The Soviet Constitution

Constitutional Development in the USSR (1981) looks at the political institutions and practices of the Soviet state through the prism of its own constitutional texts. It contains the texts of all four Soviet constitutions, and a chapter of commentary precedes each text. An overall assessment of Soviet constitutional development is offered in the concluding chapter.

Constitution, text and commentary, USSR, 1977.

Upon its adoption in December 1936, Soviet leaders hailed the new so-called Stalin Constitution as the most democratic in the world. Scholars have long scoffed at this claim, noting that the mass repression of 1937–1938 that followed rendered it a hollow document. This study does not address these competing claims, but rather focuses on the six-month long popular discussion of the draft Constitution, which preceded its formal adoption in December 1936. Drawing on rich archival sources, this book uses the discussion of the draft 1936 Constitution to examine discourse between the central state leadership and citizens about the new Soviet social contract, which delineated the roles the state and citizens should play in developing socialism. For the central leadership, mobilizing its citizenry in a variety of state building campaigns was the main goal of the discussion of the draft Constitution. However, the goals of the central leadership at times stood in stark contrast with the people’s expressed interpretation of that social contract. Citizens of the USSR focused on securing rights and privileges, often related to improving their daily lives, from the central government.

This is the official constitution of the Soviet Union as it stood in 1936. The document is arranged into various sections describing how the Union shall be organised. It lists what were the then 15 Soviet Socialist States that formed the Union which it describes as a voluntary union. It defines every aspect of life and explains how this shall be led.

Contains texts of constitutions of various countries which were once part of the U.S.S.R.