The Soviet of Nationalities; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; was the upper chamber of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, elected on the basis of universal, equal and direct

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

in accordance with the principles of Soviet democracy. Until democratization in the late-1980s, however, only a single candidate nominated by the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union 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 ...

was permitted to stand for election in each

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

. It was briefly succeeded by the Soviet of the Republics from October to December 1991. As opposed to the Soviet of the Union, the Soviet of Nationalities was composed of the nationalities of the Soviet Union, which in turn followed

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

rather than being a representation of ethnic groups.

Background

Prior to the creation of the Supreme Soviet in 1938 by the Soviet Constitution of 1936, the Soviet of Nationalities was one of the bodies that formed the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union, the other being the Soviet of the Union. Created by the 1924 Constitution to represent the national-territorial units of the Soviet Union in 1924, the Soviet of Nationalities included 5 delegates from union-level republics and ASSRs and 1 delegate from each autonomous oblast.

History

The Soviet of the Nationalities was formed on the basis of equal representation of all the Republics of the Soviet Union (32 deputies from each republic, excluding other autonomous units inside that republic which sent in separate members), autonomous republics (11 deputies from each republic), autonomous oblasts (five deputies from each

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

), and national districts (one deputy from each

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

). As a result, the largest republic, the Russian SFSR with a population of 147 million, and the smallest republic, the Estonian SSR with a population of about 1.5 million, got 32 deputies each.

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

as an ethnic group made up more than half of the population of the Soviet Union, but the Soviet of Nationalities did not represent ethnic groups, it represented the different nationalities as expressed by the republics and various autonomous units of the Soviet Union. This electoral system seriously diminished representation of larger ethnic groups in favor of the smaller ethnic groups of the Soviet Union, with the Russians being most underrepresented. The Soviet of Nationalities enjoyed the same rights as the Soviet of the Union in the area of legislative initiative and in resolving other issues inside the competence of the Soviet Union. In practice, until 1989, it did little more than approve decisions already made by the top leadership of the

. After the 1989 elections–the first, and as it turned out, only, free elections ever held in the Soviet Union–the Soviet of Nationalities acquired a much greater role, and was the scene of many lively debates. The Soviet of Nationalities elected a

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

(who would lead the sessions of the chamber), his four deputies, and permanent

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

s: Mandate Commission, Commission on Legislative Suppositions, Budget Planning Commission,

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

Commission, Youth Affairs Commission, Industry Commission, Transportation and Communications Commission, Construction and Industry of Building Materials Commission,

Agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

Commission,

Consumer Goods A final good or consumer good is a final product ready for sale that is used by the consumer to satisfy current wants or needs, unlike an intermediate good, which is used to produce other goods. A microwave oven or a bicycle is a final good. W ...

Commission, Public Education Commission, Science and Culture Commission, Trade Commission, Consumer Service and Municipal Economy Commission, Environmental Commission. The presidium of the Soviet of Nationalities "ceased all noticeable work at the end of 1937", but it did "survive as the sole central political institution formally devoted to the nationalities question". In 1989, it was reduced to 271 deputies elected by the Congress of People's Deputies. Its deputies were elected representing national-territorial electoral districts and public organizations.

Soviet of the Republics

The Soviet of the Republics — the upper chamber of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, created on the basis of the USSR Law of 5 September 1991 "On the bodies of state power and administration of the USSR in the transition period",Закон СССР от 5 сентября 1991 года № 2392-I «Об органах государственной власти и управления Союза ССР в переходный период»
/ref> however, not provided for by the Constitution of the USSR. The first meeting of the new chamber took place on 21 October. Anuarbek Alimzhanov, a deputy from Kazakhstan, was elected chairman of the chamber.Высшие органы государственной власти СССР
/ref> The Council of Republics consisted of 20 deputies from each union republic from among the people's deputies of the USSR and union republics, delegated by the highest bodies of state power of these republics. Taking into account the federal structure of the RSFSR, it had 52 deputies in the Council of Republics. Other union republics, which include republics and autonomous formations, additionally delegated to the Council of Republics one deputy from each republic and autonomy. In order to ensure the equality of the republics when voting in the Council of Republics, each union republic had one vote. The Council of Republics made decisions on the organization and procedure for the activities of union bodies, ratifies and denounces international treaties. On 26 December 1991 the Soviet of the Republics adopted a resolution declaring that the Soviet Union no longer existed as a functioning state and voted both itself and the Soviet Union out of existence. The Soviet of the Union had effectively been dissolved two weeks earlier when Russia unilaterally recalled its deputies, leaving it without a quorum. This declaration by the Soviet of the Republics was thus the final legal step in the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soviet Of Nationalities Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Government of the Soviet Union 1938 establishments in the Soviet Union 1991 disestablishments in the Soviet Union

Background

History

Soviet of the Republics

See also

Notes

References