Leningrad City Soviet (in short Lensovet) () was the city legislature of
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
(then called Leningrad) during the
Soviet period
The history of the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, ...
.
History
The Leningrad Soviet traces its history back to the
Petrograd Soviet
The Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies (, ''Petrogradsky soviet rabochih i soldatskikh deputatov'') was a city council of Petrograd (Saint Petersburg), the capital of Russia at the time. For brevity, it is usually called the Pet ...
of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, which was formed on February 27, 1917, during the February Revolution as an organ of revolutionary power.
On August 2, 1920, the 10th
Congress of Soviets
The Congress of Soviets was the supreme governing body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and several other Soviet republics and national autonomies in the Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1936 and a somewhat simil ...
of the Petrograd Province decided to merge the executive committee of the Petrograd Soviet and the provincial executive committee. The Petrograd Soviet continued its work as the supreme organ of power in the city. The supreme organ of executive power in both the city and the province was the provincial executive committee, which was subordinate to the Petrograd Soviet in the period between provincial congresses of Soviets.
By the decision of the
Second All-Union Congress of Soviets of January 26, 1924, Petrograd was renamed Leningrad, and the Petrograd Soviet became known as the Leningrad Soviet of Workers', Peasants', and Red Army Deputies (Lensovet).
According to the resolution of the
All-Russian Central Executive Committee
The All-Russian Central Executive Committee () was (June – November 1917) a permanent body formed by the First All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies (held from June 16 to July 7, 1917 in Petrograd), then became the ...
and the
Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...
"On the Formation of the Leningrad Region" of August 1, 1927, the
Leningrad Governorate was liquidated, the provincial executive committee transferred its functions to the regional executive committee, to which the presidium of the Leningrad City Council was subordinate.
In accordance with the resolution of the Central Committee of the
All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
and the
Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union
The Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union was the highest collegial body of executive and administrative authority of the Soviet Union from 1923 to 1946.
As the government of the Soviet Union, the Council of People's Commissars of ...
of December 3, 1931, Leningrad was allocated as an independent administrative and economic center with its own budget.
In December 1939, elections to the city council were held in accordance with the
1936 Constitution of the Soviet Union
The 1936 Constitution of the Soviet Union, also known as the Stalin Constitution, was the constitution of the Soviet Union adopted on 5 December 1936.
The 1936 Constitution was the second constitution of the Soviet Union and replaced the 1924 C ...
, adopted on December 5, 1936. After the elections, the Lensoviet became known as the Leningrad City Council of Workers' Deputies (Lengorsovet).
With the beginning of the
Great Patriotic War
The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...
, it was effectively subordinated to the Military Council of the
Leningrad Front
The Leningrad Front () was formed during the 1941 German approach on Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front on August 27, 1941.
History
The Leningrad Front was immediately ...
, and was engaged in organizing defensive construction on the approaches to Leningrad, converting industry to weapons production, etc. In the spring of 1942, the Leningrad City Council organized the sanitary cleanup of the city after the first winter of
the siege
''The Siege'' is a 1998 American action thriller film directed by Edward Zwick. The film is about a situation in which terrorist cells have made several attacks in New York City. The film stars Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Tony Shalhoub ...
.
In May 1944, the Leningrad City Council session adopted a plan for the restoration of the
municipal economy. In the second half of the 1940s - early 1950s, the main efforts of the Leningrad City Council were focused on the restoration of the city.
The decision of the executive committee of the Lensovet on the creation of the " Experimental landfill Krasny Bor" with subordination to Spetstrans, 1969
According to the
1977 Constitution of the Soviet Union
The 1977 Constitution of the Soviet Union, officially the Constitution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was adopted on 7 October 1977.
The 1977 Constitution, also known as the ''Brezhnev Constitution'' or the ''Constitution of Deve ...
, the Leningrad City Council of Workers' Deputies became known as the Leningrad City Council of People's Deputies.
Elected as a result of direct elections held in two rounds on March 4 and 18, 1990, the Leningrad City Council of the 21st convocation became the first representative authority in the RSFSR where the participants of the democratic forces bloc "Democratic Elections - 90" had an absolute majority - approximately 2/3 in the 400-seat Council. About 120 deputies of the Leningrad City Council represented the Leningrad People's Front - the largest informal political organization in Russia in 1989-90. Over the next three and a half years, the city council determined the life of the city. In particular, it played an important role in organizing resistance to the State Emergency Committee during the August Putsch of 1991.
In connection with the decree of the Presidium of the
Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR of September 6, 1991 on returning the name St. Petersburg to Leningrad, on September 30, 1991 the city council was renamed the St. Petersburg City Council of People's Deputies (Petrosoviet).
In accordance with the
Decrees
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...
of the
President of Russia
The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the State Council (Russia), Federal State Council and the President of Russia#Commander-in-ch ...
"On the phased constitutional reform in the Russian Federation" of September 21, 1993 and "On the reform of representative bodies of local self-government in the Russian Federation" of October 9, 1993, and with paragraph 2 of the Decree of the President of Russia "On the reform of state authorities of the city of St. Petersburg" of December 21, 1993 No. 2252 on the termination of the powers of the St. Petersburg City Council of People's Deputies and its deputies, the session of the City Council on December 22, 1993 adopted a decision to abolish the Council and transfer functions to the
Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg
The Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg () is the regional parliaments of Russia, regional parliament of Saint Petersburg, a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (federal cities of Russia, federal city) of Russia. It was established ...
.
See also
*
Leningrad City Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
*
Mossoviet
References
{{Reflist
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