Politics of the Soviet Union

The political system of the Soviet Union took place in a federal single-party soviet socialist republic framework which was characterized by the superior role of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), the only party permitted by the Constitution.

The Bolsheviks who took power during the October Revolution, the final phase of the Russian Revolution, were the first communist party to take power and attempt to apply the Leninist variant of Marxism in a practical way. Although they grew very quickly during the Revolution, from 24,000 to 100,000 members, and received less than a quarter of votes in the Constituent Assembly elections in November 1917, the Bolsheviks were a minority party when they took power by force in Petrograd and Moscow. The Bolsehviks performed best in Petrograd and Vitebsk, Minsk, Smolensk, and Petrograd Guberniia in western Russia; Tver, Vladimir, Moscow Guberniia, and Moscow in central Russia; and among the soldiers on the Northern and Western Fronts and the sailors of the Baltic Fleet. The Bolsheviks and their allies argued that the results were not valid, and that the soviets, where the Bolsheviks held more political power, were a more accurate reflection of public will. The Bolsheviks' advantages as a political party were discipline and a platform supporting workers, peasants, soldiers, and sailors who had seized factories, organized soviets, appropriated the lands of the aristocracy and other large landholders, deserted from the army, and mutinied against the navy during the February Revolution.

Karl Marx made no detailed proposals for the structure of a socialist or communist government and society other than the replacement of capitalism with socialism and eventually communism by the victorious working class. Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks, had developed the theory that a communist party should serve as the vanguard of the proletariat and ruling in their name and interest, but like Marx had not developed a detailed economic or political program. The new communist government of the Soviet Union faced alarming problems, such as extending practical control beyond the major cities, combatting counter-revolution and opposing political parties, coping with the continuing war and setting up a new economic and political system.

Despite their relative discipline, the Bolsheviks were not of one mind. The was a coalition of committed revolutionaries, but with somewhat differing views as to what was practical. These diverging tendencies resulted in debates within the party over the next decade, followed by a period of consolidation of the party as definitive policies, programs, and directions were adopted.

The Congress of Soviets was the supreme organ of power in accordance with Article 8 of the 1924 Soviet Constitution. The Congress was replaced in the 1936 Soviet Constitution by the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. In accordance with Article 30, it functioned as the highest state authority and the only legislative branch of the Soviet Union. According to Article 108 of the 1977 Soviet Constitution, the Supreme Soviet was empowered to deal with all matters within the jurisdiction of the Soviet Union. The admission of new republics; creation of new autonomous republics and autonomous regions; approval of the five-year plan for social and economic development; and creation of the state budget and the institution of bodies to which the Soviet Union was accountable were the exclusive prerogative of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. The law of the Soviet Union was enacted by the Supreme Soviet or by referendum.

The Supreme Soviet consisted of two chambers, the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities which had equal rights and an equal number of deputies. The Soviet of the Union was elected by constituencies with equal populations while the Soviet of Nationalities was elected on the basis of the following representation: 32 deputies from each Union Republic, 11 deputies from each autonomous republic, five deputies from each autonomous region and one deputy from each autonomous area. The Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities (upon submission by the elected credentials commissions) had the power to decide the validity of the elected deputies' credentials and (in cases where election law had been violated) would declare the election null and void. Both chambers elected a chairman and four Deputies. The Chairmen of the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities presided over sessions of their respective chambers and conducted their affairs. Joint sessions of the chambers were presided over by (alternately) the Chairman of the Soviet of the Union and the Chairman of the Soviet of Nationalities.

Through a constitutional amendment made by Mikhail Gorbachev, the Supreme Soviet became a permanent parliament which was elected by the Congress of the People's Deputies. In the 1989 Soviet legislative election, the Soviet people, elected for the first time candidates democratically. The new amendment called for a smaller working body (later known as the Supreme Soviet) to be elected by the 2,250-member Congress of People's Deputies. One-third of the seats in the Congress of People's Deputies was reserved for the Communist Party and other public organisations. The amendment clearly stated that multiple candidates could participate in elections and Soviet voters stunned the authorities by voting for non-CPSU candidates and reformers. However, genuine reformers were estimated to have won only about 300 seats. Following the failed August Coup attempt, the State Council became the highest organ of state power "in the period of transition".

According to the 1924 Soviet Constitution, the executive branch was headed by the Council of People's Commissars. In the 1977 Soviet Constitution, the Council of Ministers was the head of the executive branch. The Council of Ministers was formed at a joint meeting of the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities. The Council consisted of the Chairman, the First Deputies, the Deputies, the ministers, the chairmen of the state committees and the Chairmen of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Republics. The Chairman of the Council of Ministers could recommend to the Supreme Soviet other heads of organisations in the Soviet Union as members of the council. The Council of Ministers laid down its power before the first session of the newly elected Supreme Soviet.