The formation of the USSR is the national policy of the Soviet government. The formation of the USSR and the national policy of the Soviet government. The development of national culture in the years
National history. Crib Barysheva Anna Dmitrievna
56 NATIONAL POLICY OF THE SOVIET STATE. EDUCATION OF THE USSR
After the October Revolution and the victory of the Bolsheviks, one of the first decrees of the new government was the Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia, proclaiming the equality and sovereignty of all peoples, their right to self-determination up to secession and the formation of independent states, the free development of all national minorities. Legislatively, the federal principle, as well as the right of peoples to freely decide on the issue of joining the Soviet Federation, was enshrined in the Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People, which became an integral part of the text of the first Constitution of the RSFSR (1918).
In accordance with the principle of the right of nations to self-determination, the Soviet government recognized the state independence of Finland, and a decree was signed renouncing the treaties on the previous partitions of Poland.
The peoples and nationalities of the North Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Central Asia, Siberia and the Far East received national autonomy.
Taking advantage of the right of nations to self-determination up to secession during the years of the Civil War, many peoples of the former Russian Empire created their own national-state formations.
Not all of them were stable, their existence was not long.
The newly formed national republics, as Soviet power was established in them, were formed around the RSFSR as a federal center. This made it possible to stop the process of disintegration of the unified centralized Russian state. After the Civil War, a process of unification movement began, which led to the formation of a new Russian statehood - the USSR.
The act of establishing the USSR was the Treaty concluded between four republics: the RSFSR, Ukraine, Belarus and the Transcaucasian Federation (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan). On December 30, 1922, the congress of plenipotentiaries of these republics (I Congress of Soviets of the USSR) approved the Treaty on the Formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
The foundations of the state structure of the USSR were enshrined in the Constitution of the USSR, adopted in 1924.
According to the Constitution, a federal structure was fixed in the USSR (JV Stalin proposed a plan for autonomization) and the right to freely secede from the USSR. But by this time, real power was concentrated in the structures of the RCP (b), based on a single control center - the Central Committee. Republican organizations were part of the RCP(b) as regional subdivisions and did not have independence.
Therefore, the Soviet Union in reality acquired the character of a unitary state.
From the book History of Russia [Tutorial] author Team of authors10.6. The international situation and foreign policy of the Soviet state in the 1920s–1930s International relations in the era under consideration were extremely controversial. The First World War radically changed the balance of power between the leading Western
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author author unknown54. FOREIGN POLICY OF THE SOVIET STATE IN THE PRE-WAR PERIOD IN 1920 - EARLY 1930s The Soviet Union in its foreign policy tried to solve a number of problems, among which are the following: 1. Breaking the diplomatic and economic blockade
From the book History of the National State and Law: Cheat Sheet author author unknown55. THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE SOVIET STATE IN 1939-1940 Germany on September 1, 1939 invaded Poland from the west, and the USSR on September 17 from the east. By the end of the month, the redistribution of Poland was completed, and the territories of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus were ceded to the USSR. If the war with Poland
From the book History of the National State and Law: Cheat Sheet author author unknown63. FOREIGN POLICY OF THE SOVIET STATE IN 1945 - EARLY 1950s In the post-war period, the Soviet Union actively participated in all the most important world foreign policy processes, starting with the Yalta and Potsdam conferences of the leaders of Great Britain, the USA and the USSR. In
From the book Domestic History. Crib author Barysheva Anna Dmitrievna58 THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE SOVIET STATE IN THE 1917-1920s The foreign policy of the Soviet state was based on the principles formulated by V. I. Lenin, such as:
author Kerov Valery VsevolodovichTopic 59 economic policy of the Soviet state during the Civil War (1918–1920) PLAN1. The reasons for the introduction of "war communism" .1.1. The political doctrine of the Bolsheviks.1.2. Conditions of the Civil War.1.3. The essence of the policy of "war communism".2. Main elements
From the book A Short Course in the History of Russia from Ancient Times to the Beginning of the 21st Century author Kerov Valery VsevolodovichTopic 61 National policy of the Soviet state PLAN1. Prerequisites for the formation of the USSR.1.1. Ideological.1.2. Political.1.3. Economic and cultural.1.4. Principles of national policy of the Soviet power.1.5. The experience of solving the national question during the years of the Civil War
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From the book Economy of Russia of the XXI century. From capitalism to socialism author Orlenko Leonid PetrovichAppendix No. 1 The New Economic Policy of the Soviet State V.L. PerlamutrovThe new economic policy of the Soviet state (1921-1926) In March 1921, Soviet Russia began to reform the economy, devastated by six years of the First World War and the Civil
National policy of the Soviet power. Formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
The unifying movement to create a Soviet multinational state began immediately after the victory of the October Revolution and the collapse of the empire and went through three stages. The first (October 1917 - mid-1918) was marked by the birth of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, which consistently, as the course towards equality of peoples was realized, turned into a federation of a new type. The Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets emphasized that the Soviet government "... will ensure to all the nations inhabiting Russia the true right to self-determination."
The legal basis of the Soviet national policy at the first stage was the "Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia" of November 2, 1917, which proclaimed the equality and sovereignty of the peoples of Russia; their right to free self-determination up to secession and formation of an independent state; the abolition of all and any national and national-religious privileges and restrictions; free development of national minorities and ethnographic groups inhabiting the territory of Russia.
In the appeal "To all the working Muslims of Russia and the East," the Council of People's Commissars guaranteed complete and unhindered freedom to organize the life of Muslims. By the end of 1917, the Council of People's Commissars adopted a Manifesto to the Ukrainian people, a decree on Turkish Armenia, a decree recognizing the state independence of Finland. All these documents explained the principles that guided the Soviet government in resolving the national question. “We want the largest possible state,” V.I. explained. Lenin, - the closest possible union, the largest possible number of nations living in the neighborhood of the Great Russians; we want this in the interests of democracy and socialism...”.
At the first stage, autonomous republics, territorial autonomies, taking into account the national composition of the population, appeared on the territory of the former tsarist Russia, sovereign Soviet republics appeared.
Second the stage of the unifying movement of the peoples of the Soviet republics is associated with the period of the civil war and foreign military intervention (1918–1920). By this time, a group of Soviet republics had formed, linked with each other by cooperation on a wide variety of issues. The decree of June 6, 1919 formalized the military-political union of Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus. Its essence was reduced to a close association: 1) military organization and military command; 2) councils of the national economy; 3) railway management and economy; 4) finance and 5) labor commissariats of the republics - so that the leadership of these industries is concentrated in the hands of single collegiums. The All-Russian Central Executive Committee carried out the unification of the efforts of the republics on the basis of an agreement with the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the indicated republics. During this period, bilateral agreements were concluded between the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR, the BSSR and other republics. The second stage is characterized by the formation of Soviet statehood in the national regions, where a sharp struggle unfolded against the nationalist counter-revolution.
On the third At the stage of the unifying movement of the peoples of the Soviet republics (1921–1922), they agree on a military-economic alliance and organize a united diplomatic front. Time has shown that the federation based on bilateral agreements had significant shortcomings. The urgent need for closer cooperation between the republics in economic and state life necessitated the creation of a new union state.
The constitutional formation of the USSR was preceded by the formation of national statehood on the basis of the Soviets with the direct participation of the All-Russian and Republican Congresses of Soviets, the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR. Among the first 13 people's commissariats established on October 26 (November 8), 1917 is the People's Commissariat for Nationalities of the RSFSR. Narkomnats operated until 1923 under the leadership of the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the RCP (b), was closely associated with national sections, national centers and local party organizations.
The tasks of the People's Commissariat for National Affairs included the creation of conditions for the implementation of measures that ensure fraternal cooperation and the interests of all nationalities and national minorities. The People's Commissariat for National Affairs assisted in the organization of national republics, autonomous regions, worked with national cadres, fought against manifestations of chauvinism and nationalism, separatism, published literature in national languages, and participated in the preparation of documents on national-state building.
The National Commissariats (National Committees) and national departments worked as part of the People's Commissariat of Nationalities. At the end of 1918, there were 11 national committees - Polish, Lithuanian, Muslim, Jewish, Armenian, Belarusian, Volga Germans, mountaineers of the Caucasus, Georgian, Latvian, Czechoslovak; 8 departments - Kirghiz, Mari, peoples of Siberia, Ukrainian, Estonian, Votyak, Chuvash, peoples of the Volga region.
The National Committees and departments informed the peoples about the measures of the Soviet government in the field of national policy. Local Soviet bodies carried out political, cultural and educational work, assisted in resolving economic issues, settled conflicts between the center and nationalities, and prepared for the formation of autonomies.
In August 1918, 222 people worked in the apparatus of the People's Commissariat of Nationalities. By the beginning of 1919, there were 21 commissariats in the Narkomnats. They were headed by prominent figures of the RCP (b): Yu.M. Leshchinsky, V.S. Mickevicius-Kapsukas, V.A. Avanesov, A.G. Chervyakov, S.M. Dimanstein, M.Yu. Kulik, A.Z. Kamensky, A.G. Meshcheryakov, M.A. Molodtsova, G.K. Klinger, N.N. Narimanov, T.R. Ryskulov and others.
The activities of the People's Commissariat for National Affairs were headed by a collegium headed by the People's Commissar for Nationalities I.V. Stalin. However, over the 6 years of the existence of the People's Commissariat, he personally participated in the work of the collegium for no more than three months due to frequent trips to the fronts of the civil war and the fulfillment of other tasks of the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the RCP (b). Thus, the main burden of this complex work was carried out by the members of the board.
At first, the commissariats and departments of the People's Commissariat of Nationalities worked with nationalities on almost all issues: they dealt with the fate of refugees, employment, social security, education, agriculture, etc. After the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets proclaimed the formation of the RSFSR in January 1918, the activities of the has changed. Work on issues of culture, education, social security was transferred to the relevant people's commissariats of the national republics. The main task of the Narkomnats was to prepare the creation of autonomous Soviet republics and regions.
