Stalin's Constitution of the USSR- December 1936
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
New Soviet Parliament: Process, Procedures and Legislative Priority Igor N
Cornell International Law Journal Volume 23 Article 4 Issue 2 Symposium 1990 New Soviet Parliament: Process, Procedures and Legislative Priority Igor N. Belousovitch Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cilj Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Belousovitch, Igor N. (1990) "New Soviet Parliament: Process, Procedures and Legislative Priority," Cornell International Law Journal: Vol. 23: Iss. 2, Article 4. Available at: http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cilj/vol23/iss2/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Cornell Law: A Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Cornell International Law Journal by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Cornell Law: A Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Igor N. Belousovitch* New Soviet Parliament: Process, Procedures and Legislative Priority When Gorbachev restructured the Soviet legislature in December 1988, the way in which Soviet laws are made began to change fundamen- tally. Since 1977, the right to initiate legislation has rested in the two chambers of the USSR Supreme Soviet and in its organs, in individual deputies of the Supreme Soviet, in the USSR Council of Ministers, and in various state agencies and public organizations.' In practice, how- ever, ministerial-level agencies have played the principal role in the leg- islative process. Working groups, consisting of invited academics (e.g., economists, jurists, and scientists) and practical specialists (ministerial officials and others with a direct interest in the proposed legislation), would form within- the bureaucracy for the purpose of preparing initial drafts. 2 The working draft would then move through bureaucratic chan- nels for coordination and clearance by interested agencies, and eventu- ally reach the USSR Council of Ministers for final approval and presentation to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (the "Presidium"). -
Federalism and the Soviet Constitution of 1977: Commonwealth Perspectives
Washington Law Review Volume 55 Number 3 6-1-1980 Federalism and the Soviet Constitution of 1977: Commonwealth Perspectives William C. Hodge Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr Part of the Comparative and Foreign Law Commons Recommended Citation William C. Hodge, Federalism and the Soviet Constitution of 1977: Commonwealth Perspectives, 55 Wash. L. Rev. 505 (1980). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol55/iss3/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews and Journals at UW Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington Law Review by an authorized editor of UW Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FEDERALISM AND THE SOVIET CONSTITUTION OF 1977: COMMONWEALTH PERSPECTIVES William C. Hodge* INTRODUCTION I. LEGAL NORMS AND ARBITRARY POWER IN THE 1977 CONSTITUTION: AN OVERVIEW OF SOVIET CONSTITUTIONALISM .................... 507 A. Soviet Constitutionalismand the Evolution of Socialist Society ....... 507 B. Rhetoric and Ideology .............................. 512 C. The Role of the Communist Party (CPSU) ............... 513 D. IndividualRights ........ .................... 517 II. FEDERALISM .................................... 519 A. The Characteristicsof Federalism................... 520 B. The Model of Soviet Federalism ................... 523 C. The Validity ofSoviet Federalism...... ................... 527 1. Marxist-Leninist Theory ....... ...................... 527 2. The Vocabulary of Soviet -
Soviet Domestic Politics and Collapse of the Outer Empire, 1989
Soviet Domestic Politics and Collapse of the Outer Empire, 1989 FREDO ARIAS-KING n this article, I explore the role of domestic politics in precluding the inter- I vention of the Soviet army in Eastern Europe in fall 1989. A close look at the USSR’s domestic political situation as early as summer 1989 suggests that there was little, if any, intention on the part of the legislators, government, or even the Communist Party to prop up the fast-disintegrating Communist regimes in the East bloc with force. Rather, there is substantial evidence that a revolution in Eastern Europe would be welcomed in Moscow. To my knowledge, this angle has not been examined in the scholarly literature. Many of the leading authori- ties on the collapse of Eastern Europe fail to connect internal policymaking— particularly relating to the creation of legislative power in the USSR and its con- sequences—to the historic collapse of the Soviet Union’s “outer empire.” I do not argue that Soviet democratization caused the collapse of the East European regimes in 1989, but that it was the main factor that precluded an armed inter- vention to save those regimes. Only one of six major books on the revolutions of 1989, for example, even mentions the USSR Congress of People’s Deputies, and then only in passing.1 They focus instead on the USSR as a unitary player, with a reformer (Gorbachev) at the helm, surrounded by like-minded advisers advocating new political think- ing, who decided to “allow” the East Europeans to go their own way. -
