TheSupreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (SSUSSR)[a] was thehighest organ of state authority of theSoviet Union from 1936 to 1991. Based on the principle ofunified power, it was the only branch of government in the Soviet state, and headed theunified state apparatus.
Prior to 1936,[3] theCongress of Soviets was the highest organ of state authority. During 1989–1991a similar, but not identical organ acted as the highest organ of state authority. The Supreme Soviet appointed theCouncil of Ministers, theSupreme Court, and theProcurator General of the Soviet Union as well as elected thePresidium which served as the Soviet Union'scollective head of state under both the1936 and1977 Soviet Constitutions.[3]
By the Soviet constitutions of1936 and1977, 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 arubber stamp parliament which did little more than ratify decisions already made by the Soviet Union's executive organs and theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) – always by unanimous consent[3] – and listen to theGeneral Secretary's speeches.[3] This was in accordance with theStalinist CPSU's principle ofdemocratic centralism and became the norm for otherCommunist legislatures.
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TheSupreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (Верхо́вный Сове́т СССР,Verkhovny Sovet SSSR) was the highest legislative body in theSoviet Union from 1938 to 1991. It succeeded theCongress of Soviets of the Soviet Union and functioned as the nominal supreme organ of state power according to the1936 Soviet Constitution.
The Supreme Soviet replaced theCongress of Soviets in 1938 and was theoretically the highest authority in the USSR. In practice, however, it usually rubber-stamped decisions made by theCommunist Party and itsPolitburo.
Originally, it was composed of two chambers of equal legislative power:
Although the Supreme Soviet was formally the highest organ of state power, real authority rested with the Communist Party untilMikhail Gorbachev's reforms in the late 1980s. Underperestroika, it became a somewhat genuine parliamentary body after the creation of theCongress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union in 1989, from which the Supreme Soviet was elected as a smaller working legislature.
The last session of the Supreme Soviet was held in December 1991, shortly before the formaldissolution of the USSR.
The Supreme Soviet had authority to:
Sessions were generally short, held twice a year, with most legislative work done by standing commissions or the Presidium.
Between sessions, its powers were exercised by thePresidium of the Supreme Soviet, which could issue decrees (ukazy) with the force of law, subject to later approval.
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The Supreme Soviet was composed of two chambers, each with equal legislative powers:[1]
Under the 1936 Constitution, the Supreme Soviet was elected for a four-year term, and the Soviet of the Union had one deputy for every 300,000 people.[1] This was changed by the 1977 constitution; the term was extended to five years, and the number of seats in the Soviet of the Union was changed to be the same as the Soviet of Nationalities, regardless of the population size.[2][3]
The Supreme Soviet convened twice a year, usually for less than a week. For the rest of the year, thePresidium performed its ordinary functions. Often, the CPSU bypassed the Supreme Soviet altogether and had major laws enacted as Presidium decrees. Nominally, if such decrees were not ratified by the Supreme Soviet at its next session, they were considered revoked. In practice, however, the principle of democratic centralism rendered the process of ratifying Presidium decrees a mere formality. In some cases, even this formality was not observed.[4]
After 1989 it consisted of 542 deputies (divided into two 271 chambers) decreased from a previous 1,500. The meetings of the highest organ of state authority were also more frequent, from six to eight months a year. In September 1991, after theAugust Coup, it was reorganised into the Soviet (council) of Republics and the Soviet of The Union, which would jointly amend theSoviet Constitution, admit new states, hear out thePresident of the Soviet Union on important home and foreign policy issues, approve the union budget, declare war and conclude peace. The Soviet of Republics would consist of 20 deputies from each union republic, plus one deputy to represent each autonomous region of each republic, delegated by the republics' legislatures.Russia was an exception with 52 deputies. The Soviet of the Union consisted of deputies apportioned by the existing quotas.[5]
In 1989, its powers were:
Acts by the Supreme Soviet entered into force after signature by the President and publication.
