1936 Constitution of the Soviet Union

[Mariboulg]

I think it is somewhat interesting to read and know about it.

CHAPTER I
THE ORGANIZATION OF SOVIET SOCIETY

ARTICLE 1. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is a socialist state of workers and peasants.

ARTICLE 2. The Soviets of Working People's Deputies, which grew and attained strength as a result of the overthrow of the landlords and capitalists and the achievement of the dictatorship of the proletariat, constitute the political foundation of the U.S.S.R.

ARTICLE 3. In the U.S.S.R. all power belongs to the working people of town and country as represented by the Soviets of Working People's Deputies.

ARTICLE 4. The socialist system of economy and the socialist ownership of the means and instruments of production firmly established as a result of the abolition of the capitalist system of economy, the abrogation of private ownership of the means and instruments of production and the abolition of the exploitation of man by man, constitute' the economic foundation of the U.S.S.R.

ARTICLE 5. Socialist property in the U.S.S.R. exists either in the form of state property (the possession of the whole people), or in the form of cooperative and collective-farm property (property of a collective farm or property of a cooperative association).

ARTICLE 6. The land, its natural deposits, waters, forests, mills, factories, mines, rail, water and air transport, banks, post, telegraph and telephones, large state-organized agricultural enterprises (state farms, machine and tractor stations and the like) as well as municipal enterprises and the bulk of the dwelling houses in the cities and industrial localities, are state property, that is, belong to the whole people.

ARTICLE 7. Public enterprises in collective farms and cooperative organizations, with their livestock and implements, the products of the collective farms and cooperative organizations, as well as their common buildings, constitute the common socialist property of the collective farms and cooperative organizations. In addition to its basic income from the public collective-farm enterprise, every household in a collective farm has for its personal use a small plot of land attached to the dwelling and, as its personal property, a subsidiary establishment on the plot, a dwelling house, livestock, poultry and minor agricultural implements in accordance with the statutes of the agricultural artel.

ARTICLE 8. The land occupied by collective farms is secured to them for their use free of charge and for an unlimited time, that is, in perpetuity.

ARTICLE 9. Alongside the socialist system of economy, which is the predominant form of economy in the U.S.S.R., the law permits the small private economy of individual peasants and handicraftsman based on their personal labor and precluding the exploitation of the labor of others.

ARTICLE 10. The right of citizens to personal ownership of their incomes from work and of their savings, of their dwelling houses and subsidiary household economy, their household furniture and utensils and articles of personal use and convenience, as well as the right of inheritance of personal property of citizens, is protected by law.

ARTICLE 11. The economic life of the U.S.S.R. is determined and directed by the state national economic plan with the aim of increasing the public wealth, of steadily improving the material conditions of the working people and raising their cultural level, of consolidating the independence of the U.S.S.R. and strengthening its defensive capacity.

ARTICLE 12. In the U.S.S.R. work is a duty and a matter of honor for every able-bodied citizen, in accordance with the principle: "He who does not work, neither shall he eat." The principle applied in the U.S.S.R. is that of socialism: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his work."


CHAPTER 2
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SOVIET STATE

ARTICLE 13. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is a federal state, formed on the basis of the voluntary association of Soviet Socialist Republics having equal rights, namely:
The Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Azerbaidjan Soviet Socialist Republic
The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic
The Tadjik Soviet Socialist Republic
The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic
The Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic
The Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic
The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic.

ARTICLE 14. The jurisdiction of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, as represented by its highest organs of state authority and organs of government, covers:
Representation of the Union in international relations, conclusion and ratification of treaties with other states;
Questions of war and peace;
Admission of new republics into the U.S.S.R.;
Control over the observance of the Constitution of the U.S.S.R. and ensuring conformity of the Constitutions of the Union Republics with the Constitution of the U.S.S.R.;
Confirmation of alterations of boundaries between Union Republics;
Confirmation of the formation of new territories and regions and also of new Autonomous Republics within Union Republics;
Organization of the defense of the U.S.S.R. and direction of all the armed forces of the U.S.S.R.;
Foreign trade on the basis of state monopoly;
Safeguarding the security of the state;
Establishment of the national economic plans of the U.S.S.R.;
Approval of the single state budget of the U.S.S.R. as well as of the taxes and revenues which go to the all-Union, Republican and local budgets;
Administration of the banks, industrial and agricultural establishments and enterprises and trading enterprises of all-Union importance;
Administration of transport and, communications;
Direction of the monetary and credit system; Organization of state insurance;
Raising and granting of loans;
Establishment of the basic principles for the use of land as well as for the use of natural deposits, forests and waters;
Establishment of the basic principles in the spheres of education and public health;
Organization of a uniform system of national economic statistics;
Establishment of the principles of labor legislation;
Legislation on the judicial system and judicial procedure; criminal and civil codes;
Laws on citizenship of the Union;
Laws on the rights of foreigners;
Issuing of all-Union acts of amnesty.