After the end of the civil war, Narkomnats began to pay more attention to plans and projects to improve the economic and cultural development of the peoples of the Russian Federation. Since May 1920, the restructuring of the central apparatus of the people's commissariat began. In 1921, instead of the commissariats, 14 national representations were created, a Council of Nationalities was formed, consisting of 26 people, which served as a large collegium of the people's commissariat. Along with this, the institute of commissioners of the People's Commissariat for National Affairs of the RSFSR began to work under the governments of the republics and in the regions. They were instructed to "observe the implementation of national policy on the ground", to study the historical, ethnographic and cultural life of nationalities and national groups of autonomies, to protect the rights and interests of small peoples. In this regard, the staff of the People's Commissariat also grew. For example, as of September 1, 1921, there were 875 people in the People's Commissariat for National Affairs, including 374 clerical workers, 79 instructors and agents, 6 writers, 37 accountants, 84 economists, lawyers, school workers, agronomists, medical workers, engineers, mechanics, technicians - 37, workers - 162, drivers - 36, etc. The national composition of the People's Commissariat was quite representative: Russians - 521, Jews - 85, Tatars - 37, Germans - 28, Latvians - 17, Poles - 14, Lithuanians - 8 and others.
The People's Commissariat of Nationalities worked fruitfully to create a number of educational, scientific, cultural and educational institutions and organize their activities. Among them were the Communist Universities of the Workers of the East and National Minorities of the West (KUTV named after I.V. Stalin and KUNMZ named after Yu.Yu. Markhlevsky, 1921–1938). KUTV published the journal "Revolutionary East". During its work, the University has trained several thousand specialists. Under the People's Commissariat for National Affairs, the Institute of Oriental Studies and several publishing houses functioned.
With the assistance of the People's Commissariat for National Affairs, the national regions received tangible assistance in material resources, food, and loans. Specialists were sent from the center of Russia to train and educate local personnel. In Moscow, teachers were trained to eliminate illiteracy in the languages of the indigenous nationalities. Established in 1922 under the People's Commissariat for National Affairs, the Eastern Publishing House published primers and textbooks, socio-political, agricultural, popular science, and fiction in native languages. At the printing house of the publishing house there was a school for training compositors for printing national regions.
Thanks to the activities of the People's Commissariat for National Affairs, a wide network of national schools, universities, educational societies, libraries, and national theaters arose. For the first time in the history of Russia, the gigantic task of eliminating the illiteracy of the non-Russian population was successfully solved. The most important documents relating to nation-building were translated into national languages. At the end of 1919, Narkomnats published newspapers in almost 60 languages and dialects and had its own print organ - the newspaper "Life of Nationalities" (since 1922 - a magazine with a circulation of 7 to 12 thousand copies).
In January 1918, the Third All-Russian Congress of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People. Soviet Russia was established on the basis of a union of free nations in the form of a federation of Soviet national republics and became known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. The principles of the federation were: voluntary entry, equality of nations, proletarian internationalism, democratic centralism. The supreme body of the federation was the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, which elected the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars.
In the early days of the existence of the RSFSR, such a form of nation-state building as an autonomous republic arose within it. By the end of 1918, an autonomous labor commune appeared. In 1920 - an autonomous region. The labor commune and the autonomous region had the rights of a province, but differed in their national-state status. The highest form of autonomy was the Autonomous Republic (ASSR) - the state. The Autonomous Republic had the highest bodies of power and administration, close to the all-Russian ones, its own legal system, constitution. During the years of the civil war, some autonomous republics had their own armed forces, diplomatic and foreign trade relations, managed transport, and regulated monetary relations. In 1920, these functions, in agreement with the lower subjects, were taken over by the center.
The 5th All-Russian Congress of Soviets on July 10, 1918 approved the Constitution of the RSFSR, summarizing and legally fixing the first experience of Soviet nation-state construction.
With the victory in the civil war, work continued on the creation of autonomous nation-states within the framework of the RSFSR.
In 1920–1921 nation-state building in the RSFSR acquired a wide scale. The creation of autonomies followed different paths: some peoples acquired their statehood for the first time, others restored their statehood at a new level. Ultimately, by the end of 1922, the RSFSR included 8 autonomous republics (Turkestan, Kirghiz (Kazakh), Tatar, Bashkir, Mountain, Dagestan, Yakut, Crimean); 11 autonomous regions (Chuvash, Mari, Kalmyk, Votskaya (Udmurtia), Komi (Zyryan), Buryat, Oirot, Karachay-Cherkess, Kabardino-Balkarian, Cherkess (Adygea), Chechen); 2 labor communes (Labor commune of the Volga Germans and Karelian labor commune, which became an autonomous republic in 1923). Autonomies were also created in other republics. So, in 1923, the autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh arose in Azerbaijan.
In 1921, there were 7 socialist republics on the territory of the former Russian Empire: the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the BSSR, the Azerbaijan SSR, the Armenian SSR, the Georgian SSR, the Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia, the Bukhara and Khorezm People's Soviet Republics, and the Far Eastern Republic.
The tasks of overcoming the most severe post-war devastation, the economic revival of the republics, and overcoming the centuries-old cultural backwardness of the peoples of the border regions hastened their rapprochement with the RSFSR. Reflecting this line, the Tenth Congress of the RCP (b) in March 1921 set a course for the organization of a state union of republics.
Based on the decisions of the IX All-Russian Congress of Soviets and the IV All-Russian Congress of Economic Councils (May 1921), a unified system of industrial management of the entire federation was formed. Industry was divided into federal and local. Heavy and light industry, agriculture, transport and communications were subject to unification.
In 1921–1922 a federal budget was formed, although not all issues were resolved. So, in the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the BSSR there was a single monetary system since the time of the civil war, and in the Transcaucasian republics there were their own banknotes, along with and on a par with the banknotes of the RSFSR. Often in the documents of the republics economic plans were drawn up without taking into account the general federal tasks of restoring, first of all, the most important national economic objects.
The restoration of the national economy with the help of the RSFSR strengthened and expanded the cooperation of the republics. There was a need for the adoption of federal legislation. This was due to the fact that national-separatist tendencies also took place in the republics, that is, tendencies towards secession, isolation.
The peoples of the Soviet republics, along with domestic political reasons, were pushed to form a single union state by foreign political factors. So, in April-May 1922, an international economic and financial conference was held in Genoa, at which the delegations of the RSFSR were instructed to represent the diplomatic unity of the Soviet republics.
In March 1922, the Transcaucasian Federation of Socialist Soviet Republics was formed with the task of ensuring fraternal cooperation between the peoples of Transcaucasia and eradicating interethnic enmity. The improvement in the economic and political situation of the Soviet republics of Transcaucasia led in December 1922 to the transformation of the federative union into a federal state - the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (TSFSR) as part of the Georgian SSR, the Armenian SSR, the Azerbaijan SSR, the SSR of Abkhazia.
The formation of the union state was accompanied by sharp controversy. Variants were proposed to base the union of republics on a confederation or a federation based on autonomy, or to preserve, with some improvement, the existing contractual relations. The confederation was a form of government in which its members remained completely independent, but could coordinate their actions for certain purposes through joint bodies (military, foreign policy, etc.). The proposal for a confederation was not supported.
Since the summer of 1922, the Central Committee of the RCP (b) has come to grips with the issue of preparing for the unification of the Soviet republics. In early August, the commission began its work under the chairmanship of V.V. Kuibyshev. Individual figures: I.V. Stalin, D.Z. Manuilsky, G.K. Ordzhonikidze and some others were in favor of a federation based on "autonomization". I.V. Stalin proposed that the Soviet republics - Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia become part of the RSFSR on an autonomous basis. This project minimized the independence of the Soviet republics and led in fact to the formation of a centralized, unitary state.
Against this proposal were the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, Georgia. The Stalinist project was supported by the Transcaucasian Regional Committee of the RCP (b), the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Belarus preferred the preservation of contractual relations. Having criticized the project of "autonomization", V.I. Lenin put forward a new form of voluntary and equal union of the Soviet republics. Being opposed to excessive centralism, he proposed to strengthen the sovereignty of each republic as a prerequisite for the rallying of peoples. Back in December 1919, V.I. Lenin, considering possible options for a close union of the republics in a letter to the workers and peasants of Ukraine, wrote: “We want voluntary an alliance of nations - such an alliance that would not allow any violence of one nation against another - such an alliance that would be based on complete trust, on a clear consciousness of fraternal unity, on completely voluntary consent.
In September 1922 V.I. Lenin declared in his letter "On the Formation of the USSR": "We recognize ourselves as equal in rights with the Ukrainian SSR and others, and together and on an equal footing with them we enter into a new union, a new federation." The plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) on October 6, 1922 adopted Lenin's proposal on the form of unification of the Soviet republics into a union multinational state.
But the idea of "autonomization" showed its vitality even after this Plenum, and led to an aggravation of local nationalism. It manifested itself especially sharply in Georgia, where the so-called "Georgian incident" arose. At the end of October 1922, the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Georgia collectively resigned. Supporting the decisions of the October Plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) in 1922 on the formation of the Union, F.I. Makharadze, on behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia, proposed instead of the point on the entry of the Transcaucasian Federation into the Union of the SSR, to provide for the possibility of an independent, i.e. separate entry into the Union of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan.
The Transcaucasian Regional Committee of the Bolshevik Party was headed by G.K. Ordzhonikidze, he reacted rudely to this statement by F.I. Makharadze, accusing the Georgian leaders of chauvinism. However, the other side responded in kind. In November, a commission headed by F.E. Dzerzhinsky to review the incident. IN AND. Lenin was dissatisfied with the work of the commission, as it condemned the Georgian leadership and approved the line of the Zakkraykom. IN AND. Lenin could not actively intervene in this matter, as he fell seriously ill. However, at the end of December 1922, he dictated a letter “On the question of nationalities, or on “autonomization”, where he sharply condemned administration and rudeness in interethnic relations, a formal attitude to the national question.