Bolshevism and National Federalism in Ethiopia DOI: 10.34663/9783945561577-05
Max Planck Research Library for the History and Development of Knowledge Studies 14 John Young: Bolshevism and National Federalism in Ethiopia DOI: 10.34663/9783945561577-05 In: John Markakis, Günther Schlee, and John Young: The Nation State : A Wrong Model for the Horn of Africa Online version at https://www.mprl-series.mpg.de/studies/14/ ISBN 978-3-945561-57-7, DOI 10.34663/9783945561577-00 First published 2021 by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften, Max Planck Re- search Library for the History and Development of Knowledge under Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike 4.0 International License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Printed and distributed by: epubli / neopubli GmbH, Berlin https://www.epubli.de/shop/buch/111400 The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de Chapter 3 Bolshevism and National Federalism in Ethiopia John Young 3.1 Introduction Civil war broke out in Ethiopia on November 4, 2020 when the national army at the be hest of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed attacked the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) administered state of Tigray. There were many differences between Abiy and the TPLF, but foremost was the Front’s support of national federalism and the prime minister’s back ing of a return to the centralized administration of past Ethiopian governments. The issue of national federalism has been controversial since it was first introduced by the Ethiopian Peo ple’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) in 1991, but the war encourages the debate to be revisited. -
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS in the SOVIET UNION: a COMPARATIVE APPROACH * T~Omas E
1967] FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN THE SOVIET UNION: A COMPARATIVE APPROACH * T~omAs E. TowE t INTRODUCTION The Soviet Constitution guarantees many of the same funda- mental rights as are guaranteed in the Constitution of the United States, plus several others as well. Indeed, these rights are described in greater detail and appear on their face to be safeguarded more emphatically in the Soviet Constitution. However, the mere existence of constitutional provisions for fundamental rights does not necessarily guarantee that those rights will be protected. Western scholars often point to discrepancies between rhetorical phrases in the Soviet Con- stitution and actual practices in the area of fundamental rights.' Soviet legal scholars insist, however, that such criticism should be aimed instead at Western constitutions. Andrei Vyshinsky has stated that it is precisely in the area of fundamental rights that "the contra- dictions between reality and the rights proclaimed by the bourgeois constitutions [are] particularly sharp." 2 Soviet legal scholars claim that bourgeois laws are replete with reservations and loopholes which largely negate their effectiveness in protecting fundamental rights generally, and those of the working man in particular.3 There is undoubtedly some truth in both claims, for, as Professor Berman has stated, "The striking fact is that in the protection of human rights, the Soviet system is strong where ours is weak, just as it is weak where ours is strong." 4 The full impact of this statement can only be understood by comparing the different approaches which * The author wishes to acknowledge the helpful comments and suggestions of Dr. Branko M. -
The Public Discussion of the 1936 Constitution and the Practice of Soviet Democracy
Speaking Out: The Public Discussion of the 1936 Constitution and the Practice of Soviet Democracy By Samantha Lomb B.A. in History, Shepherd University, 2006 M.A. in History, University of Pittsburgh, 2009 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2014 University of Pittsburgh Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences This dissertation was presented by Samantha Lomb It was defended on April 7, 2014 and approved by William Chase, PhD, Professor Larry E. Holmes, PhD, Professor Emeritus Evelyn Rawski, PhD, Professor Gregor Thum, PhD, Assistant Professor Dissertation Director: William Chase, PhD, Professor ii Copyright © by Samantha Lomb 2014 iii Speaking Out: The Public Discussion of the 1936 Constitution and the Practice of Soviet Democracy Samantha Lomb, PhD University of Pittsburgh 2014 The Stalinist Constitution was a social contract between the state and its citizens. The Central leadership expressly formulated the 1936 draft to redefine citizenship and the rights it entailed, focusing on the inclusion of former class enemies and the expansion of “soviet democracy”. The discussion of the draft was conducted in such a manner as to be all-inclusive and promote the leadership’s definition of soviet democracy. However the issues that the leadership considered paramount and the issues that the populace considered paramount were very different. They focused on issues of local and daily importance and upon fairness and traditional peasant values as opposed to the state’s focus with the work and sacrifice of building socialism. -
