Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union

Supreme Soviet of the USSR

Верховный Совет СССР
Supreme Soviet of the USSR ; Верховный Совет СССР
Type
Type	Bicameral
Chambers	• Soviet of Nationalities; • Soviet of the Union
History
Established	12 January 1938
Disbanded	25 December 1991
Preceded by	Congress of Soviets
Succeeded by	Congress of People's Deputies; Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States; Several post-Soviet; parliaments: list Supreme Soviet of Russia; Supreme Council of Belarus; Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; Supreme Council of Armenia; Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan; Supreme Council of Georgia; Supreme Soviet of Kazakhstan; Supreme Soviet of Kyrgyzstan; Supreme Soviet of Moldova; Supreme Soviet of Tajikistan; Supreme Soviet of Turkmenistan; Supreme Council of Uzbekistan; Supreme Council of Estonia; Supreme Council of Latvia; Supreme Council of Lithuania; ;
Structure
Seats	1,500 (after 1984 election); 542 (at dissolution)
Soviet of Nationalities political groups	After the 1984 election:; Communist Party of the Soviet Union (521); Independents (229)
Soviet of the Union political groups	After the 1984 election:; Communist Party of the Soviet Union (551); Independents (199)
Elections
Soviet of Nationalities voting system	Direct elections (1937–1989); Elected by the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union (1989–1991)
Soviet of the Union voting system	Direct elections (1937-1989); Elected by the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union (1989–1991)
First Soviet of Nationalities election	12 December 1937
Last Soviet of Nationalities election	4 March 1984 (last direct election); 26 March 1989 (last—and only—indirect election)
Meeting place
	Grand Kremlin Palace, Moscow Kremlin ; (Joint sessions of both houses)

The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Russian: Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, tr. Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik) was, from 1936 to 1991, the highest body of state authority of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and based on the principle of unified power was the only branch of government in the Soviet state.

Prior to 1936,^[3] the Congress of Soviets was the supreme legislative body. During 1989–1991 a similar, but not identical structure was the supreme legislative body. The Supreme Soviet appointed the Council of Ministers, the Supreme Court, and the Procurator General of the USSR as well as elected the Presidium which served as the USSR's collective head of state by the both 1936 and 1977 Soviet Constitution.^[3]

By the Soviet constitutions of 1936 and 1977, the Supreme Soviet was defined as the highest organ of state power in the Soviet Union and was imbued with great lawmaking powers. In practice, however, it was a toy parliament which did nothing other than ratify decisions already made by the USSR's executive organs and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) — always by unanimous consent^[3] — and listen to the General Secretary's speeches.^[3] This was in accordance with the Stalinist CPSU's principle of democratic centralism and became the norm for other Communist legislatures.

^ "Совместное заседание Совета Союза и Совета Национальностей Верховного Совета СССР восьмого созыва. Кремль". RIA Novosti Mediabank. Rossiya Segodnya media group. 18 December 1972. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
^ "Совместное заседание Совета Союза и Совета Национальностей третьей сессии Верховного Совета СССР девятого созыва. Кремлевский Дворец Съездов (ныне - Государственный Кремлевский дворец)". RIA Novosti Mediabank. Rossiya Segodnya media group. 22 July 1975. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Armstrong, John Alexander (1986) [1978]. Ideology, Politics, and Government in the Soviet Union: An Introduction (fourth ed.). Lanham, MD / New York City / London: University Press of America. ISBN 0-8191-5405-9. Retrieved November 26, 2016.

[1] "Совместное заседание Совета Союза и Совета Национальностей Верховного Совета СССР восьмого созыва. Кремль". RIA Novosti Mediabank. Rossiya Segodnya media group. 18 December 1972. Retrieved 29 April 2023.

[2] "Совместное заседание Совета Союза и Совета Национальностей третьей сессии Верховного Совета СССР девятого созыва. Кремлевский Дворец Съездов (ныне - Государственный Кремлевский дворец)". RIA Novosti Mediabank. Rossiya Segodnya media group. 22 July 1975. Retrieved 29 April 2023.

[Armstrong-3] Armstrong, John Alexander (1986) [1978]. Ideology, Politics, and Government in the Soviet Union: An Introduction (fourth ed.). Lanham, MD / New York City / London: University Press of America. ISBN 0-8191-5405-9. Retrieved November 26, 2016.

[1]

[2]

[3]