X All-Russian Congress of Soviets (December 23-27, 1922), having discussed the report of I.V. Stalin on the unification of the Soviet republics and speeches by delegates - representatives from other republics (M.V. Frunze from the Ukrainian SSR, M.G. Tskhakaya from Georgia, G.M. Musabekov from Azerbaijan, etc.), adopted a resolution on the entry of the RSFSR into the union states.
On December 30, 1922, the First Congress of Soviets of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics worked at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. It was attended by 1727 delegates from the RSFSR, 364 from the Ukrainian SSR, 33 from the BSSR, 91 from the ZSFSR. According to the data of the credentials commission, workers prevailed among the delegates - 44.4%, peasants were 26.8%, employees and intellectuals - 28.8%. The congress was attended by representatives of more than 50 nationalities. A brief report was made by I.V. Stalin. He read out the texts of the Declaration on the Formation of the USSR and the Union Treaty, approved the day before by the Conference of Plenipotentiary Delegations of the Soviet Republics.
The Declaration emphasized the conclusion about the great role of the Soviets in uniting the peoples of the country, in creating a federation of a new type. It was emphasized that the Union guarantees external security, economic and cultural upsurge, and freedom for the national development of peoples. The Declaration noted that the union is a voluntary association of equal peoples, that each republic has the right to freely secede from the Union, and that access to the Union is open to all socialist republics - existing and future.
The agreement on the formation of the USSR contained 26 articles that determined the competence of the USSR and its bodies. The jurisdiction of the Union included foreign policy issues, diplomatic, economic, military and the basics of organizing a unified armed forces. Within the framework of the Union, the most important economic and political levers of control were united. The foundations of a general plan for the development of the national economy, a single state budget, monetary and credit systems, land management, judicial organization and legal proceedings, civil and criminal federal legislation were established, transport, post and telegraph were combined. The Union was instructed to regulate labor relations, public education, health care, and statistics.
The Union had the right to cancel resolutions of the congresses of Soviets, the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the Union republics that violated the Treaty. A single union state was established for all citizens of the republics.
The Congress of Soviets of the USSR was recognized as the supreme body of power, and between congresses its functions were carried out by the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, elected by the congress. The executive body of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR was the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, elected by the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, consisting of the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, his deputies and 10 people's commissars.
The treaty delimited the powers of the USSR and the union republics, which voluntarily gave up part of their rights in the name of common interests. The Union Treaty secured the sovereignty of the Union republics. Article 13 affirmed the independence of acts of the supreme bodies of the Union for all republics. At the same time, Article 15 secured the right of the Central Executive Committee of the Union Republics to protest the documents of the Union bodies, and in exceptional cases, under Article 17, the Central Executive Committee of the Union Republics had the right to suspend the execution of the order of the People's Commissars of the Union, informing the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the People's Commissar of the Union.
The congress ended with the election of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR (371 members and 138 candidates - in proportion to the population of the Union republics). At the same time, the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR voluntarily ceded a number of seats in favor of the less populated republics. Among the elected members of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, workers accounted for 46.2%, peasants - 13.6% and intelligentsia - 40.2%.
The first session of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR elected the Presidium of the USSR from 19 members and 13 candidates. Then the Central Executive Committee of the USSR elected four of its chairmen - M.I. Kalinin - from the RSFSR, G.I. Petrovsky - from the Ukrainian SSR, N.N. Narimanov - from ZSFS, A.G. Chervyakov - from the BSSR. A.S. was approved as the Secretary of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR. Yenukidze. The session instructed the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR to prepare a draft of the first Constitution of the USSR and the formation of executive authorities.
The CEC session approved the composition of the first Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. V.I. Lenin. His deputies were approved by L.B. Kameneva, A.I. Rykova, A.D. Tsyurupu, V.Ya. Chubar, G.K. Ordzhonikidze, I.D. Orakhelashvili. All-Union people's commissariats headed: for foreign affairs - G.V. Chicherin, in military and naval affairs - L.D. Trotsky, foreign trade - L.B. Krasin, means of communication - F.E. Dzerzhinsky, post and telegraph - I.I. Smirnov. The united people's commissariats of the Union were headed by: Supreme Economic Council - A.I. Rykov, food - N.P. Bryukhanov, labor - V.V. Schmidt, Finance - G.Ya. Sokolnikov, Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate - V.V. Kuibyshev.
In the process of working on the draft Constitution of the USSR, additions were made regarding the strengthening of political guarantees for the representation of all national republics and regions on the basis of equality in the Central Executive Committee of the USSR. To this end, along with the already existing Union Council , a new, equal body was created - Council of Nationalities .
The jurisdiction of the Union of the USSR additionally included "settlement of the issue of changing the borders between the union republics" and the resolution of disputes between them.
The second session of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, having heard on July 6, 1923 the report of A.S. Yenukidze, discussed chapter by chapter and enacted the Constitution of the USSR. The final approval of the Basic Law of the USSR took place at the Second Congress of Soviets of the USSR.
The Second All-Union Congress of Soviets on January 31, 1924 approved the first Constitution of the USSR, formalizing the creation of a single union state as a federation of sovereign Soviet republics.
With the formation of the USSR, the Narkomnats was abolished in July 1923. It was believed that those who took shape in independent republics and regions of nationality could do without the specified people's commissariat. This was stated in the resolution of the 2nd session of the Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR of the X convocation on July 7, 1923. The implementation of the national policy on the ground was entrusted to the presidiums of the Central Executive Committee of the autonomous republics and the executive committees of the Soviets of regions and provinces.
To manage the work on the implementation of national policy in the republic and coordinate the work of representatives of autonomies under the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR, by a decree of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR of April 9, 1923, a Department of Nationalities was formed under the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR. The interests of national minorities were taken into account in each republican sectoral body.
With the creation of the USSR, as part of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, along with the chamber of the Union Council, the chamber of the Council of Nationalities took shape constitutionally. The Presidium of the Council of Nationalities sent directives to the Central Executive Committees of the Union and Autonomous Republics on issues of national policy, controlled the work of departments and national commissions. The Council of Nationalities published the journal "Revolution and Nationalities", newspapers in German, Jewish, Tatar, directed the activities of the Research Institute of Nationalities of the USSR.
On January 31, 1924, the Second Congress of Soviets of the USSR finally approved the text of the Constitution of the USSR and completed the constitutional design of a single union state, legally secured the full legal equality of peoples, their sovereignty, unconditional recognition of equal rights and equal duties for all peoples. By that time, there were 33 national-state formations in the voluntary union of republics: union republics - 4, autonomous republics - 13, autonomous regions - 16.
In May 1925, the Third Congress of Soviets of the USSR adopted a resolution "On the entry into the USSR of the Turkmen and Uzbek Socialist Soviet Republics." In 1929, the Tajik SSR was formed. In 1936, the Kazakh and Kirghiz autonomous republics received the status of union republics. In the same year, the Azerbaijan, Armenian and Georgian Soviet republics, formerly part of the TSFSR, directly entered the USSR as union republics. In 1940, the Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian Soviet Socialist Republics entered the USSR. By the time of the collapse of the USSR in 1991, it included: union republics - 15, autonomous republics - 20, autonomous regions - 8, autonomous regions - 10.
Time has highlighted the socio-political significance of the creation of the USSR for the multinational family of the peoples inhabiting it. A dual historical task was immediately solved: to preserve and use the advantages of a large state that had developed over the centuries and a single economic space, to give nations and nationalities the right to create and develop their own statehood.
The subsequent experience of interethnic relations showed that it was precisely the voluntary addition of efforts, the friendship of the peoples that were part of the Union, that allowed them in an unprecedentedly short time to overcome the former centuries-old technical, economic and cultural backwardness and reach the frontiers of modern civilization. And above all, the Russian people gave their knowledge and energy for the development of the economy and culture of the republics of the former USSR.
It was only thanks to the Union of the SSR that the republics were able to defend their national independence and inflict a decisive defeat on fascist Germany and its satellites during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
With all the difficulties, deformations and miscalculations made by the political leadership in the past, the USSR withstood the test of time and was great power . Its collapse in December 1991 took place against the will of the peoples and threw the republics far back, entailed heavy, unjustified material, social and moral losses for all nations and nationalities. Having lost their "common home", today the majority of people, as well as many politicians, have sadly realized the need to revive cooperation within the CIS, taking into account the mutual interests of the subjects of integration and the need to join efforts for sustainable social progress of peoples who have lived together for centuries.
National policy of the Soviet power. Formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
The unifying movement to create a Soviet multinational state began immediately after the victory of the October Revolution and the collapse of the empire and went through three stages. The first (October 1917 - mid-1918) was marked by the birth of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, which consistently, as the course towards equality of peoples was realized, turned into a federation of a new type. The Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets emphasized that the Soviet government "... will ensure to all the nations inhabiting Russia the true right to self-determination."
The legal basis of the Soviet national policy at the first stage was the "Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia" of November 2, 1917, which proclaimed the equality and sovereignty of the peoples of Russia; their right to free self-determination up to secession and formation of an independent state; the abolition of all and any national and national-religious privileges and restrictions; free development of national minorities and ethnographic groups inhabiting the territory of Russia.
In the appeal "To all the working Muslims of Russia and the East," the Council of People's Commissars guaranteed complete and unhindered freedom to organize the life of Muslims. By the end of 1917, the Council of People's Commissars adopted a Manifesto to the Ukrainian people, a decree on Turkish Armenia, a decree recognizing the state independence of Finland. All these documents explained the principles that guided the Soviet government in resolving the national question. “We want the largest possible state,” V.I. explained. Lenin, - the closest possible union, the largest possible number of nations living in the neighborhood of the Great Russians; we want this in the interests of democracy and socialism...”.
At the first stage, autonomous republics, territorial autonomies, taking into account the national composition of the population, appeared on the territory of the former tsarist Russia, sovereign Soviet republics appeared.
