is formed by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and consists of the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, first vice-chairmen and vice-chairmen, ministers of the USSR, and chairmen of state committees of the USSR. The chairmen of the councils of ministers of the Union republics are ex officio members of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Moreover, on the recommendation of the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR may include in the government of the USSR the heads of other bodies and organizations of the USSR.

The Council of Ministers of the USSR is responsible and accountable to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR or, between sessions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. It is empowered to deal with all matters of state administration within the jurisdiction of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics insofar as, under the Constitution, such matters do not come within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR or its Presidium.

The Presidium of the Council of Ministers of the USSR functions as a standing body of the Council of Ministers of the USSR to deal with questions related to guidance of the economy and other matters of state administration. The Presidium consists of the chairman, the first vice-chairmen, and vice-chairmen of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

The jurisdiction of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and of its Presidium, their operational procedures, and the relationships between the Council of Ministers and other state bodies are defined, on the basis of the Constitution of the USSR, by the Law on the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted on July 5, 1978, by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

The councils of ministers of Union and autonomous republics are the republics’ highest executive and administrative bodies of state authority. They are formed by the republics’ supreme soviets and deal with administrative matters within the jurisdiction of the respective republic, coordinating and directing the work of the ministries and of other subordinate bodies.

The central bodies of state administration are the ministries, state committees, and other departments of the USSR, of Union republics, and of autonomous republics; these bodies are responsible for the condition and development of the administrative spheres assigned to them.

The central bodies of state administration of the USSR are subdivided into all-Union and Union-republic bodies. All-Union ministries and departments deal with the administrative areas and issues that concern the USSR as a whole. Union-republic ministries and departments and, as a rule, analogous bodies in the Union republics deal with administrative matters that are a common concern of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and of individual Union republics.

The Union republics have two categories of ministries and departments—Union-republic and republic. The republic ministries and departments are in charge of the administrative areas and sectors that are wholly the concern of the Union republic.

The local bodies of state administration are the local soviets’ executive committees, which are elected by the respective soviets from their own membership. With the exception of the soviets of villages and rural settlements, the local soviets establish administrative subdivisions of their own.

The courts, arbitration system, and procurator system have an important place among state agencies.

Justice in the USSR is administered by the courts alone—namely, the Supreme Court of the USSR, the supreme courts of the Union republics, the supreme courts of the autonomous republics, the krai, oblast, and city courts, the courts of the autonomous oblasts and autonomous okrugs, the raion (or city) people’s courts, and the military tribunals in the armed forces. The organization and activities of Soviet judicial bodies are based on truly democratic principles: all members of the courts are elected; cases are considered by the judicial bodies on a collegial basis, and the people’s assessors participate in the proceedings of courts of first instance; judges and people’s assessors are accountable and responsible to the electors or to the soviet by which the members of the court were elected; judicial proceedings are conducted in the national language; citizens are equal before the law and the courts; judges and people’s assessors are independent and are subject only to the law; judges and people’s assessors have equal rights; proceedings in all courts are open to the public; and the accused is guaranteed the right to defense.

The people’s judges of raion or city people’s courts are elected by the citizens of the raion or city for a term of five years by universal, equal, and direct election and secret balloting. The people’s assessors of raion or city people’s courts are elected for a term of 2½ years by open balloting at meetings of citizens held at their place of work or residence. Higher courts are elected for a term of five years by the corresponding soviet of people’s deputies.

Economic disputes between enterprises, institutions, and organizations are resolved by state arbitration agencies. The organization and operating procedures of state arbitration agencies are defined by the Law on State Arbitration in the USSR.

The agencies of the Procurator’s Office exercise the highest supervision over the strict and uniform observance of the law by all ministries, state committees and departments, enterprises, institutions, organizations, executive and administrative bodies of local soviets, kolkhozes, cooperative and other public organizations, officials, and ordinary citizens. The agencies of the Procurator’s Office make up a strictly centralized system headed by the procurator-general of the USSR, who is appointed by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The procurators of the Union and autonomous republics, krais, oblasts, and autonomous oblasts are appointed by the procurator-general of the USSR. The procurators of autonomous okrugs and the raion and city procurators are appointed by the procurators of the Union republics and are confirmed by the procurator-general of the USSR. The term of office of the procurator-general of the USSR and all lower procurators is five years. The agencies of the Procurator’s Office exercise their powers independently of any local agencies of any kind; they are subordinate only to the procurator-general of the USSR. The organization and operating procedures of the agencies of the Procurator’s Office are defined by the Law on the Procurotor’s Office of the USSR.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has its own state emblem, state flag, and capital, as does each of the Union and autonomous republics. In addition, the USSR and the Union republics have state anthems.

The state emblem of the USSR is a hammer and sickle on a globe depicted in the rays of the sun and framed by ears of wheat, with the inscription “Workers of All Countries, Unite!” in the languages of the Union republics. At the top of the emblem is a five-pointed star.

The state flag of the USSR is a rectangle of red cloth with a gold hammer and sickle in the upper corner next to the staff and above them a five-pointed red star edged in gold. The flag is twice as long as it is wide.

The state anthem of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is confirmed by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.