Soviet of Nationalities

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Not to be confused with Soviet of Nationalities (Supreme Soviet of Russia).
For other uses, see Council of Nationalities.

Soviet of Nationalities

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The Soviet of Nationalities (

constituency. It was briefly succeeded by the Soviet of the Republics from October to December 1991. As opposed to the Soviet of the Union, the Soviet of Nationalities was composed of the nationalities of the Soviet Union, which in turn followed administrative division
rather than being a representation of ethnic groups.

Background

Prior to the creation of the Supreme Soviet in 1938 by the

ASSRs and 1 delegate from each autonomous oblast.[1]

History

The Soviet of the Nationalities was formed on the basis of equal representation of all the

Estonian SSR with a population of about 1.5 million, got 32 deputies each. Russians as an ethnic group made up more than half of the population of the Soviet Union, but the Soviet of Nationalities did not represent ethnic groups, it represented the different nationalities as expressed by the republics and various autonomous units of the Soviet Union. This electoral system seriously diminished representation of larger ethnic groups in favor of the smaller ethnic groups of the Soviet Union, with the Russians being most underrepresented.[clarification needed][citation needed
]

The Soviet of Nationalities enjoyed the same rights as the

1989 elections
–the first, and as it turned out, only, free elections ever held in the Soviet Union–the Soviet of Nationalities acquired a much greater role, and was the scene of many lively debates.

The Soviet of Nationalities elected a

Public Education Commission, Science and Culture Commission, Trade Commission, Consumer Service and Municipal Economy Commission, Environmental
Commission.

The presidium of the Soviet of Nationalities "ceased all noticeable work at the end of 1937", but it did "survive as the sole central political institution formally devoted to the nationalities question".[2]

In 1989, it was reduced to 271 deputies elected by the Congress of People's Deputies. Its deputies were elected representing national-territorial electoral districts and public organizations.

Soviet of the Republics

The Soviet of the Republics — the upper chamber of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, created on the basis of the USSR Law of 5 September 1991 "On the bodies of state power and administration of the USSR in the transition period",[3] however, not provided for by the Constitution of the USSR. The first meeting of the new chamber took place on 21 October. Anuarbek Alimzhanov, a deputy from Kazakhstan, was elected chairman of the chamber.[4][5]

The Council of Republics consisted of 20 deputies from each union republic from among the people's deputies of the USSR and union republics, delegated by the highest bodies of state power of these republics. Taking into account the federal structure of the RSFSR, it had 52 deputies in the Council of Republics.[3]

Other union republics, which include republics and autonomous formations, additionally delegated to the Council of Republics one deputy from each republic and autonomy. In order to ensure the equality of the republics when voting in the Council of Republics, each union republic had one vote.[3]

The Council of Republics made decisions on the organization and procedure for the activities of union bodies, ratifies and denounces international treaties.[3]

On 26 December 1991 the Soviet of the Republics adopted a resolution declaring that the Soviet Union no longer existed as a functioning state and voted both itself and the Soviet Union out of existence. The Soviet of the Union had effectively been dissolved two weeks earlier when Russia unilaterally recalled its deputies, leaving it without a quorum. This declaration by the Soviet of the Republics was thus the final legal step in the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Ukrainian: Рада Національностей; Belarusian: Савет Нацыянальнасцей; Uzbek: Миллатлар Кенгаши, Millatlar Kengashi; Kazakh: Ұлттар Кеңесі, Ūlttar Keñesı; Georgian: ეროვნების საბჭო; Azerbaijani: Милләтләр Совети, Millətlər Soveti; Lithuanian: Tautybių Taryba; Romanian: Sovietul Naționalităților, Moldovan Cyrillic: Советул Националитэцилор; Latvian: Tautību Padome; Kyrgyz: Улуттар Кеңеши; Tajik: Шӯрои Миллатҳо; Armenian: Ազգությունների Խորհուրդ; Turkmen: Миллетлер Геңеши, Milletler Geňeşi; Estonian: Rahvuste Nõukogu

References

  1. OCLC 606578236.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  2. ISBN 0-8014-8677-7
    ), p. 412.
  3. ^ a b c d Закон СССР от 5 сентября 1991 года № 2392-I «Об органах государственной власти и управления Союза ССР в переходный период»
  4. ^ Съезд народных депутатов СССР и Верховный Совет СССР
  5. ^ Высшие органы государственной власти СССР
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