Second the stage of the unifying movement of the peoples of the Soviet republics is associated with the period of the civil war and foreign military intervention (1918–1920). By this time, a group of Soviet republics had formed, linked with each other by cooperation on a wide variety of issues. The decree of June 6, 1919 formalized the military-political union of Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus. Its essence was reduced to a close association: 1) military organization and military command; 2) councils of the national economy; 3) railway management and economy; 4) finance and 5) labor commissariats of the republics - so that the leadership of these industries is concentrated in the hands of single collegiums. The All-Russian Central Executive Committee carried out the unification of the efforts of the republics on the basis of an agreement with the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the indicated republics. During this period, bilateral agreements were concluded between the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR, the BSSR and other republics. The second stage is characterized by the formation of Soviet statehood in the national regions, where a sharp struggle unfolded against the nationalist counter-revolution.
On the third At the stage of the unifying movement of the peoples of the Soviet republics (1921–1922), they agree on a military-economic alliance and organize a united diplomatic front. Time has shown that the federation based on bilateral agreements had significant shortcomings. The urgent need for closer cooperation between the republics in economic and state life necessitated the creation of a new union state.
The constitutional formation of the USSR was preceded by the formation of national statehood on the basis of the Soviets with the direct participation of the All-Russian and Republican Congresses of Soviets, the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR. Among the first 13 people's commissariats established on October 26 (November 8), 1917 is the People's Commissariat for Nationalities of the RSFSR. Narkomnats operated until 1923 under the leadership of the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the RCP (b), was closely associated with national sections, national centers and local party organizations.
The tasks of the People's Commissariat for National Affairs included the creation of conditions for the implementation of measures that ensure fraternal cooperation and the interests of all nationalities and national minorities. The People's Commissariat for National Affairs assisted in the organization of national republics, autonomous regions, worked with national cadres, fought against manifestations of chauvinism and nationalism, separatism, published literature in national languages, and participated in the preparation of documents on national-state building.
The National Commissariats (National Committees) and national departments worked as part of the People's Commissariat of Nationalities. At the end of 1918, there were 11 national committees - Polish, Lithuanian, Muslim, Jewish, Armenian, Belarusian, Volga Germans, mountaineers of the Caucasus, Georgian, Latvian, Czechoslovak; 8 departments - Kirghiz, Mari, peoples of Siberia, Ukrainian, Estonian, Votyak, Chuvash, peoples of the Volga region.
The National Committees and departments informed the peoples about the measures of the Soviet government in the field of national policy. Local Soviet bodies carried out political, cultural and educational work, assisted in resolving economic issues, settled conflicts between the center and nationalities, and prepared for the formation of autonomies.
In August 1918, 222 people worked in the apparatus of the People's Commissariat of Nationalities. By the beginning of 1919, there were 21 commissariats in the Narkomnats. They were headed by prominent figures of the RCP (b): Yu.M. Leshchinsky, V.S. Mickevicius-Kapsukas, V.A. Avanesov, A.G. Chervyakov, S.M. Dimanstein, M.Yu. Kulik, A.Z. Kamensky, A.G. Meshcheryakov, M.A. Molodtsova, G.K. Klinger, N.N. Narimanov, T.R. Ryskulov and others.
The activities of the People's Commissariat for National Affairs were headed by a collegium headed by the People's Commissar for Nationalities I.V. Stalin. However, over the 6 years of the existence of the People's Commissariat, he personally participated in the work of the collegium for no more than three months due to frequent trips to the fronts of the civil war and the fulfillment of other tasks of the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the RCP (b). Thus, the main burden of this complex work was carried out by the members of the board.
At first, the commissariats and departments of the People's Commissariat of Nationalities worked with nationalities on almost all issues: they dealt with the fate of refugees, employment, social security, education, agriculture, etc. After the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets proclaimed the formation of the RSFSR in January 1918, the activities of the has changed. Work on issues of culture, education, social security was transferred to the relevant people's commissariats of the national republics. The main task of the Narkomnats was to prepare the creation of autonomous Soviet republics and regions.
After the end of the civil war, Narkomnats began to pay more attention to plans and projects to improve the economic and cultural development of the peoples of the Russian Federation. Since May 1920, the restructuring of the central apparatus of the people's commissariat began. In 1921, instead of the commissariats, 14 national representations were created, a Council of Nationalities was formed, consisting of 26 people, which served as a large collegium of the people's commissariat. Along with this, the institute of commissioners of the People's Commissariat for National Affairs of the RSFSR began to work under the governments of the republics and in the regions. They were instructed to "observe the implementation of national policy on the ground", to study the historical, ethnographic and cultural life of nationalities and national groups of autonomies, to protect the rights and interests of small peoples. In this regard, the staff of the People's Commissariat also grew. For example, as of September 1, 1921, there were 875 people in the People's Commissariat for National Affairs, including 374 clerical workers, 79 instructors and agents, 6 writers, 37 accountants, 84 economists, lawyers, school workers, agronomists, medical workers, engineers, mechanics, technicians - 37, workers - 162, drivers - 36, etc. The national composition of the People's Commissariat was quite representative: Russians - 521, Jews - 85, Tatars - 37, Germans - 28, Latvians - 17, Poles - 14, Lithuanians - 8 and others.
The People's Commissariat of Nationalities worked fruitfully to create a number of educational, scientific, cultural and educational institutions and organize their activities. Among them were the Communist Universities of the Workers of the East and National Minorities of the West (KUTV named after I.V. Stalin and KUNMZ named after Yu.Yu. Markhlevsky, 1921–1938). KUTV published the journal "Revolutionary East". During its work, the University has trained several thousand specialists. Under the People's Commissariat for National Affairs, the Institute of Oriental Studies and several publishing houses functioned.
With the assistance of the People's Commissariat for National Affairs, the national regions received tangible assistance in material resources, food, and loans. Specialists were sent from the center of Russia to train and educate local personnel. In Moscow, teachers were trained to eliminate illiteracy in the languages of the indigenous nationalities. Established in 1922 under the People's Commissariat for National Affairs, the Eastern Publishing House published primers and textbooks, socio-political, agricultural, popular science, and fiction in native languages. At the printing house of the publishing house there was a school for training compositors for printing national regions.
Thanks to the activities of the People's Commissariat for National Affairs, a wide network of national schools, universities, educational societies, libraries, and national theaters arose. For the first time in the history of Russia, the gigantic task of eliminating the illiteracy of the non-Russian population was successfully solved. The most important documents relating to nation-building were translated into national languages. At the end of 1919, Narkomnats published newspapers in almost 60 languages and dialects and had its own print organ - the newspaper "Life of Nationalities" (since 1922 - a magazine with a circulation of 7 to 12 thousand copies).
In January 1918, the Third All-Russian Congress of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People. Soviet Russia was established on the basis of a union of free nations in the form of a federation of Soviet national republics and became known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. The principles of the federation were: voluntary entry, equality of nations, proletarian internationalism, democratic centralism. The supreme body of the federation was the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, which elected the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars.
In the early days of the existence of the RSFSR, such a form of nation-state building as an autonomous republic arose within it. By the end of 1918, an autonomous labor commune appeared. In 1920 - an autonomous region. The labor commune and the autonomous region had the rights of a province, but differed in their national-state status. The highest form of autonomy was the Autonomous Republic (ASSR) - the state. The Autonomous Republic had the highest bodies of power and administration, close to the all-Russian ones, its own legal system, constitution. During the years of the civil war, some autonomous republics had their own armed forces, diplomatic and foreign trade relations, managed transport, and regulated monetary relations. In 1920, these functions, in agreement with the lower subjects, were taken over by the center.
The 5th All-Russian Congress of Soviets on July 10, 1918 approved the Constitution of the RSFSR, summarizing and legally fixing the first experience of Soviet nation-state construction.
With the victory in the civil war, work continued on the creation of autonomous nation-states within the framework of the RSFSR.
In 1920–1921 nation-state building in the RSFSR acquired a wide scale. The creation of autonomies followed different paths: some peoples acquired their statehood for the first time, others restored their statehood at a new level. Ultimately, by the end of 1922, the RSFSR included 8 autonomous republics (Turkestan, Kirghiz (Kazakh), Tatar, Bashkir, Mountain, Dagestan, Yakut, Crimean); 11 autonomous regions (Chuvash, Mari, Kalmyk, Votskaya (Udmurtia), Komi (Zyryan), Buryat, Oirot, Karachay-Cherkess, Kabardino-Balkarian, Cherkess (Adygea), Chechen); 2 labor communes (Labor commune of the Volga Germans and Karelian labor commune, which became an autonomous republic in 1923). Autonomies were also created in other republics. So, in 1923, the autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh arose in Azerbaijan.
In 1921, there were 7 socialist republics on the territory of the former Russian Empire: the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the BSSR, the Azerbaijan SSR, the Armenian SSR, the Georgian SSR, the Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia, the Bukhara and Khorezm People's Soviet Republics, and the Far Eastern Republic.
The tasks of overcoming the most severe post-war devastation, the economic revival of the republics, and overcoming the centuries-old cultural backwardness of the peoples of the border regions hastened their rapprochement with the RSFSR. Reflecting this line, the Tenth Congress of the RCP (b) in March 1921 set a course for the organization of a state union of republics.
Based on the decisions of the IX All-Russian Congress of Soviets and the IV All-Russian Congress of Economic Councils (May 1921), a unified system of industrial management of the entire federation was formed. Industry was divided into federal and local. Heavy and light industry, agriculture, transport and communications were subject to unification.
In 1921–1922 a federal budget was formed, although not all issues were resolved. So, in the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the BSSR there was a single monetary system since the time of the civil war, and in the Transcaucasian republics there were their own banknotes, along with and on a par with the banknotes of the RSFSR. Often in the documents of the republics economic plans were drawn up without taking into account the general federal tasks of restoring, first of all, the most important national economic objects.
The restoration of the national economy with the help of the RSFSR strengthened and expanded the cooperation of the republics. There was a need for the adoption of federal legislation. This was due to the fact that national-separatist tendencies also took place in the republics, that is, tendencies towards secession, isolation.
