Historical Organization
Supreme Soviet
Supreme Soviet
Details
Organization Timeline
First Supreme Soviet election held under the 1936 Constitution
📅 12 December 1937The election formally introduced universal suffrage, but took place in a tightly controlled political environment. The gap between constitutional participation and the absence of competitive political...
First postwar election to the Supreme Soviet held
📅 10 February 1946The first national parliamentary election since 1937 took place under one-party rule and with official candidates unopposed. The vote projected postwar legitimacy while offering no competitive route...
Fourth Five-Year Plan approved
📅 18 March 1946The Supreme Soviet adopted the reconstruction plan for 1946–1950. It prioritized heavy industry and infrastructure after the war; republican economies and workers supplied labor and resources, while...
Economic-administration reform creates regional economic councils
📅 10 May 1957The Supreme Soviet approved a reform replacing many central industrial ministries with regional economic councils, or sovnarkhozy. The change sought to reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks but...
Khrushchev becomes Chairman of the Council of Ministers
📅 27 March 1958The Supreme Soviet confirmed Khrushchev as head of government while he remained First Secretary of the Communist Party. The consolidation reduced collective leadership and placed major economic and...
Education law links schooling to production and labor
📅 24 December 1958The Supreme Soviet adopted a law reorganizing secondary and higher education around polytechnical training and work experience. The reform sought to align education with economic planning, while...
Soviet state marks the fiftieth anniversary of the October Revolution
📅 6 November 1967The anniversary celebrations presented the USSR as a model of anti-imperialist transformation and social development. Official commemoration celebrated the revolution while downplaying the coercion,...
New Soviet Constitution is adopted
📅 7 October 1977The 1977 Constitution described the USSR as a voluntary union of equal republics and formally retained a right of secession. In practice, the Communist Party’s leading role and centralized...
Law on the State Enterprise is adopted
📅 30 June 1987The law promised enterprises more autonomy and introduced new accounting and labor rules. It aimed to improve productivity without ending central planning, and its effects varied across industries and...