Supreme Soviet of Russia

Supreme Council of the Russian SFSR Supreme Council of the Russian Federation Верховный Совет РСФСР Верховный Совет Российской Федерации
Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation (1990—1993)
Type
Type	Supreme Council Unicameral (up to 1990) Bicameral
Chambers	Council of Nationalities Council of the Republic
History
Established	1938
Disbanded	1993
Preceded by	VTsIK and All-Russian Congress of Soviets
Succeeded by	Federal Assembly of Russia
Leadership
Chairman of the Supreme Soviet	Ruslan Khasbulatov (last)
Chairman of the Soviet of Nationalities	Ramazan Abdulatipov
Chairman of the Soviet of Republic	Veniamin Sokolov
Seats	Dynamic (1938—1978) 1 deputy per 150,000 citizens (1938—1978) 975 (1978—1990) 252 (1990–1993)
Elections
Last general election	16 May–22 June 1990 First session of the Congress of People's Deputies of Russia (indirect)
Meeting place
File:Supreme Soviet of Russia meeting (1993).png
White House
Footnotes
^ Last direct (but rigged) general elections to the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR were held in 1985. Powers of that Supreme Soviet (XI convocation) had expired in May 1990 (just some months after passage of the 1989 constitutional amendments)

The Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR (Russian: Верховный Совет РСФСР, Verkhovniy Sovet RSFSR), later Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation (Russian: Верховный Совет Российской Федерации, Verkhovniy Sovet Rossiyskoi Federatsii) was the supreme government institution of the Russian SFSR in 1938–1990; in 1990–1993 it was a permanent parliament, elected by the Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation.

The Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR was established as similar structure as the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1938, instead of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) as the highest organ of power of Russia.

In the 1940s, the Supreme Soviet Presidium and the Council of Ministers of the Russian SFSR were located in the former mansion of counts Osterman (str Delegatskaya, 3), which was later in 1991 given to a museum. The sessions were held in Grand Kremlin Palace. In 1981 the Supreme Soviet was moved to a specially constructed building on Krasnopresnenskaya embankment, The House of Soviets.

The Supreme Council was abolished in October 1993 (after the events of Russia's 1993 constitutional crisis) and replaced by the Federal Assembly of Russia (consists of the Federation Council of Russia and State Duma), whose powers are weaker than Supreme Council ones.

1938–1990

Further information: List of leaders of the Russian SFSR

Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR for election of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet

• Andrei Zhdanov (15–19 July 1938)

Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR

Prior to 1990, de jure leader of the Russian Federation, the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR, exercised only nominal powers. In contrast to other Soviet republics of the Soviet Union, the Russian SFSR did not have its own Communist Party and did not have its own first secretaries (which in other republics are relatively independent of power) until 1990.

Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR

Name	Period
Alexei Badaev	19 July 1938 – 4 March 1944
Ivan Vlasov (Acting Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet)	9 April 1943 – 4 March 1944
Nikolay Shvernik	4 March 1944 – 25 June 1946
Ivan Vlasov	25 June 1946 – 7 July 1950
Mikhail Tarasov	7 July 1950 – 16 April 1959
Nikolai Ignatov	16 April–26 November 1959
Nikolai Organov	26 November 1959 – 20 December 1962
Nikolai Ignatov	20 December 1962 – 14 November 1966)
The position was vacant (Duties of Vice-Chairman: Timofey Akhazov and Pyotr Sysoyev)	14 November-23 December 1966
Mikhail Yasnov	23 December 1966 – 26 March 1985
Vladimir Orlov	26 March 1985 – 3 October 1988
Vitaly Vorotnikov	3 October 1988 – 29 May 1990

Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR in 1938–1990

Name	Period
Andrei Zhdanov	15 July 1938 – 20 June 1947
Mikhail Tarasov	20 June 1947 – 14 March 1951
Leonid Solov'ev	14 March 1951 – 23 March 1955
Ivan Goroshkin	23 March 1955 – 15 April 1959
Vasily Prokhorov	15 April 1959 – 4 April 1963
Vasily Krestyaninov	4 April 1963 – 11 April 1967
Mikhail Millionshchikov	11 April 1967 – 27 May 1973
Vladimir Kotelnikov	30 July 1973 – 25 March 1980
Nikolai Gribachev	25 March 1980 – 16 May 1990

1990–1993

Following the adoption of amendments to the Constitution of the Russian SFSR in October 1989, the office of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was removed, and the leadership of the Supreme Soviet in May 1990 passed directly to the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR.

From 1990–1993 the Supreme Soviet consisted of 252 deputies in the two equal chambers—the Soviet of the Republic (Chairman: Veniamin Sokolov) and the Soviet of Nationalities (Chairman: Ramazan Abdulatipov). However, the bicameral Supreme Soviet was nominal, because the major decisions were adopted as joint resolutions and concurrent resolutions of all chambers; many of legislative committees were shared between these chambers. The Supreme Soviet of Russia ceased to exist after the events of September–October 1993.

Chairmen of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR/Federation in 1990-1993

Name	Period
Boris Yeltsin	29 May 1990 – 10 July 1991
Ruslan Khasbulatov (acting)	10 July 1991 – 29 October 1991
Ruslan Khasbulatov	29 October 1991 – 4 October 1993

First Deputy Chairmen of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR/Federation 1990-1993

Name	Period
Ruslan Khasbulatov	29 May 1990 – 10 July 1991
Sergey Filatov	1 November 1991-January 1993
Yuri Voronin	January 1993-October 1993

See also

• 1993 Russian constitutional crisis
• Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
• Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union

External links

• highest governmental authorities of the Russian SFSR
• Electoral law of 1946
• Electoral law of 1978
• Regulations of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR (1990)
• Proposed electoral law of 1992 (alongside the main bill «On the basis of electoral procedure»)
• Chapter 15 of the 1993 "parliamentary" project of the Russian Constitution; related to Supreme Soviet, referenda and international treaties (Russian)