The peoples of the Soviet republics, along with domestic political reasons, were pushed to form a single union state by foreign political factors. So, in April-May 1922, an international economic and financial conference was held in Genoa, at which the delegations of the RSFSR were instructed to represent the diplomatic unity of the Soviet republics.
In March 1922, the Transcaucasian Federation of Socialist Soviet Republics was formed with the task of ensuring fraternal cooperation between the peoples of Transcaucasia and eradicating interethnic enmity. The improvement in the economic and political situation of the Soviet republics of Transcaucasia led in December 1922 to the transformation of the federative union into a federal state - the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (TSFSR) as part of the Georgian SSR, the Armenian SSR, the Azerbaijan SSR, the SSR of Abkhazia.
The formation of the union state was accompanied by sharp controversy. Variants were proposed to base the union of republics on a confederation or a federation based on autonomy, or to preserve, with some improvement, the existing contractual relations. The confederation was a form of government in which its members remained completely independent, but could coordinate their actions for certain purposes through joint bodies (military, foreign policy, etc.). The proposal for a confederation was not supported.
Since the summer of 1922, the Central Committee of the RCP (b) has come to grips with the issue of preparing for the unification of the Soviet republics. In early August, the commission began its work under the chairmanship of V.V. Kuibyshev. Individual figures: I.V. Stalin, D.Z. Manuilsky, G.K. Ordzhonikidze and some others were in favor of a federation based on "autonomization". I.V. Stalin proposed that the Soviet republics - Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia become part of the RSFSR on an autonomous basis. This project minimized the independence of the Soviet republics and led in fact to the formation of a centralized, unitary state.
Against this proposal were the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, Georgia. The Stalinist project was supported by the Transcaucasian Regional Committee of the RCP (b), the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Belarus preferred the preservation of contractual relations. Having criticized the project of "autonomization", V.I. Lenin put forward a new form of voluntary and equal union of the Soviet republics. Being opposed to excessive centralism, he proposed to strengthen the sovereignty of each republic as a prerequisite for the rallying of peoples. Back in December 1919, V.I. Lenin, considering possible options for a close union of the republics in a letter to the workers and peasants of Ukraine, wrote: “We want voluntary an alliance of nations - such an alliance that would not allow any violence of one nation against another - such an alliance that would be based on complete trust, on a clear consciousness of fraternal unity, on completely voluntary consent.
In September 1922 V.I. Lenin declared in his letter "On the Formation of the USSR": "We recognize ourselves as equal in rights with the Ukrainian SSR and others, and together and on an equal footing with them we enter into a new union, a new federation." The plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) on October 6, 1922 adopted Lenin's proposal on the form of unification of the Soviet republics into a union multinational state.
But the idea of "autonomization" showed its vitality even after this Plenum, and led to an aggravation of local nationalism. It manifested itself especially sharply in Georgia, where the so-called "Georgian incident" arose. At the end of October 1922, the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Georgia collectively resigned. Supporting the decisions of the October Plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) in 1922 on the formation of the Union, F.I. Makharadze, on behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia, proposed instead of the point on the entry of the Transcaucasian Federation into the Union of the SSR, to provide for the possibility of an independent, i.e. separate entry into the Union of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan.
The Transcaucasian Regional Committee of the Bolshevik Party was headed by G.K. Ordzhonikidze, he reacted rudely to this statement by F.I. Makharadze, accusing the Georgian leaders of chauvinism. However, the other side responded in kind. In November, a commission headed by F.E. Dzerzhinsky to review the incident. IN AND. Lenin was dissatisfied with the work of the commission, as it condemned the Georgian leadership and approved the line of the Zakkraykom. IN AND. Lenin could not actively intervene in this matter, as he fell seriously ill. However, at the end of December 1922, he dictated a letter “On the question of nationalities, or on “autonomization”, where he sharply condemned administration and rudeness in interethnic relations, a formal attitude to the national question.
X All-Russian Congress of Soviets (December 23-27, 1922), having discussed the report of I.V. Stalin on the unification of the Soviet republics and speeches by delegates - representatives from other republics (M.V. Frunze from the Ukrainian SSR, M.G. Tskhakaya from Georgia, G.M. Musabekov from Azerbaijan, etc.), adopted a resolution on the entry of the RSFSR into the union states.
On December 30, 1922, the First Congress of Soviets of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics worked at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. It was attended by 1727 delegates from the RSFSR, 364 from the Ukrainian SSR, 33 from the BSSR, 91 from the ZSFSR. According to the data of the credentials commission, workers prevailed among the delegates - 44.4%, peasants were 26.8%, employees and intellectuals - 28.8%. The congress was attended by representatives of more than 50 nationalities. A brief report was made by I.V. Stalin. He read out the texts of the Declaration on the Formation of the USSR and the Union Treaty, approved the day before by the Conference of Plenipotentiary Delegations of the Soviet Republics.
The Declaration emphasized the conclusion about the great role of the Soviets in uniting the peoples of the country, in creating a federation of a new type. It was emphasized that the Union guarantees external security, economic and cultural upsurge, and freedom for the national development of peoples. The Declaration noted that the union is a voluntary association of equal peoples, that each republic has the right to freely secede from the Union, and that access to the Union is open to all socialist republics - existing and future.
The agreement on the formation of the USSR contained 26 articles that determined the competence of the USSR and its bodies. The jurisdiction of the Union included foreign policy issues, diplomatic, economic, military and the basics of organizing a unified armed forces. Within the framework of the Union, the most important economic and political levers of control were united. The foundations of a general plan for the development of the national economy, a single state budget, monetary and credit systems, land management, judicial organization and legal proceedings, civil and criminal federal legislation were established, transport, post and telegraph were combined. The Union was instructed to regulate labor relations, public education, health care, and statistics.
The Union had the right to cancel resolutions of the congresses of Soviets, the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the Union republics that violated the Treaty. A single union state was established for all citizens of the republics.
The Congress of Soviets of the USSR was recognized as the supreme body of power, and between congresses its functions were carried out by the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, elected by the congress. The executive body of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR was the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, elected by the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, consisting of the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, his deputies and 10 people's commissars.
The treaty delimited the powers of the USSR and the union republics, which voluntarily gave up part of their rights in the name of common interests. The Union Treaty secured the sovereignty of the Union republics. Article 13 affirmed the independence of acts of the supreme bodies of the Union for all republics. At the same time, Article 15 secured the right of the Central Executive Committee of the Union Republics to protest the documents of the Union bodies, and in exceptional cases, under Article 17, the Central Executive Committee of the Union Republics had the right to suspend the execution of the order of the People's Commissars of the Union, informing the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the People's Commissar of the Union.
The congress ended with the election of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR (371 members and 138 candidates - in proportion to the population of the Union republics). At the same time, the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR voluntarily ceded a number of seats in favor of the less populated republics. Among the elected members of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, workers accounted for 46.2%, peasants - 13.6% and intelligentsia - 40.2%.
The first session of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR elected the Presidium of the USSR from 19 members and 13 candidates. Then the Central Executive Committee of the USSR elected four of its chairmen - M.I. Kalinin - from the RSFSR, G.I. Petrovsky - from the Ukrainian SSR, N.N. Narimanov - from ZSFS, A.G. Chervyakov - from the BSSR. A.S. was approved as the Secretary of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR. Yenukidze. The session instructed the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR to prepare a draft of the first Constitution of the USSR and the formation of executive authorities.
The CEC session approved the composition of the first Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. V.I. Lenin. His deputies were approved by L.B. Kameneva, A.I. Rykova, A.D. Tsyurupu, V.Ya. Chubar, G.K. Ordzhonikidze, I.D. Orakhelashvili. All-Union people's commissariats headed: for foreign affairs - G.V. Chicherin, in military and naval affairs - L.D. Trotsky, foreign trade - L.B. Krasin, means of communication - F.E. Dzerzhinsky, post and telegraph - I.I. Smirnov. The united people's commissariats of the Union were headed by: Supreme Economic Council - A.I. Rykov, food - N.P. Bryukhanov, labor - V.V. Schmidt, Finance - G.Ya. Sokolnikov, Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate - V.V. Kuibyshev.
In the process of working on the draft Constitution of the USSR, additions were made regarding the strengthening of political guarantees for the representation of all national republics and regions on the basis of equality in the Central Executive Committee of the USSR. To this end, along with the already existing Union Council , a new, equal body was created - Council of Nationalities .
The jurisdiction of the Union of the USSR additionally included "settlement of the issue of changing the borders between the union republics" and the resolution of disputes between them.
The second session of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, having heard on July 6, 1923 the report of A.S. Yenukidze, discussed chapter by chapter and enacted the Constitution of the USSR. The final approval of the Basic Law of the USSR took place at the Second Congress of Soviets of the USSR.
The Second All-Union Congress of Soviets on January 31, 1924 approved the first Constitution of the USSR, formalizing the creation of a single union state as a federation of sovereign Soviet republics.
With the formation of the USSR, the Narkomnats was abolished in July 1923. It was believed that those who took shape in independent republics and regions of nationality could do without the specified people's commissariat. This was stated in the resolution of the 2nd session of the Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR of the X convocation on July 7, 1923. The implementation of the national policy on the ground was entrusted to the presidiums of the Central Executive Committee of the autonomous republics and the executive committees of the Soviets of regions and provinces.
To manage the work on the implementation of national policy in the republic and coordinate the work of representatives of autonomies under the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR, by a decree of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR of April 9, 1923, a Department of Nationalities was formed under the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR. The interests of national minorities were taken into account in each republican sectoral body.
With the creation of the USSR, as part of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, along with the chamber of the Union Council, the chamber of the Council of Nationalities took shape constitutionally. The Presidium of the Council of Nationalities sent directives to the Central Executive Committees of the Union and Autonomous Republics on issues of national policy, controlled the work of departments and national commissions. The Council of Nationalities published the journal "Revolution and Nationalities", newspapers in German, Jewish, Tatar, directed the activities of the Research Institute of Nationalities of the USSR.
