Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (TheodoresTomfooleries)

Supreme Soviet of the USSR Верховный Совет СССР Verkhovnyi Sovet SSSR
19th Supreme Soviet
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Soviet of Nationalities Soviet of the Union
History
Founded	December 5, 1936 (1936-12-05) (First session)
Preceded by	Congress of Soviets
Leadership
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet	Sabrican Garayev, CPSU since 2024
Chairman of the Soviet of Nationalities	Justas Vincas Paleckis, CPSU
Chairman of the Soviet of the Union	Maxim Suraykin, CPSU
Structure
Seats	2000
Political groups	Communist Party of the Soviet Union: 1,749 seats   Independents: 251 seats
Length of term	5 years
Elections
Voting system	Direct election
First election	12 December 1937
Last election	4 March 2024
Next election	4 March 2029
Meeting place
Grand Kremlin Palace, Moscow Kremlin (Joint sessions of both houses)
Website
en.vs.su

The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is the legislature and highest body of state authority of the Soviet Union. Per the principle of united power, the Supreme Soviet is the only branch of government in the Soviet Union, and all state organs are subservient to it. The Supreme Soviet is the second largest legislature in the world by number of members, with 2,000 deputies as of 2024. The Supreme Soviet is bicameral and consists of two chambers, the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities.

The Supreme Soviet is elected every five years by the Soviet people. The Supreme Soviet is convened biannually in the spring and autumn, with its regular sessions lasting three to four months. In practice however, the Supreme Soviet often only meets for a week at a time per month. In addition, only the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and public organizations approved by it may nominate candidates. As a result, the Supreme Soviet has been characterized as a rubber stamp legislature, which mostly ratifies decisions made by the executive organs of the USSR and the Communist Party.

The Supreme Soviet appoints the Council of Ministers, the Supreme Court, and the Procurator General of the USSR. It elects the Presidium, which acts as a permanent standing body for the Supreme Soviet, in addition to appointing the president of the Soviet Union.

History

The Supreme Soviet was established by the 1936 Soviet constitution, replacing the Congress of Soviets and the Central Executive Committee (CEC). Originally, the Congress of Soviets was an indirectly elected legislature, whose delegates were elected by the local Congress of Soviets of the republics. The CEC acted on the behalf of the Congress of Soviets when it was not in session, and was responsible for electing the Council of People's Commissars. The CEC consisted of two chambers, the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities, which were the precursors to their modern-day counterparts.

The adoption of the new Soviet constitution in 1936 resulted in the abolition of both the Congress of Soviets and the Central Executive Committee and their merging into a singular supreme legislative body, which would be known as the Supreme Soviet. According to the 1936 Soviet constitution, the Supreme Soviet would consist of the Soviet of Nationalities and the Soviet of the Union, each consisting of 750 deputies, while the presidium of the CEC was transformed into the presidium of the Supreme Soviet.

Following the adoption of a new constitution in 1977, the Supreme Soviet's term of office was increased from 4 to 5 years. In addition, the age of suffrage was decreased from 21 years to 18.

Structure

The Supreme Soviet consists of two chambers, both equal in size and in legislative power: the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities. The Soviet of the Union is responsible for representing the population of the Soviet Union as a whole, with each deputy representing the same amount of voters. The Soviet of Nationalities represents the various titular nationalities of the union republics, autonomous republics, etc..