Elections in the Soviet Union in the period of shaping and stabilization of the ruling system: the historical outline, legal regulations and electoral practices

https://doi.org/10.26485/SW/2018/26/4

Abstract

_{The way in which the members of soviets were elected in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had very little to do, aside from its name, with free elections which are the basic procedurę of each democratic political system. The voters would merely validate the decisions made within the committees of the communist party which carefully controlled the candidate selection. The candidate nomination was tantamount to being ‘elected’, as there was one candidate for each mandate. Each soviet was intended to reflect the structure of the society, yet the key posts were reserved by the communist activists. Each candidate before the nomination had to be verified, electoral campaigns were only directed in detail shows. In order to increase the voter turnout, and thus prove the socialist ‘unanimity’ of the society, the authorities made use of various pressure methods, propaganda as well as various manipulations. The article presents a historical-political analysis of the elections in the Soviet Union, focusing on the three basic issues: building of a new electoral system after the October Revolution 1917, legal regulations and electoral practices in the USSR in the period of stabilization of the ruling system.}