On January 31, 1924, the Second Congress of Soviets of the USSR finally approved the text of the Constitution of the USSR and completed the constitutional design of a single union state, legally secured the full legal equality of peoples, their sovereignty, unconditional recognition of equal rights and equal duties for all peoples. By that time, there were 33 national-state formations in the voluntary union of republics: union republics - 4, autonomous republics - 13, autonomous regions - 16.
In May 1925, the Third Congress of Soviets of the USSR adopted a resolution "On the entry into the USSR of the Turkmen and Uzbek Socialist Soviet Republics." In 1929, the Tajik SSR was formed. In 1936, the Kazakh and Kirghiz autonomous republics received the status of union republics. In the same year, the Azerbaijan, Armenian and Georgian Soviet republics, formerly part of the TSFSR, directly entered the USSR as union republics. In 1940, the Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian Soviet Socialist Republics entered the USSR. By the time of the collapse of the USSR in 1991, it included: union republics - 15, autonomous republics - 20, autonomous regions - 8, autonomous regions - 10.
Time has highlighted the socio-political significance of the creation of the USSR for the multinational family of the peoples inhabiting it. A dual historical task was immediately solved: to preserve and use the advantages of a large state that had developed over the centuries and a single economic space, to give nations and nationalities the right to create and develop their own statehood.
The subsequent experience of interethnic relations showed that it was precisely the voluntary addition of efforts, the friendship of the peoples that were part of the Union, that allowed them in an unprecedentedly short time to overcome the former centuries-old technical, economic and cultural backwardness and reach the frontiers of modern civilization. And above all, the Russian people gave their knowledge and energy for the development of the economy and culture of the republics of the former USSR.
It was only thanks to the Union of the SSR that the republics were able to defend their national independence and inflict a decisive defeat on fascist Germany and its satellites during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
With all the difficulties, deformations and miscalculations made by the political leadership in the past, the USSR withstood the test of time and was great power . Its collapse in December 1991 took place against the will of the peoples and threw the republics far back, entailed heavy, unjustified material, social and moral losses for all nations and nationalities. Having lost their "common home", today the majority of people, as well as many politicians, have sadly realized the need to revive cooperation within the CIS, taking into account the mutual interests of the subjects of integration and the need to join efforts for sustainable social progress of peoples who have lived together for centuries.
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The unifying movement to create a Soviet multinational state began immediately after the victory of the October Revolution and the collapse of the empire and went through three stages. The first (October 1917 - mid-1918) was marked by the birth of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, which consistently, as the course towards equality of peoples was realized, turned into a federation of a new type. The Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets emphasized that the Soviet government "... will ensure to all the nations inhabiting Russia the true right to self-determination."
The legal basis of the Soviet national policy at the first stage was the "Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia" of November 2, 1917, which proclaimed the equality and sovereignty of the peoples of Russia; their right to free self-determination up to secession and formation of an independent state; the abolition of all and any national and national-religious privileges and restrictions; free development of national minorities and ethnographic groups inhabiting the territory of Russia.
At the first stage, autonomous republics, territorial autonomies, taking into account the national composition of the population, appeared on the territory of the former tsarist Russia, sovereign Soviet republics appeared.
Second
the stage of the unifying movement of the peoples of the Soviet republics is associated with the period of the civil war and foreign military intervention (1918–1920). By this time, a group of Soviet republics had formed, linked with each other by cooperation on a wide variety of issues.
Decree of June 6, 1919. The military-political union of Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus was formalized. Its essence was reduced to a close association: 1) military organization and military command; 2) councils of the national economy; 3) railway management and economy; 4) finance and 5) labor commissariats of the republics - so that the leadership of these industries is concentrated in the hands of single collegiums. The All-Russian Central Executive Committee carried out the unification of the efforts of the republics on the basis of an agreement with the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the indicated republics. During this period, bilateral agreements were concluded between the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR, the BSSR and other republics. The second stage is characterized by the formation of Soviet statehood in the national regions, where a sharp struggle unfolded against the nationalist counter-revolution.
On the third At the stage of the unifying movement of the peoples of the Soviet republics (1921–1922), they agree on a military-economic alliance and organize a united diplomatic front. Time has shown that the federation based on bilateral agreements had significant shortcomings. The urgent need for closer cooperation between the republics in economic and state life necessitated the creation of a new union state.
The constitutional formation of the USSR was preceded by the formation of national statehood on the basis of the Soviets with the direct participation of the All-Russian and Republican Congresses of Soviets, the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR. Among the first 13 people's commissariats established on October 26 (November 8), 1917. - People's Commissariat for Nationalities of the RSFSR. Narkomnats operated until 1923. under the leadership of the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the RCP (b), was closely connected with the national sections, national centers and local party organizations.
The tasks of the People's Commissariat for National Affairs included the creation of conditions for the implementation of measures that ensure fraternal cooperation and the interests of all nationalities and national minorities. The People's Commissariat for National Affairs assisted in the organization of national republics, autonomous regions, worked with national cadres, fought against manifestations of chauvinism and nationalism, separatism, published literature in national languages, and participated in the preparation of documents on national-state building.
The National Commissariats (National Committees) and national departments worked as part of the People's Commissariat of Nationalities. At the end of 1918 there were 11 national committees - Polish, Lithuanian, Muslim, Jewish, Armenian, Belarusian, Volga Germans, mountaineers of the Caucasus, Georgian, Latvian, Czechoslovak; 8 departments - Kirghiz, Mari, peoples of Siberia, Ukrainian, Estonian, Votyak, Chuvash, peoples of the Volga region.
The National Committees and departments informed the peoples about the measures of the Soviet government in the field of national policy. Local Soviet bodies carried out political, cultural and educational work, assisted in solving economic issues, settled conflicts between the center and nationalities, prepared education
autonomies.
The activities of the People's Commissariat for National Affairs were headed by a collegium headed by the People's Commissar for Nationalities, I.V. Stalin. However, over the 6 years of the existence of the People's Commissariat, he personally participated in the work of the collegium for no more than three months due to frequent trips to the fronts of the civil war and the fulfillment of other tasks of the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the RCP (b). Thus, the main burden of this complex work was carried out by the members of the board.
Initially, the commissariats and departments of the People's Commissariat for National Affairs worked with nationalities on almost all issues: they dealt with the fate of refugees, employment, social security, education, agriculture, etc. After, in January 1918. The III All-Russian Congress of Soviets proclaimed the formation of the RSFSR, the activities of the Narkomnats changed significantly.
Work on issues of culture, education, social security was transferred to the relevant people's commissariats of the national republics. The main task of the Narkomnats was to prepare the creation of autonomous Soviet republics and regions.
After the end of the civil war, Narkomnats began to pay more attention to plans and projects to improve the economic and cultural development of the peoples of the Russian Federation. From May 1920 the restructuring of the central apparatus of the people's commissariat began. In 1921 instead of the commissariats, 14 national representations were created, a Council of Nationalities was formed, consisting of 26 people, which served as a large collegium of the people's commissariat. Along with this, the institute of commissioners of the People's Commissariat for National Affairs of the RSFSR began to work under the governments of the republics and in the regions. They were instructed to "observe the implementation of national policy on the ground", to study the historical, ethnographic and cultural life of nationalities and national groups of autonomies, to protect the rights and interests of small peoples. In this regard, the staff of the People's Commissariat also grew.
The People's Commissariat of Nationalities worked fruitfully to create a number of educational, scientific, cultural and educational institutions and organize their activities. Among them, the Communist Universities of the Workers of the East and National Minorities of the West (KUTVim.I.V.Stalin and KUNMZ named after Yu.Yu.Markhlevsky, 1921–1938) stood out. KUTV published the magazine "Revolutionary East". During its work, the University has trained several thousand specialists. Under the People's Commissariat for National Affairs, the Institute of Oriental Studies and several
publishing houses.
With the assistance of the People's Commissariat for National Affairs, the national regions received tangible assistance in material resources, food, and loans. Thanks to the activities of the People's Commissariat for National Affairs, a wide network of national schools, universities, educational societies, libraries, and national theaters arose. For the first time in the history of Russia, the gigantic task of eliminating the illiteracy of the non-Russian population was successfully solved. The most important documents relating to nation-building were translated into national languages. At the end of 1919 Narkomnats published newspapers in almost 60 languages and dialects and had its own print organ - the newspaper "Life of Nationalities" (since 1922 - a magazine with a circulation of 7 to 12 thousand copies).
In January 1918 The Third All-Russian Congress of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People. Soviet Russia was established on the basis of a union of free nations in the form of a federation of Soviet national republics and became known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. The principles of the federation were: voluntary entry, equality of nations, proletarian internationalism, democratic centralism. The supreme body of the federation was the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, which elected the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and
Council of People's Commissars.
In the early days of the existence of the RSFSR, such a form of nation-state building as an autonomous republic arose within it. By the end of 1918 an autonomous labor commune appeared. In 1920 - Autonomous region. The labor commune and the autonomous region had the rights of a province, but differed in their national-state status. The highest form of autonomy was the Autonomous Republic (ASSR) - the state. The Autonomous Republic had the highest bodies of power and administration, close to the all-Russian ones, its own legal system, constitution.
V All-Russian Congress of Soviets July 10, 1918 approved the Constitution of the RSFSR, summarizing and legally fixing the first experience of Soviet nation-state building.
In 1920–1921 nation-state building in the RSFSR acquired a wide scale. Ultimately, in the RSFSR by the end of 1922. included 8 autonomous republics (Turkestan, Kirghiz (Kazakh), Tatar, Bashkir, Mountain, Dagestan, Yakut, Crimean); 11 autonomous regions (Chuvash, Mari, Kalmyk, Votskaya (Udmurtia), Komi (Zyryan), Buryat, Oirot, Karachay-Cherkess, Kabardino-Balkarian, Cherkess (Adygea), Chechen); 2 labor communes (Labor commune of the Volga Germans and Karelian labor commune, which since 1923 became an autonomous republic). Autonomies were also created in other republics. So, in 1923. an autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh appeared in Azerbaijan.