Role of the Judiciary
CHAPTER 7 Role of the Judiciary I. SoviET CoNCEPT oF THE JumciARY 1. Administration of Justice Before 1922 and by Non judicial Bodies A soviet judicial system was first established only with the advent of the New Economic Policy in 1922.1 Previously, the people's courts, which were designed to take the place of all the prerevolutionary courts, which had been abolished en bloc,8 were under constant re organization. According to the soviet writers, out of five decrees on the judicial organization announced in the course of one year ( 1917-1918), three were not even enforced and two later decrees were enforced only to a limited extent.3 The courts tried chiefly minor offenses and occasionally divorces, while the major part 1 The R.S.F.S.R. Judiciary Act of October 31, 1923 (R.S.F.S.R. Laws 1923, text 902). In 1924, the federal basic principles of the judicial organi zation were adopted (U.S.S.R. Laws 1924, text 203) and, in conformity with these, the R.S.F.S.R. Judiciary Act of November 19, 1926 (R.S.F.S.R. Laws, text 624), which remained in force until 1938, was enacted. 2 R.S.F.S.R. Laws 1917-1918, text 50. 3 Decree No. 1 on the Courts of November 24, 1917 (R.S.F.S.R. Laws 1917-1918, text 50) was carried out only to a certain extent. Similar de crees, Nos. 2 and 3, issued in February and July, 1918 (id., text 420, num bered in the reprint ed. -
Constitution
CONSTITUTION • (FUNDAMENTAL LAW) OF THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS Adopted at the Extraordinary Eighth Congress of Soviets of the U.S.S.R. -December 5, 1936. PRICE: 3d. ; LTP i 342.07023 ; S08K ARTICLE 1: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is a socialist, state of workers and peasants. ARTICLE 2: The political foundation of the U.S.S.R. are the Soviets, of Toilers' Deputies, which developed >and grew strong as a result of the overthrow of the power of the landlords and capitalists and the achievement of the dictatorship of the proletariat. ARTICLE 3: All power in the U.S.S.R. belongs to the toilers of town and country as represented by the Soviets of Toilers' Deputies. ARTICLE 4: The economic foundation of the U.S.S.R. is the socialist system of economy and the socialist ownership of the implements and means of production firmly established as a result of the liquidation of the capitalist system of economy, the abolition of private property in the imple- ments and means of production and the abolition of exploitation of man by- man. ARTICLE 5: Socialist property in the U.S.S.R. bears either the form of state property (the possession of the whole people) or the form of co-operative and collective farm property (property of separate collective farms and property of co-operative associations). ARTICLE 6: The land,-.mineral deposits, waters, forests, mills, fac- tories,-mines, railways, water and air transport systems, banks, means of communication, large state-organised agricultural enterprises (state farms, machine and tractor stations and the like) as well as municipal enterprises and the principal dwelling house properties in the cities and industrial localities, are state property, that is, the possession of the whole people. -
The Ideas of Marxism-Leninism Will Triumph on the Revisionism
THE IDEAS OF MARXISM-LENINISM WILL TRIUMPH ON THE REVISIONISM W9 mo «853 19 6 2 (5x mm THE IDEAS OF MARXISM-LENINISM WILL TRIUMPH ON THE REVISIONISM 1962 >0 I .. THE DECLARATION OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE PARTY OF LABOUR OF ALBANIA At the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union N. Khrushchev publically attacked the Party of Labour of Albania. N. Khrushchev’s anti-marxist slanders and attacks serve only the enemies of com¬ munism and of the People’s Republic of Albania — the various imperialists and Yugoslav revisionists. N. Khrush¬ chev, laying bare the disputes existing long since between the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Party of Labour of Albania openly in the face of the enemies, brutally violated the 1960 Moscow declaration which points out that the disputes arousing between the fraternal parties should be settled patiently, in the spirit of proletarian internationalism and on the basis of the principles of equality and consultations. Publically attacking the Party of Labour of Albania, N. Khrushchev effectively began the open attack on the unity of the international communist and workers’ move¬ ment, on the unity of the socialist camp. N. Khrushchev bears full responsibility for this anti-marxist act and for all the consequences following from it. The Party of Labour of Albania, guided by the in¬ terests of the unity of the world communist movement and the socialist camp, with great patience, ever since our disputes arose with the Soviet leadership, has striven to solve them in the correct marxist-leninist way, in the way outlined by the Moscow Declaration. -
