40 years ago, on October 7, 1977, the last Constitution of the USSR - "Brezhnev's", was adopted. On October 8, the new Constitution of the USSR was published in all newspapers in the country.
The first Constitution in Russia was adopted in 1918 in connection with the formation of the RSFSR (Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic). After the establishment of the Soviet system, control functions, in accordance with the principle "All power to the Soviets!", Were concentrated in the highest body of Soviet power. The 1918 Constitution of the RSFSR established that the supreme body of power in the country is the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, and in the period between congresses - the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK). It was distinguished by the fact that by granting civil liberties to the working class and the peasantry, it deprived of the liberties of all persons who had unearned income or used hired labor. In fact, the basic law of the state consolidated the dictatorship of the proletariat, strengthening the position of the Bolshevik party in the class struggle.
The second Constitution (the first in the USSR) was adopted in the final version by the II Congress of Soviets of the USSR on January 31, 1924 in connection with the formation of the Soviet Union. The supreme organ of state power was the Congress of Soviets of the USSR, in the period between congresses - the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the USSR, and in the period between sessions of the CEC of the USSR - the Presidium of the CEC of the USSR. The Central Executive Committee of the USSR had the right to cancel and suspend the acts of any authorities on the territory of the USSR (with the exception of the higher-level Congress of Soviets). The CEC Presidium had the right to suspend and cancel the decisions of the Council of People's Commissars and individual people's commissariats of the USSR, the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the Union republics.
On December 5, 1936, the USSR adopted the second Constitution of the USSR, which went down in history as "Stalin's". As in the 1924 Constitution of the USSR, it was said here that the existence of the state is the merit of the working class and the result of the achievements of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The document pointed to the domination of state property, and also recognized the existence of cooperative-collective farm property. However, this did not mean, however, that the state denies the existence of private property. The existence of a small private economy in the countryside and handicraft activities was allowed, but without the use of hired labor. The right of citizens to personal property, as well as its inheritance, was protected by the state. Unlike the previous basic law, now the rights and freedoms became equal for all citizens of the country, regardless of belonging to a particular social class, as well as regardless of what rights and freedoms are in question. The period of acute struggle was over.
At the 22nd Congress of the CPSU in 1961, it was noted that the Soviet state had grown from a state of the dictatorship of the proletariat into a state of the whole people, and proletarian democracy became a state of the whole people. The congress considered it necessary to consolidate the new qualitative state of Soviet society and the state in the Basic Law. On October 7, 1977, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR unanimously approved the Constitution of the USSR. It was divided into a preamble, 21 chapters, 9 sections and contained 174 articles.
For the first time in Soviet constitutional history, a preamble became an integral part of the Basic Law. It traced the historical path of Soviet society, the outcome of which was considered the construction of a developed socialist state. The preamble described the main features of this society. In Art. 1 spoke of the Soviet state as a socialist and national state, expressing the will and interests of workers, peasants and intelligentsia; working people of all nations and nationalities of the country. The Soviets of People's Deputies were consolidated as a political basis.
The economic basis was socialist ownership of the means of production in the form of state (public) and collective-farm and cooperative ownership. The Constitution provided for the personal property of citizens, which could contain household items, personal consumption, convenience and ancillary household, a dwelling house and labor savings. Citizens could use plots of land provided for subsidiary farming, gardening and truck farming, as well as for individual housing construction.
The Constitution presents the political system of the Soviet Union in detail. The highest legislative body was the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which consisted of two chambers: the Council of the Union and the Council of Nationalities. The chambers were equal (Article 109), consisted of an equal number of deputies. The Council of the Union was elected by electoral districts, the Council of Nationalities was elected according to the norm: 32 deputies from each union republic, 11 from an autonomous region, 5 from an autonomous region and one deputy from an autonomous region (Article 110). Sessions of the Supreme Soviet were convened twice a year. A law was considered adopted if in each of the chambers a majority of the total number of deputies of the chamber voted for it (Article 114). The highest executive and administrative body was the USSR Council of Ministers, which was formed by the Supreme Soviet. The highest judicial power belonged to the Supreme Court, it was also elected by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
The strong point of the "Brezhnev" Constitution was the protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens. Indeed, Leonid Brezhnev's time was in some respects the "golden age" of the Soviet Union. This is a time of breakthroughs in space and military affairs, respect for the Soviet superpower in the international arena, stable development of the national economy, security felt by all Soviet citizens, consistent improvement in the lives of the majority of the population, etc. True, the majority of the inhabitants of the Soviet Union realized this only after the collapse THE USSR. When on themselves felt all the charms of "early capitalism", and in some places and neo-feudalism and other archaism (especially in the republics of Central Asia).
The 1977 Constitution significantly expanded the rights and freedoms of citizens. The previously established rights were now supplemented with the right to health protection, housing, the use of cultural assets, the right to participate in the management of state and public affairs, to submit proposals to state bodies, to criticize shortcomings in their work. For the first time, it was provided for the right of citizens to appeal against the actions of any officials in court (Article 58). True, the mechanism for exercising this right was not established, which could not but affect the reality of its implementation. The Constitution consolidated new forms of direct democracy: popular discussion and referendum (Article 5).
The following duties of citizens received a detailed interpretation: to comply with the Constitution and laws; respect the rules of the socialist community; to bear with dignity the high title of a citizen of the USSR; work conscientiously and observe labor discipline; to preserve and strengthen socialist property; to protect the interests of the Soviet state and help to strengthen its power, to protect the socialist Fatherland; fight waste and promote public order.
Thus, the 1977 Constitution of the USSRconsolidated the victory of developed socialism and significantly expanded the rights of citizens. Many of its foundations would be useful in modern Russia, which needs the restoration of social justice.