Between 1938 and February 1990, more than 50 years, only 80 laws were passed by the Supreme Soviet, less than 1% of total legislative acts.[6]
| No. | Portrait | Name (Born-Died) | Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||
| 1 | .jpg) | Mikhail Kalinin (1875–1946) | 17 January 1938 | 19 March 1946 | 8 years, 61 days |
| 2 |  | Nikolai Shvernik (1888–1970) | 19 March 1946 | 15 March 1953 | 6 years, 361 days |
| 3 |  | Kliment Voroshilov (1881–1969) | 15 March 1953 | 7 May 1960 | 7 years, 53 days |
| 4 |  | Leonid Brezhnev (1906–1982) | 7 May 1960 | 15 July 1964 | 4 years, 69 days |
| 5 |  | Anastas Mikoyan (1895–1978) | 15 July 1964 | 9 December 1965 | 1 year, 147 days |
| 6 |  | Nikolai Podgorny (1903–1983) | 9 December 1965 | 16 June 1977 | 11 years, 189 days |
| (4) | | Leonid Brezhnev (1906–1982) | 16 June 1977 | 10 November 1982 † | 5 years, 147 days |
| – | .jpg) | Vasili Kuznetsov (1901–1990) Acting | 10 November 1982 | 16 June 1983 | 218 days |
| 7 |  | Yuri Andropov (1914–1984) | 16 June 1983 | 9 February 1984 † | 238 days |
| – | | Vasili Kuznetsov (1901–1990) Acting | 9 February 1984 | 11 April 1984 | 62 days |
| 8 | _(cropped).jpg) | Konstantin Chernenko (1911–1985) | 11 April 1984 | 10 March 1985 † | 333 days |
| – | | Vasili Kuznetsov (1901–1990) Acting | 10 March 1985 | 27 July 1985 | 139 days |
| 9 | .jpg) | Andrei Gromyko (1909–1989) | 27 July 1985 | 1 October 1988 | 3 years, 66 days |
| 10 | .jpg) | Mikhail Gorbachev (1931–2022) | 1 October 1988 | 25 May 1989 | 236 days |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Born-Died) | Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||
| 1 | | Mikhail Gorbachev (1931–2022) | 25 May 1989 | 15 March 1990 | 294 days |
| 2 | _(cropped).jpg) | Anatoly Lukyanov (1930–2019) | 15 March 1990 | 4 September 1991 | 1 year, 160 days |
Beside the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, each of its constituting union republics and each autonomous republic had a supreme soviet. These supreme soviets also had presidiums, but all consisted of only one chamber. After thedissolution of the Soviet Union, some soviets of the succeeded independent republics simply changed their name to their more historic name or to emphasise their importance as a national parliament, while others changed to double-chamber assemblies.
Soviet Republics dissolved before the dissolution of the Soviet Union Parliamentsnot formally recognized by some countries such as theWestern Bloc
| Soviet Republic | Supreme Soviet | Established | Disbanded | Succeeded by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
%2c_Emblem_of_Russia_(1991%25E2%2580%25931992).svg) |  / Russian SFSR | Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian SFSR Верховный Совет РСФСР | 1938 (Supreme Soviet of Russia) 1990 (Congress of People's Deputies of Russia) | 1993 | Constitutional Conference (1993) Federal Assembly (1993–present):•Federation Council •State Duma |
 |  Ukraine | Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR Верховный Совет Украинской ССР | 1937 | 1991 (De facto) 1996 (De jure) |  / Verkhovna Rada |
.svg) |  Byelorussia | Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR Верховный Совет Белорусской ССР | 1938 | 1991 (De facto) 1994 (De jure) |  / Supreme Council (1994–96)/ National Assembly (1996–present) |
 |  Uzbekistan | Supreme Soviet of the Uzbek SSR Верховный Совет Узбекской ССР | 1938 | 1991 |  Supreme Council (1991–1995)Oliy Majlis (1995–present) |
