Supreme Soviet
The Supreme Soviet is the highest legislative body withing the Soviet Union. It is compromised of 228 members (three from each of the seventy-six republics) as well as an audience of Party officials. The Supreme Soviet receives legislature from a special committee which received their legislature from a duma. Once the legislature passes the duma, to the special committee, it is read before the Supreme Soviet. If it passes the Supreme Soviet, it is in turn passed to the Political Bureau for passage. If it passes, it is ratified by both the Political Bureau and the Supreme Soviet, making it law.
Legislature can also be written by a special committee and immediately passed to the Supreme Soviet, then the Political Bureau for ratification.
History
The original Supreme Soviet comprised the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union in the interim of the sessions of the Congress of Soviets, and the only one with the power to pass constitutional amendments. It elected the Presidium, formed the Supreme Court, and appointed the Procurator General of the USSR. Its prototype (before the creation of the Soviet Union) was All-Russian Central Executive Committee, whose full name at a certain time was All-Russian Central Executive Committee of Workers', Peasants', Red Army, and Cossack Deputies.
At the time, it compromised of two houses that each had equal legislative power and elected members for five-years terms:
- the Soviet of the Union, elected on the basis of population with one deputy for every 300,000 people in the Soviet federation
- the Soviet of Nationalities, supposed to represent the ethnic populations, with members elected on the basis of 32 deputies from each union republic, 11 from each autonomous republic, five from each autonomous oblast (region), and one from each autonomous okrug (district).
After the Volin administration, it was changed to a unicameral legislature with three representatives for each republic.
Policies
Party audience
Communist Party Political Commissars are required to be at Supreme Soviet meetings (seen in the front row in the image at top of page) in order to insure the Supreme Soviet is not going against Party doctrine. If any official is deemed to be going against doctrine, he can be removed by armed guards upon the request of three Political Commissars.
Along with Political Commissars, Party members are allowed to attend Supreme Soviet sessions.
Membership
Members of the Supreme Soviet are elected from the soviet of each individual republic and are placed within the Supreme Soviet. Elections occur every five years with a limitless number of terms able to be served consecutively. This allows for good legislators to remain in office while removing others. Along with this policy, referendum allows for the Political Bureau or Supreme Soviet to remove any member of the Supreme Soviet with a two-thirds majority vote.
Filming
Supreme Soviet sessions are filmed by the Presidium, but are not shown on television live or otherwise. This is mostly due for record keeping and security purposes. The image attached to this article is the only known image of a Supreme Soviet session.