ARTICLE 15. The sovereignty of the Union Republics is limited only within the provisions set forth in Article 14 of the Constitution of the U.S.S.R. Outside of these provisions, each Union Republic exercises state authority independently. The U.S.S.R. protects the sovereign rights of the Union Republics.

ARTICLE 16. Each Union Republic has its own Constitution, which takes account of the specific features of the Republic and is drawn up in full conformity with the Constitution of the U.S.S.R.

ARTICLE 17. To every Union Republic is reserved the right freely to secede from the U.S.S.R.

ARTICLE 18. The territory of a Union Republic may not be altered without its consent.

ARTICLE 19. The laws of the U.S.S.R. have the same force within the territory of every Union Republic.

ARTICLE 20. In the event of a discrepancy between a law of a Union RepubliL and an all-Union law, the all-Union law prevails.

ARTICLE 21. A single Union citizenship is established for all citizens of the U.S.S.R. Every citizen of a Union Republic is a citizen of the U.S.S.R.

ARTICLE 22. The Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic consists of the Altai, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Ordjonikidze, Maritime and Khabarovsk Territories; the Archangel, Vologda, Voronezh, Gorky, Ivanovo, Irkutsk, Kalinin, Kirov, Kuibyshev, Kursk, Leningrad, Molotov, Moscow, Murmansk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orel, Penza, Rostov, Ryazan, Saratov, Sverdlovsk, Smolensk, Stalingrad, Tambov, Tula, Chelyabinsk, Chita, Chkalov and Yaroslavl Regions; The Tatar, Bashkir, Daghestan, Buryat-Mongolian, Kabardino-Balkarian, Kalmyk, Komi, Crimean, Mari, Mordovian, Volga German, North Ossetian, Udmurt, Checheno-Ingush, Chuvash and Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics; and the Adygei, Jewish, Karachai, Oirot, Khakass and Cherkess Autonomous Regions.

ARTICLE 23. The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic consists of the Vinnitsa, Volynsk, Voroshilovgrad, Dnepropetrovsk, Drogobych, Zhitomir, Zaporozhe, Izmail, Kamenets-Podolsk, Kiev, Kirovograd, Lvov, Nikolaev, Odessa, Poltava, Rovno, Stalino, Stanislav, Sumy, Tarnopol, Kharkov, Chemigov and Chernovitsy Regions.

ARTICLE 24. The Azerbaidian Soviet Socialist Republic includes the, Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region.

ARTICLE 25. The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic includes the Abkhazian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, the Adjar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and the South Ossetian Autonomous Region.

ARTICLE 26. The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic consists of the Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent, Ferghana, and Khorezm Regions, and the Kara-Kalpak Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

ARTICLE 27. The Tadjik Soviet Socialist Republic consists of the Garm, Kuliab, Leninabad and Stalinabad Regions, and the Gomo-Badakhshan Autonomous Region.

ARTICLE 28. The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic consists of the Akmolinsk, Aktyubinsk, Alma-Ata, East Kazakhstan, Guryev, Djambul, West Kazakhstan, Karaganda, Kzyl-Orda, Kustanai, Pavlodar, North Kazakhstan. Semipalatinsk, and South Kazakhstan Regions.

ARTICLE 29. The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic consists of the Baranovichi, Byelostok, Brest, Vileika, Vitebsk, Gomel, Minsk, Moghilev, Pinsk and Polessye Regions.

ARTICLE 29a. The Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic consists of the Ashkhabad, Krasnovodsk, Mari, Tashauz and Chardzhou Regions.

ARTICLE 29b. The Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic consists of the Dzhalal-Abad, Issyk-Kul, Osh, Tian-Shan and Frunze Regions.



The rest can be found on this site: http://russianculture.about.com/blconst1936b.htm

[ILay]

Hello Mariboulg!
Thanks a lot for interesting link!

If you don't mind, I'll add a couple of articles here?