 |  Kazakhstan | Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR Верховный Совет Казахской ССР | 1937 | 1993 |  Supreme Council (1993–95)Parliament (1995–present) |
 |  Georgia | Supreme Soviet of the Georgian SSR Верховный Совет Грузинской ССР | 1938 | 1990 |  Supreme Council (1990–1992)Military Council/State Council (1992–1995)/ Parliament (1995–present) |
 |  / Azerbaijan | Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR Верховный Совет Азербайджа́нской ССР | 1938 | 1995 | / National Assembly |
 |  Lithuania | Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR Верховный Совет Литовской ССР | 1940 | 1990 |  Supreme Council (1990–1992) Seimas (1992–present) |
.svg) |  Moldavia | Supreme Soviet of the Moldavian SSR Верховный Совет Молдавской ССР | 1941 | 1993 |  Parliament |
 |  Latvia | Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR Верховный Совет Латвийской ССР | 1940 | 1990 |  Supreme Council (1990–1993)Saeima (1993–present) |
 |  Kirghizia | Supreme Soviet of the Kirghiz SSR Верховный Совет Киргизской ССР | 1938 | 1994 |  / Supreme Council |
 |  Tajikistan | Supreme Soviet of the Tajik SSR Верховный Совет Таджикской ССР | 1937 | 1994 |  Supreme Assembly |
 |  / Armenia | Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR Верховный Совет Армянской ССР | 1938 | 1995 | National Assembly |
 |  Turkmenia | Supreme Soviet of the Turkmen SSR Верховный Совет Туркменской ССР | 1938 | 1992 |  / / Assembly (1992–2021, 2023–present)National Council (2021–2023) |
 |  Estonia | Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR Верховный Совет Эстонской ССР | 1940 | 1992 |  Riigikogu |
 |  Karelo-Finnish SSR | Supreme Soviet of the Karelo-Finnish SSR Верховный Совет Карело-Финской ССР | 1940 | 1956 |  Supreme Soviet [ru] |
List of known autonomous republics councils:
| Autonomous Republic | Supreme Soviet | Established | Disbanded | Succeeded by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  Bashkiria | Supreme Soviet of the Bashkir ASSR(ru) Верховный Совет Башкирской АССР | 1938 | 1995 |  / State Assembly |
 |  Buryatia | Supreme Soviet of the Buryat ASSR(ru) Верховный Совет Бурятской АССР | 1938 | 1994 |  People's Khural |
.svg) |  Dagestan | Supreme Soviet of the Dagestan ASSR Congress of People's Deputies of the Dagestan ASSR Верховный Совет Дагестанская АССР | 1938 | 1995 |  / People's Assembly |
 | Karelia | Supreme Soviet of the Karelian ASSR(ru) Верховный Совет Карельской АССР | 1938 1956 | 1940 1994 |  Legislative Assembly |
 |  Tatarstan | Supreme Soviet of the Tatar ASSR(ru) Верховный Совет Татарской АССР | 1938 | 1995 |  State Council |
.svg) |  Tuva | Supreme Soviet of the Tuvan ASSR(ru) Верховный Совет Тувинской АССР | 1961 | 1993 |  / Great Khural |
.svg) |  Chuvashia | Supreme Soviet of the Chuvash ASSR(ru) Верховный Совет Чувашской АССР | 1938 | 1994 |  State Council |
 |  Karakalpakstan | Supreme Soviet of the Karakalpak ASSR Верховный Совет Каракалпакской АССР | 1938 | 1994 |  Supreme Council |
.svg) |  Abkhazia | Supreme Soviet of the Abkhaz ASSR Верховный Совет Абхазской АССР | 1938 | 1996 |  People's Assembly |
 |  Adjara | Supreme Soviet of the Adjarian ASSR Верховный Совет Аджарской АССР | 1938 | 1991 |  / Supreme Council |
 |  Nakhichevan | Supreme Soviet of the Nakhichevan ASSR Верховный Совет Нахичеванской АССР | 1938 | 1990 | /Supreme Assembly (Nakhchivan) |
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