Soviet Russia Constitution of 1918
The constitution of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1918, also called the Basic Law (Основной закон, Osnovnoy zakon) which governed the
History
The ultimate aims of the state were outlined as: "the abolition of the exploitation of men by men, the entire abolition of the division of the people into classes, the suppression of exploiters, [and] the establishment of a socialist society." The constitution stated that a historic alliance had been formed between the workers and peasants, who together would govern the state through the soviets. The constitution explicitly denied political power to higher classes of Russian society or to those who supported the White armies in the Civil War (1918–21). To prevent the higher classes from re-claiming state power, the first article called for all workers and peasants to be armed and organized into a Red Army while the higher classes be fully disarmed.
Supreme power rested with the
The congress elected the
One of the first Soviet iterations of a perennial biblical phrase appeared in Article 18, which declares labour to be the duty of all citizens of the Republic, and sloganeers: 'He who does not work, neither shall he eat!'
Importantly, the 1918 Russian Constitution's main principles served as a precursor to the ensuing constitutions of both united and autonomous Soviet republics. They were recognized as fundamental to the
See also
- Bibliography of the Russian Revolution and Civil War § Government
- Russian State (1918–1920)
- Decree on the system of government of Russia (1918)
References
- ^ "Declaration Of The Rights Of Labouring And Exploited People". Pravda. 3 January 1918. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
- ^ "The first Constitution of RSFSR adopted 10 July 1918". Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library. Retrieved April 20, 2015.