During its existence, the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
had three different
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these pr ...
s in force individually at different times between 31 January 1924 to 26 December 1991.
Chronology of Soviet constitutions
These three constitutions were:
*
1924 Constitution of the Soviet Union – adopted 31 January 1924 ("
Lenin Constitution")
*
1936 Constitution of the Soviet Union
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
– adopted 5 December 1936 ("
Stalin Constitution")
*
1977 Constitution of the Soviet Union – adopted 7 October 1977 ("
Brezhnev Constitution")
The Constitutions of the Soviet Union were modeled after the
1918 Russian Constitution established by the
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
(RSFSR), the immediate predecessor and a
constituent republic of the Soviet Union. These constitutions shared and upheld most basic provisions including the Soviet Union as a
socialist state
A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country, sometimes referred to as a workers' state or workers' republic, is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. The term '' communist state'' is ...
, the leadership of the
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
, the forms of
social property, and called for a system of
soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
s (councils) to exercise governmental authority. Soviet constitutions declared certain political rights, such as
freedom of speech,
freedom of assembly
Freedom of peaceful assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right or ability of people to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue, and defend their collective or shared ide ...
, and
freedom of religion
Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedo ...
, and inline with the state
Marxist-Leninist ideology also identified a series of
economic and social rights, as well as a set of duties of all citizens. Soviet constitutions established the bodies of the
Government of the Soviet Union, outlined
democratic rights, and stated the
legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
was to be elected at periodical elections. Soviet constitutions became progressively longer and detailed, featuring more articles and provisions which generously expanded the rights and freedoms of the
Soviet people including the
right to housing and
right to work. The 1936 Constitution received amendments in 1944 to allow the Soviet Union's constituent republics to be recognized as
sovereign states in international law, resulting in the
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
and
Byelorussian SSR joining the
United Nations General Assembly as founding members in 1945.
The 1924 Constitution and 1936 Constitution were enacted by the
Congress of Soviets, the supreme governing body of the Soviet Union since its founding in 1922. The Congress of Soviets dissolved itself upon enactment of the 1936 Constitution, replacing itself as supreme governing body with the
Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...
which later enacted the 1977 Constitution.
The Constitution of the Soviet Union was effectively repealed upon the
dissolution of the Soviet Union on 26 December 1991.
See also
*
*
*
*
Soviet democracy
Soviet democracy, or council democracy, is a political system in which the rule of the population is exercised by directly elected '' soviets'' (Russian for "council"). The councils are directly responsible to their electors and bound by thei ...
References
{{Constitutions of Europe
Soviet law