In 1921 7 socialist republics existed on the territory of the former Russian Empire: the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the BSSR, the Azerbaijan SSR, the Armenian SSR, the Georgian SSR, the Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia, the Bukhara and Khorezm People's Soviet Republics, and the Far Eastern Republic.
In March 1922 the Transcaucasian Federation of Socialist Soviet Republics was formed with the task of ensuring the fraternal cooperation of the peoples of Transcaucasia, and eradicating interethnic enmity. The improvement in the economic and political situation of the Soviet republics of Transcaucasia led in December 1922 to to the transformation of the federal union into a federal state - the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (TSFSR) as part of the Georgian SSR, the Armenian SSR, the Azerbaijan SSR, the SSR of Abkhazia.
The Declaration emphasized the conclusion about the great role of the Soviets in uniting the peoples of the country, in creating a federation of a new type. It was emphasized that the Union guarantees external security, economic and cultural upsurge, and freedom for the national development of peoples. The Declaration noted that the union is a voluntary association of equal peoples, that each republic has the right to freely secede from the Union, and that access to the Union is open to all socialist republics - existing and future.
The agreement on the formation of the USSR contained 26 articles that determined the competence of the USSR and its bodies. The issues of foreign policy, diplomatic, economic, military and the foundations of the organization of unified armed forces were assigned to the Union. Within the framework of the Union, the most important economic and political levers of control were united. The foundations of a general plan for the development of the national economy, a single state budget, monetary and credit systems, land management, judicial organization and legal proceedings, civil and criminal federal legislation were established, transport, post and telegraph were combined. The Union was instructed to regulate labor relations, public education, health care, and statistics.
The Union had the right to cancel resolutions of the congresses of Soviets, the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the Union republics that violated the Treaty. A single union state was established for all citizens of the republics.
The Congress of Soviets of the USSR was recognized as the supreme body of power, and between congresses its functions were carried out by the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, elected by the congress. The executive body of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR was the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, elected by the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, consisting of the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, his deputies and 10 people's commissars.
The treaty delimited the powers of the USSR and the union republics, which voluntarily gave up part of their rights in the name of common interests. The Union Treaty secured the sovereignty of the Union republics. Article 13 affirmed the independence of acts of the supreme bodies of the Union for all republics. At the same time, Article 15 secured the right of the Central Executive Committee of the Union Republics to protest the documents of the Union bodies, and in exceptional cases, under Article 17, the Central Executive Committee of the Union Republics had the right to suspend the execution of the order of the People's Commissars of the Union, informing the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the People's Commissar of the Union.
The congress ended with the election of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR (371 members and 138 candidates - in proportion to the population of the Union republics). At the same time, the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR voluntarily ceded a number of seats in favor of the less populated republics. Among the elected members of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, workers accounted for 46.2%, peasants - 13.6% and intelligentsia - 40.2%.
In the process of working on the draft Constitution of the USSR, additions were made regarding the strengthening of political guarantees for the representation of all national republics and regions on the basis of equality in the Central Executive Committee of the USSR. To this end, along with the already existing Union Council , a new, equal body was created - Council of Nationalities .
The jurisdiction of the Union of the USSR additionally included "settlement of the issue of changing the borders between the union republics" and the resolution of disputes between them.
On January 31, 1924, the Second Congress of Soviets of the USSR finally approved the text of the Constitution of the USSR and completed the constitutional design of a single union state, legally secured the full legal equality of peoples, their sovereignty, unconditional recognition of equal rights and equal duties for all peoples. At this point, the voluntary union of republics included 33 national-state formations: union republics - 4, autonomous republics - 13, autonomous regions - 16.
In May 1925 The Third Congress of Soviets of the USSR adopted a resolution "Accession to the Union of the SSR of the Turkmen and Uzbek Socialist Soviet Republics." In 1929 The Tajik SSR was formed. In 1936 The Kazakh and Kirghiz Autonomous Republics received the status of union republics. In the same year, the Azerbaijan, Armenian and Georgian Soviet republics, formerly part of the TSFSR, directly entered the USSR as union republics. In 1940 The USSR included the Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian Soviet Socialist Republics. By the time of the collapse of the USSR in 1991. it consisted of: union republics - 15, autonomous republics - 20, autonomous regions - 8, autonomous regions - 10.
1.1. Ideological. The October Revolution of 1917 led to the collapse of the Russian Empire. There was a disintegration of the former unified state space that had existed for several centuries. The Bolshevik idea of world revolution and the creation in the future of the World Federative Republic of Soviets has forced a new unification process. An active role in the unification movement was played by the RSFSR, whose authorities were interested in restoring a unitary state on the territory of the former Russian Empire.
1.2. Political. In connection with the victory of Soviet power in the main territory of the former Russian Empire, another prerequisite for the unification process arose - the unified nature of the political system (the dictatorship of the proletariat in the form of the Republic of Soviets), similar features of the organization of state power and administration. In most of the republics, power belonged to the national communist parties that were part of the RCP(b). The instability of the international position of the young Soviet republics in the conditions of the capitalist encirclement also dictated the need for unification.
1.3. Economic and cultural. The need for unification was dictated by the common historical destinies of the peoples of the multinational state, the existence of long-term economic and cultural ties.
An economic division of labor has historically developed between individual regions of the country: the industry of the center supplied the regions of the southeast and north, receiving in return raw materials - cotton, timber, flax; the southern regions were the main suppliers of oil, coal, iron ore, etc. The significance of this division increased after the end of the Civil War, when the task arose of restoring the ruined economy and overcoming the economic backwardness of the Soviet republics. Textile and woolen factories, tanneries, printing houses were transferred to the national republics and regions from the central provinces, doctors and teachers were sent.
1.4. The declared principles of the national policy of the Soviet government contributed to the unification processes. They included:
The principle of equality of all nations and nationalities;
Recognition of the right of nations to self-determination up to the creation of an independent state, which were proclaimed in "Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia" (November 2, 1917) and "Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People" (January 1918). Beliefs, customs, national and cultural institutions of the peoples of the Volga region and the Crimea, Siberia and Turkestan, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia were declared free and inviolable, which caused an increase in confidence in the new government not only from the foreigners of Russia (who accounted for 57% of the population), but also in European countries and Asia. Within the framework of the Council of People's Commissars, the post of People's Commissar for Nationalities was created, which headed I. V. Stalin. Corresponding structures appeared in the Central Committee of the RCP (b) - Donburo, Sredazbyuro, Turkbyuro, Caucasus Bureau.
1.5. Experience in solving the national question during the Civil War. Throughout the rest of the territory of the former Russian Empire, the national governments that came to power (including the Ukrainian Central Rada, the Belarusian Socialist Hromada, the Turkic Musavat Party in Azerbaijan, the Kazakh Alash, etc.) fought for national independence during the Civil War.
In 1917, the Bolsheviks, who soon expected a world revolution, treated the national question demagogically, proclaiming the right of nations to self-determination only formally. But during the period of military threat to Soviet power, the Bolsheviks in many cases supported the desire for independence (outside the RSFSR) or autonomy (within the borders of the RSFSR) of the former national regions of the Russian Empire.
. bourgeois republics. Yes, in December 1917 Soviet Russia recognized independence Poland and Finland(which was denied sovereignty by white governments). In 1919 Estonia recognition was also promised in exchange for withholding support from General Yudenich.
In the course of Sovietization, carried out with the help of the Red Army in 1918-1920, formally independent nation-states with the Soviet system.
On the territory of the RSFSR in 1918-1922. created national autonomous entities.
2. Stages of formation of a single state
2.1. military-political union. The war and foreign intervention necessitated the creation of a defensive alliance between the Bolshevik forces of the center and the national regions. In the summer of 1919, a military-political union of the Soviet republics was formed. June 1st
1919 decree was signed "On the unification of the Soviet republics of Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus for the struggle against world imperialism". On its basis, a single military command was created, economic councils, transport, commissariats of finance and labor were united. It is clear that the management of the unified financial system was carried out from Moscow, just as the national military formations were completely subordinate to the High Command of the Red Army. The military and political unity of the Soviet republics played an important role in defeating the combined forces of the white and foreign interventionists.
2.2. Organizational-economic union. During this period, as an experiment, representatives of Ukraine, Belarus, the Transcaucasian republics were introduced into the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR, and the unification of some people's commissariats began. As a result, the Supreme Council of National Economy of the RSFSR actually became the governing body for the industry of these republics. The GOELRO (Electrification of Russia) plan adopted in 1920 was also designed for a single economic mechanism for all regions of the country. In February 1921 was created Gosplan of the RSFSR headed by G. M. Krzhizhanovsky, designed to lead the implementation of a single economic plan. In August 1921, the Federal Committee for Land Affairs was created in the RSFSR, which regulated the development of agricultural production and land use throughout the country.
2.3. Diplomatic Union. In February 1922 in Moscow, a meeting of representatives of the RSFSR, Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Bukhara, Khorezm and the Far Eastern Republic instructed the delegation of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee to represent in Genoa at an international conference on the economic restoration of Central and Eastern Europe (April 1922) interests of all Soviet republics, to conclude any treaties and agreements on their behalf. The delegation of the RSFSR was then replenished with representatives of Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia.
3. Forms of unification of the republics
3.1. Creation of national Soviet state formations. The practice of the first years of Soviet power was to create, in the conditions of an armed struggle for Soviet power, independent national republics outside the RSFSR, and national autonomies within the Russian Federation on a national, territorial, and economic basis. The creation of independent national formations was considered only as a temporary step towards a future general unification. Therefore, in order to avoid the development of "nationalist" tendencies, the task was to create the largest possible territorial associations, which resulted in the formation of 1918 Turkestan ASSR, Mountain Republic, Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Republic, Tatar-Bashkir Soviet Republic(TBSR) (which existed for a relatively short time). Since the spring of 1921, on the instructions of V.I. Lenin on the economic unification of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, the creation of the Transcaucasian Federation began (ZSFSR), institutionalized in March 1922.
