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Soviet Union [USSR] CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
Soviet political and legal theorists defined their government
as a parliamentary system because in principle all power in the
government emanated from the Congress of People's Deputies. In
addition, according to the Constitution the Supreme Soviet elected
both its own leadership and that of the all-union administrative
and judicial agencies, which were responsible to it. In fact, the
congress was too large to effectively exercise power, and it met
only for short periods every year. When in session, the congress
ratified legislation already promulgated by the Council of
Ministers, the ministries, and the Supreme Soviet or its Presidium,
and it discussed domestic and foreign policy. It also set the
agenda for activities of the Supreme Soviet.
The lines separating legislative from executive functions were
rather blurred. Thus, in addition to administering the government
and the economy, the Council of Ministers could promulgate both
resolutions that had the force of law and binding administrative
orders. (The Supreme Soviet, however, had the ability to repeal
such resolutions and orders.) Individual ministries--the chief
administrative organs of the government--had the power to make laws
in their respective fields. Thus, the legislative authority in this
system was highly dispersed. In the late 1980s, some officials
criticized law making by organs other than the Supreme Soviet and
called for further amendments to the Constitution to give the
Supreme Soviet greater authority over law making.
The CPSU effectively exercised control over the government.
Leaders of the government were always party members and served on
such party bodies as the Politburo and the Central Committee
(see Soviet Union USSR - Central Party Institutions
, ch. 7). In their role as party leaders,
government officials participated in the formation of political,
social, and economic policies. In addition, these officials were
subject to the norms of democratic centralism, which required that
they carry out the orders of the CPSU or face party discipline
(see Soviet Union USSR - Democratic Centralism
, ch. 7). Equally important, as part of its
nomenklatura authority, the party had appointment power for
all important positions in the government hierarchy
(see Soviet Union USSR - Nomenklatura
, ch. 7). The party also exercised control through the
commissions and committees of the Supreme Soviet, which were
supervised by Central Committee departments and commissions in
their respective fields
(see Soviet Union USSR - Secretariat
, ch. 7). Each ministry
contained its own primary party organization (PPO), which ensured
that the staff of the ministry daily adhered to party policies
(see Soviet Union USSR - Primary Party Organization
, ch. 7). In fact, the party, not the
ministerial and legislative system, was the leading political
institution in the Soviet Union (see
table 28, Appendix A).
Data as of May 1989
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