1936 Constitution of the Soviet Union
1936 Constitution of the Soviet Union | |
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Congress of Soviets of the Soviet Union | |
Long title
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Territorial extent | Soviet Union |
Enacted by | Congress of Soviets of the Soviet Union |
Signed by | Joseph Stalin |
Effective | 5 December 1936 |
Repealed | 7 October 1977 |
Status: Repealed |
The 1936 Constitution of the Soviet Union, also known as the Stalin Constitution, was the constitution of the Soviet Union adopted on 5 December 1936.
The 1936 Constitution was the second constitution of the Soviet Union and replaced the 1924 Constitution, with 5 December being celebrated annually as Soviet Constitution Day from its adoption by the Congress of Soviets.[1] This date was considered the "second foundational moment" of the USSR, after the October Revolution in 1917.[2] The 1936 Constitution redesigned the government of the Soviet Union, expanded all manner of rights and freedoms, and spelled out a number of democratic procedures. The Congress of Soviets replaced itself with the Supreme Soviet, which amended the 1936 Constitution in 1944.
The 1936 Constitution was the longest surviving constitution of the Soviet Union, and many Eastern Bloc countries later adopted constitutions that were closely modeled on it. It was replaced by the 1977 Constitution of the Soviet Union ("Brezhnev Constitution") on 7 October 1977.
Basic provisions
The 1936 Constitution repealed restrictions on voting, abolishing the
Article 122 states that "women in the U.S.S.R. are accorded equal rights with men in all spheres of economic, state, cultural, social and political life."[3] Specific measures on women included state protection of the interests of mother and child, prematernity and maternity leave with full pay, and the provision of maternity homes, nurseries, and kindergartens.[3]
Article 123 establishes equality of rights for all citizens "irrespective of their nationality or race, in all spheres of economic, state, cultural, social, and political life."[3] Advocacy of racial or national exclusiveness, or hatred or contempt, or restrictions of rights and privileges on account of nationality, were to be punished by law.[3]
Freedom of religion and speech
Article 124 of the constitution guaranteed
Article 125 of the constitution guaranteed freedom of speech of the press and freedom of assembly.
Leading role of Communist Party
The 1936 constitution specifically mentioned the role of the ruling All-Union Communist Party (b) for the first time.[5] Article 126 stated that the Party was the "vanguard of the working people in their struggle to strengthen and develop the socialist system and representing the leading core of all organizations of the working people, both public and state".[6] This provision was used to justify banning all other parties from functioning in the Soviet Union and legalizing the one-party state.[7]
Nomenclature changes
The 1936 Constitution replaced the
The 1936 Constitution changed the names of all
The
Drafting
The 1936 Constitution was written by a special commission of 31 members which General Secretary Joseph Stalin chaired. Those who participated included (among others) Andrey Vyshinsky, Andrei Zhdanov, Maxim Litvinov, Kliment Voroshilov, Vyacheslav Molotov, Lazar Kaganovich, Nikolai Bukharin, and Karl Radek, though the latter two had less active input.[10]
Soviet portrayal and criticism
The 1936 Constitution enumerated economic rights not included in constitutions in the
According to
1944 amendments
The 1944 amendments to the 1936 Constitution established separate branches of the
See also
References
- ISBN 0415320941.
- ISBN 9781138944503.
- ^ OCLC 1007090474.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Sheila (1999). Everyday Stalinism: Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times: Soviet Russia in the 1930s. New York. Oxford University Press. p. 179.
- ISBN 9789024732098. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
[...] with the exception of the 1924 Mongolian Constitution, all of the constitutions of the Eastern European and Asian Communist states were adopted after the second USSR Constitution of 1936 had been promulgated in which the first direct mention of the Communist Party can at last be found
. - ^ "Конституция (Основной закон) Союза Советских Социалистических Республик (утверждена постановлением Чрезвычайного VIII Съезда Советов Союза Советских Социалистических Республик от 5 декабря 1936 г.). Глава Х: Основные права и обязанности граждан" [Constitution (Basic Law) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (confirmed by the decision of the Extraordinary 8th Session of the Soviets of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of 5 December 1936). Chapter 10: Basic rights and duties of citizens]. Sait Konstitutsii Rossiiskoi Federatsii (in Russian). НПП "Гарант-Сервис". Retrieved 19 December 2015.
Статья 126. В соответствии с интересами трудящихся и в целях развития организационной самодеятельности и политической активности народных масс гражданам СССР обеспечивается право объединения в общественные организации: профессиональные союзы, кооперативные объединения, организации молодежи, спортивные и оборонные организации, культурные, технические и научные общества, а наиболее активные и сознательные граждане из рядов рабочего класса и других слоев трудящихся объединяются во Всесоюзную коммунистическую партию (большевиков), являющуюся передовым отрядом трудящихся в их борьбе за укрепление и развитие социалистического строя и представляющую руководящее ядро всех организаций трудящихся, как общественных, так и государственных
. - ^ Tamara O. Kuznetsova, Inna A. Rakitskaya and Elena A. Kremyanskaya (2014). Russian Constitutional Law.
- ISBN 978-0-19-835467-3.
- ISBN 0-8422-0529-2.
- ^ J. Arch Getty (Spring 1991). "State and Society Under Stalin: Constitutions and Elections in the 1930s". Slavic Review. Vol. 50. No. 1. p. 19, 22.
- ^ Pravda (25 November 1936).
- ^ Leonard Schapiro (1971). The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (2nd ed.). Random House. New York. pp. 410–411.
- ISBN 978-0156701532.
- ^ Lomb, Samantha (March 2014). "A Fundamental Conflict of Vision: Stalin's Constitution and Popular Rejection" (PDF). Ohio State University. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
- ISBN 978-1138721845.
- ^ J. Arch Getty (1991) "State and Society Under Stalin: Constitutions and Elections in the 1930s". Slavic Review. Vol. 50. No. 1. pp. 18—35.
- ^ "Walter Duranty Explains Changes In Soviet Constitution" Archived 2015-09-04 at the Wayback Machine. Miami News. 6 February 1944.
- ^ "League of Nations Timeline – Chronology 1944".
- ^ "United Nations – Founding Members".
- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Country Studies. Federal Research Division. – Soviet Union
External links
- "Конституция С.С.С.Р. 1936 г.". (full text and all subsequent laws amending the 1936 Constitution) (in Russian).
- "1936 Constitution of the U.S.S.R.". (full text and all subsequent laws amending the 1936 Constitution) (in English).
- Peter Petroff (July 1936). "New Constitution of the U.S.S.R.".