The Disintegration of the Soviet Union and the End of the Cold
The Disintegration of the Soviet Union and the End of the Cold War At its disintegration in 1991, the Soviet Union had existed for seven decades, comprised about a sixth of our globe’s surface, and was populated by approximately 285 million inhabitants. The union offi- cially consisted of 15 republics, including over 90 nationalities and 110 languages. In reality, its largest republic always dominated the state on political, economic and cultural levels, making “Russia” a 5 widely used synonym for the “USSR”. In fact, Russia’s influence reached even beyond the USSR, controlling various satellite states like Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia or Bulgaria. When Communist Russia finally stumbled in her race with the west, the whole eastern block crumbled. The downfall of this unofficial empire not only ended the Cold War, but it also opened the door for various political developments both promising and alarming, which still shape our current 10 world. Though this epoch-making event looked like a sudden upheaval at that time, it really was the result of many domestic problems, which had been growing continually but which propaganda had long kept from the public consciousness. Domestic problems in the Eastern Bloc The most influential stumbling block was certainly the unbalanced economic development. Though the Soviet economy had managed to recover rapidly from World War II, this industrial revival was 15 chiefly based on heavy industry and the export of resources like coal and oil. The income from these sales was mainly invested in reconstructing the military. As tensions with the western allies soon grew, re-arming remained high on the political agenda. -
Ethnic Violence in the Former Soviet Union Richard H
Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2011 Ethnic Violence in the Former Soviet Union Richard H. Hawley Jr. (Richard Howard) Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES ETHNIC VIOLENCE IN THE FORMER SOVIET UNION By RICHARD H. HAWLEY, JR. A Dissertation submitted to the Political Science Department in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2011 Richard H. Hawley, Jr. defended this dissertation on August 26, 2011. The members of the supervisory committee were: Heemin Kim Professor Directing Dissertation Jonathan Grant University Representative Dale Smith Committee Member Charles Barrilleaux Committee Member Lee Metcalf Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii To my father, Richard H. Hawley, Sr. and To my mother, Catherine S. Hawley (in loving memory) iii AKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people who made this dissertation possible, and I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of them. Above all, I thank my committee chair, Dr. Heemin Kim, for his understanding, patience, guidance, and comments. Next, I extend my appreciation to Dr. Dale Smith, a committee member and department chair, for his encouragement to me throughout all of my years as a doctoral student at the Florida State University. I am grateful for the support and feedback of my other committee members, namely Dr. -
Law and Government in the U.S.S.R. Julian Towster
Hastings Law Journal Volume 11 | Issue 3 Article 1 1-1960 Law and Government in the U.S.S.R. Julian Towster Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/hastings_law_journal Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Julian Towster, Law and Government in the U.S.S.R., 11 Hastings L.J. 231 (1960). Available at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/hastings_law_journal/vol11/iss3/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Hastings Law Journal by an authorized editor of UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. LAW AND GOVERNMENT IN THE U.S.S.R. By JULAN TOWSTER* It is impossible to assess any aspect of the Soviet polity without keep- ing in mind two things: (1) that only on the rarest occasions in the four decades of Soviet existence has the reality of Soviet life corresponded to official theory, and (2) that no event in the Soviet Union can be properly evaluated without some knowledge of its background and context. Soviet pronouncements of recent years have repeatedly emphasized the claims that the post-Stalin regime has brought about a return to: (1) "socialist legality," i.e., a guarantee of the citizens' rights and liberties, (2) popular sovereignty, i.e., genuine participation by the people in the govern- ance of the state, and (3) an entrenchment and enhancement of the status and powers of the national entities of the Soviet federation. In order to evaluate the validity of these claims we must examine-however cursorily -the background and evolution of the Soviet approach to law, federalism, and judicial functions, then consider the so-called "liberalizations" of the Khrushchev period, and finally venture a glimpse into the future of law, rights and justice in the U.S.S.R.