In addition, in the desire of the republics to strengthen their sovereign rights, a number of party workers, including drug addict I. B. Stalin saw the main obstacle on the way to unity. Later in the fight against Pan-Turkism TBSR and Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Okrug were disbanded.
3.2. forms of autonomy. After the end of the civil war, various forms of national statehood with different levels of independence were formed on the territory of the country.
In 1918-1922. peoples, mostly small and compactly living surrounded by Great Russian lands, received as part of the RSFSR autonomy two levels:
- republican- 11 autonomous republics (Turkestan, Bashkir, Karelian, Buryat, Yakut, Tatar, Dagestan, Gorskaya, etc.), which had the right to independently resolve a number of internal issues.
- regional- 10 autonomous regions (Kalmyk, Chuvash, Komi (Zyryan), Adyghe, Kabardino-Balkar, etc.) and
2 Labor communes - Volga Germans and Karelian (since 1923 an autonomous republic), which had the right to independently resolve a smaller number of issues.
Formally independent national soviet republics outside the RSFSR also did not have full sovereignty. Their contractual relations with the RSFSR led to the actual unification of some of the functions of political and economic administration. In 1920-1921, after the defeat of the national governments and the completion of the process of sovietization of the national outskirts, bilateral agreements were concluded on the military-economic union between Russia and Azerbaijan, on the military and economic union between Russia and Belarus, union agreements between Russia and Ukraine, Russia and Georgia. The last two treaties did not provide for compatible activities of People's Commissariats for Foreign Affairs.
In addition to treaties, the leadership of the republics was connected with the center by party discipline: the national communist parties were constituent parts of the RCP (b).
These treaties were seen by part of the party leadership as a transitional stage "on the eve of the world revolution", an obligatory step towards an alliance and overcoming such "bourgeois survivals" as national differences. Treaties became the basis for centralization, which caused conflicts in the RCP(b).
3.3. Struggle in the RCP(b) on issues of state association.
In the summer of 1922, a draft party and state commission was prepared (consisting of V. V. Kuibyshev, G. K. Ordzhonikidze, Kh. G. Rakovsky and others, chaired by I. V. Stalin), known as plan for autonomy”, which provided for the entry of independent republics into the RSFSR as autonomies. I. V. Stalin insisted on such a form of interstate association. Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of Ukraine X. G. Rakovsky reacted negatively to the Stalinist project. It was completely rejected by representatives of the Communist Party of Georgia.
V. I. Lenin also condemned the unification project proposed for consideration by the Central Committee (including the hasty actions of Stalin) and spoke out against excessive centralism, for the need to preserve the formal sovereignty and attributes of independence of each republic as a national-political condition for strengthening the Soviet state. He proposed the form federal union - "voluntary and equal association" independent Soviet republics, transferring on a parity basis a number of their sovereign rights in favor of the all-Union authorities. Such a form could also be more attractive for future Soviet republics that could arise in the course of the world revolution. This option was approved on October 6 by the plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP(b).
4. Formation of the USSR
4.1. Preparatory work for the I Congress of Soviets of the USSR. The instructions of V. I. Lenin were taken into account by the commission of the Central Committee of the RCP (b). The resolution of the plenum of the Central Committee of the party on the form of unification of independent Soviet republics (October 1922) recognized the need to conclude an agreement between Ukraine, Belarus, the Federation of Transcaucasian Republics and the RSFSR on their unification into the "Union of Socialist Soviet Republics" with each leaving the right to freely secede from the USSR . By November 30, the commission of the Central Committee developed the Main Points of the Constitution of the USSR, which were sent to the Communist Parties of the republics for discussion. In December 1922, the plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP(b) discussed the draft Treaty on the formation of the USSR and proposed to convene a Congress of Soviets of the USSR.
4.2. The First Congress of Soviets opened on December 30, 1922. 2,215 delegates took part in it. The size of the delegations from the republics was determined in proportion to the number of people in them. The largest was the Russian delegation - over 1,700 people. The congress approved Declaration and Treaty on the Formation of the USSR as part of four republics - the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the Byelorussian SSR and the ZSFSR.
The Declaration legislated principles of the structure of the union state: voluntariness, equality and cooperation on the basis of proletarian internationalism. The treaty determined the procedure for the entry of individual republics into the USSR, the competence of the highest bodies of state power. The right of free exit was declared, but the mechanism for exercising this right was not defined.
The congress elected the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the USSR - the supreme body of power in the intervals between congresses.
4.3. Constitution of the USSR. In January 1924, the first Constitution of the USSR was adopted, according to which the All-Union Congress of Soviets of the USSR was declared the supreme authority. In the intervals between congresses, the supreme power was exercised by the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, which consisted of two legislative chambers - Council of the Union and Council of Nationalities. The Central Executive Committee of the USSR formed the government - SNK. Three types of commissariats were created:
- allied(foreign affairs, army and navy, foreign trade, communications, communications, OGPU);
- unified(at the union and republican level), soon transferred to the category of the union;
- republican(internal policy, jurisprudence, public education).
Allied authorities were also transferred powers for international border protection, internal security, planning and budgeting. Despite the proclaimed federal principle of state structure, the Constitution of the USSR, having secured the right of intervention of the center and its control of the republican authorities, opened up the possibility for the future manifestation of unitary tendencies in the Soviet national policy.
5. Nation-state building
5.1. Changing the status of the republics within the USSR. From the time of the adoption of the first Constitution of the USSR and until the Constitution of 1936, the process of nation-state building was going on in the following areas:
Formation of new union republics;
Change in the state-legal form of some republics and autonomous regions;
Administrative-territorial changes (the abolition of the former division into provinces, counties, volosts and the introduction of new administrative units: territories, regions, national districts, districts).
AT 1924 as a result of the national-state demarcation in Central Asia, where the boundaries did not coincide with the ethnic boundaries of the settlement of peoples, were formed Turkmen and Uzbek SSR within the USSR (1925), in 1929 - Tajik SSR. AT In 1936, the Kirghiz and Kazakh SSRs were formed as part of the USSR. In the same year it was abolished Transcaucasian Federation, and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia became part of the USSR as union republics. In 1939, after the signing of the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact and the signing of an additional secret protocol (for details, see Topic 67), Western Ukraine and Western Belarus were annexed to the USSR. After the end of the war with Finland (March 1940) and the annexation of new territories to the Karelian ASSR, the latter was transformed into Karelian-Finnish SSR. In the summer of 1940, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, as well as Bessarabia, which was annexed to the newly formed Moldavian SSR, and Northern Bukovina, which became part of the Ukrainian SSR. In 1944, the Tuva People's Republic was admitted to the USSR as an autonomous region of the RSFSR.
5.2. Unitary tendencies in the state building of the USSR. From the end of the 20s. under the conditions of accelerated methods of industrialization, a process of rigid centralization of management began on an all-Union scale. As a result, the scope of powers and rights of the central authorities on the management of industry and finance changed in the direction of their expansion. Many republican enterprises were transferred to the direct subordination of the Union bodies in connection with the liquidation in 1932 of the Supreme Economic Council. Since 1930, all lending has been concentrated in the State Bank of the USSR. The judicial system was centralized. At the same time, there was a restriction of the legislative initiative of the republics (in 1929, the right of the republics to directly submit questions to the Central Executive Committee of the USSR for decision without their preliminary consideration by the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR was abolished). At the same time, the number of allied and allied-republican people's commissariats continued to grow.
6. Significance of the formation of the USSR
6.1. Alignment of the level of development of regions. The formation of the USSR contributed to the development of the economy, culture, overcoming the backwardness of some republics. In the course of nation-state building, a policy of "pulling up" backward national regions was pursued. For this purpose, factories, plants with equipment and part of qualified personnel were transferred from the RSFSR to Central Asia and Transcaucasia. Huge allocations were directed here for irrigation, the construction of railways, and electrification. Large tax deductions were made to the budgets of the republics.
6.2. Socio-cultural significance. The national policy of the Soviet government had positive results in the development of culture, education, and the healthcare system in the republics. In the 20-30s. were created here national schools, theaters, newspapers, literature in the languages of the peoples of the USSR were published. A number of republics have their own Academies of Sciences, as well as departments of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Some peoples for the first time received writing. The health care system developed in the republics. So, if in the North Caucasus before 1917 there were 12 hospitals and 32 doctors, then by 1939 there were 335 doctors working in Dagestan alone (of which 14% were representatives of the indigenous nationality).
6.3. Contradictions of the Soviet national policy.
Despite important changes in the socio-economic and cultural life of the Soviet republics, their sovereignty in fact remained nominal, since the real power was concentrated in the republican party committees, accountable to the Central Committee of the CPSU (b). As a result, the key political and economic decisions made by the central party bodies were obligatory for the republican ones.
The practical implementation of internationalism resulted in the right to ignore the national identity and culture of peoples. The thesis was put forward the withering away of national-linguistic diversity on the way to communism. The Stalinist repressions in the republics and subsequent deportations of peoples had a negative impact on the national policy.
At the same time, the Soviet leadership sought to suppress separatist tendencies in the national regions by " indigenization» local state apparatus with the provision of visible independence to the local bureaucracy with real strict control from the central government. Not only the peoples of the USSR suffered from the struggle against nationalism, but to no lesser extent the Russian people themselves. The administrative, unitary tendencies of the state national policy created the ground for the formation of potential hotbeds of future ethnic conflicts.
7. Conclusions
1. Formation of a multinational union state corresponded to many historical and cultural traditions peoples living on the territory of the former Russian Empire.
2. The creation of the USSR contributed strengthening the geopolitical position new state within the world community.
3. However, the initial adherence of the Bolsheviks to the ideas of unitarism had a negative impact on the further development of multinational statehood, which after 1936 already existed within the framework of the established administrative system. By the end of the 30s. in the USSR final transition to a unitary model of the state in its Stalinist version.
