The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was the
collective head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
of the
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
and the permanent body of the
Supreme Soviet
The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) ...
of the
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
that was accountable to the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR in its activity and, within the nominal limits prescribed by the
Constitution of the Russian SFSR, performed functions of the highest state power in the
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
between 1938 and 1990. It was elected by the
Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to perform the Supreme Soviet's activities when it was not in session, which, in practice, was most of the year.
History
Predecessor offices
The office was created as a replacement for the
Central Executive Committee of the
All-Russian Congress of Soviets
The All-Russian Congress of Soviets evolved from 1917 to become the supreme governing body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1918 until 1936, effectively. The 1918 Constitution of the Russian SFSR mandated that Congress sha ...
.
Political significance
Since the Russian SFSR enjoyed only limited autonomy within the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
until late into the
perestroika
''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
period and since real executive power was in the hands of the
Soviet Communist Party
"Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspaper ...
until 1990, the Supreme Soviet and its Presidium were mostly
ceremonial
A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion.
The word may be of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin, via the Latin ''Glossary of ancient Rom ...
. However, they became important in early 1990 when a newly elected Russian
Congress of People's Deputies was split between
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
loyalists and their opponents. After days of parliamentary maneuvering,
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
was elected Chairman in May 1990. Soon thereafter, he resigned from the Communist Party and started building an independent power base within the Russian SFSR, which proved to be an important step on the way to the
Soviet collapse
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
in late 1991.
Officeholders
*
Aleksei Badayev
Alexei Yegorovich Badayev (russian: Алексе́й Его́рович Бада́ев; – 3 November 1951) was a Soviet politician, functionary and a nominal head of state of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic during the leadership ...
(1938–1944)
*
Nikolai Shvernik
Nikolai Mikhailovich Shvernik (russian: Никола́й Миха́йлович Шве́рник, – 24 December 1970) was a Soviet politician who served as the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 19 March 1946 until 15 March 1 ...
(1944–1946)
*
Ivan Vlasov
Ivan Alekseyevich Vlasov (russian: Иван Алексеевич Вла́сов; – 1969) was a Soviet and Russian politician the nominal head of state of the RSFSR twice during the rule of Joseph Stalin.
Vlasov was born in Nikolayevka, ...
(1946–1950)
* Mikhail Tarasov (1950–1959)
*
Nikolai Ignatov
Nikolai Grigoryevich Ignatov (russian: Никола́й Григо́рьевич Игна́тов; – 14 November 1966) was a Soviet politician during the 1950s and 1960s who served as the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the ...
(1959)
* Nikolai Organov (1959–1962)
*
Nikolai Ignatov
Nikolai Grigoryevich Ignatov (russian: Никола́й Григо́рьевич Игна́тов; – 14 November 1966) was a Soviet politician during the 1950s and 1960s who served as the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the ...
(1962–1966)
*
Mikhail Yasnov (1966–1985)
*
Vladimir Orlov (1985–1988)
*
Vitaly Vorotnikov
Vitaly Ivanovich Vorotnikov (russian: Вита́лий Ива́нович Воротнико́в; 20 January 1926 – 19 February 2012) was a Soviet politician and diplomat who was the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ru ...
(1988–1990)
Note: In 1989 the position of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was abolished. Instead the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet became head of the republic in addition to serving as a parliamentary speaker.
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
was chairman 1990-1991. In early 1991, the post of
President of Russia
The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
was created and executive powers were transferred from the Supreme Soviet to the President. The responsibilities of the Supreme Soviet Chairman were limited to those of a parliamentary speaker. Boris Yeltsin won the first presidential election in June 1991 and, upon inauguration, resigned from the office of the Supreme Soviet Chairman. He was succeeded by:
*
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
(May 29, 1990 – July 10, 1991)
*
Ruslan Khasbulatov
Ruslan Imranovich Khasbulatov (russian: link=no, Русла́н Имранович Хасбула́тов, ce, Хасбола́ти Имра́ни кIант Руслан) (born November 22, 1942) is a Russian economist and politician and the ...
(October 29, 1991 – October 4, 1993), acting Chairman from July 10, 1991
Successor offices
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991, the Russian Supreme Soviet became the acting parliament of the
Russian Federation
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
with Khasbulatov as Chairman. It was dissolved during the
Russian constitutional crisis of 1993
The 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, also known as the 1993 October Coup, Black October, the Shooting of the White House or Ukaz 1400, was a political stand-off and a constitutional crisis between the Russian president Boris Yeltsin and t ...
. Supreme Soviet was succeeded by:
*
Federal Assembly of Russia
The Federal Assembly ( rus, Федера́льное Собра́ние, r=Federalnoye Sobraniye, p=fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnəjə sɐˈbranʲɪjə) is the national legislature of the Russian Federation, according to the Constitution of the Russian F ...
(1993 – present)
See also
*
All-Russian Central Executive Committee
The All-Russian Central Executive Committee ( rus, Всероссийский Центральный Исполнительный Комитет, Vserossiysky Centralny Ispolnitelny Komitet, VTsIK) was the highest legislative, administrative and r ...
References
Further reading
*
*
{{Heads of RSFSR
Heads of state of Russia
Titles
Government of the Soviet Union
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
1938 establishments in the Soviet Union
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...