CHAPTER 10
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF CITIZENS
ARTICLE 118. Citizens of the U.S.S.R. have the right to work, that is, are guaranteed the right to employment and payment for their work in accordance With its quantity and quality. The right to work is ensured by the socialist organization of the national economy, the steady growth of the productive forces of Soviet society, the elimination of the possibility of economic crises, and the abolition of unemployment.
ARTICLE 119. Citizens of the U.S.S.R.
have the right to rest and leisure. The right to rest and leisure is ensured by
the reduction of the working day to seven hours for the overwhelming majority
of the workers, the institution of annual vacations with full pay for workers
and employees and the provision of a wide network of sanatoria, rest homes and
clubs for the accommodation of the working people.
ARTICLE 120. Citizens of the U.S.S.R.
have the right to maintenance in old age and also in case of sickness or loss
of capacity to work. This right is ensured by the extensive development of
social insurance of workers and employees at state expense, free medical
service for the working people and the provision of a wide network of health
resorts for the use of the working people.
ARTICLE 121. Citizens of the U.S.S.R.
have the right to education. This right is ensured by universal, compulsory elementary education; by education, including higher education, being free of
charge; by the system of state stipends for the overwhelming majority of
students in the universities and colleges; by instruction in schools being conducted in the native Ianguage, and by the organization in the factories,
state farms, machine and tractor stations and collective farms of free
vocational, technical and agronomic training for the working people.
ARTICLE 122. Women in the U.S.S.R. are
accorded equal rights with men in all spheres of economic, state, cultural,
social and political life. The possibility of exercising these rights is
ensured to women by granting them an equal right with men to work, payment for
work, rest and leisure, social insurance and education, and by state protection
of the interests of mother and child, prematernity and maternity leave with
full pay, and the provision of a wide network of maternity homes, nurseries and
kindergartens.
ARTICLE 123. Equality of rights of
citizens of the U.S.S.R., irrespective of their nationality or race, in all
spheres of economic, state, cultural, social and political life, is an
indefeasible law. Any direct or indirect restriction of the rights of, or,
conversely, any establishment of direct or indirect privileges for, citizens on
account of their race or nationality, as well as any advocacy of racial or
national exclusiveness or hatred and contempt, is punishable by law.
ARTICLE 124. In order to ensure to
citizens freedom of conscience, the church in the U.S.S.R. is separated from the state, and the school from the church. Freedom of religious worship and
freedom of antireligious propaganda is recognized for all citizens.
ARTICLE 125. In conformity with the
interests of the working people, and in order to strengthen the socialist system, the citizens of the U.S.S.R. are guaranteed by law: freedom of speech;
freedom of the press; freedom of assembly, including the holding of mass
meetings; reedom of street processions and demonstrations. These civil rights
are ensured by placing at the disposal of the working people and their
organizations printing presses, stocks of paper, public buildings, the streets,
communications facilities and other material requisites for the exercise of
these rights.
ARTICLE 126. In conformity with the
interests of the working people, and in order to develop the organizational initiative and political activity of the masses of the people, citizens of the
U.S.S.R. are ensured the right to unite in public organizations--trade unions,
cooperative associations, youth organizations,' sport and defense organizations, cultural, technical and scientific societies; and the most
active and politically most conscious citizens in the ranks of the working
class and other sections of the working people unite in the Communist Party of
the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks), which is the vanguard of the working people in
their struggle to strengthen and develop the socialist system and is the
leading core of all organizations of the working people, both public and state.

ARTICLE 127. Citizens of the U.S.S.R.
are guaranteed inviolability of the person. No person may be placed under
arrest except by decision of a court or with the sanction of a procurator.
ARTICLE 128. The inviolability of the
homes of citizens and privacy of correspondence are protected by law.
ARTICLE 129. The U.S.S.R. affords the
right of asylum to foreign citizens persecuted for defending the interests of
the working people, or for their scientific activities, or for their struggle
for national liberation.
ARTICLE 130. It is the duty of every
citizen of the U.S.S.R. to abide by the Constitution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, to observe the laws, to maintain labor discipline,
honestly to perform public duties, and to respect the rules of socialist
intercourse.
ARTICLE 131. It is the duty of every
citizen of the U.S.S.R. to safeguard and strengthen public, socialist property as the sacred and inviolable foundation of the Soviet system, as the source of
the wealth and might of the country, as the source of the rosperous and
cultured life of all the working people. Persons committing offenses against
public, socialist property are enemies of the people.
ARTICLE 132. Universal military service
is law. Military service in the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army is an honorable
duty of the citizens of the U.S.S.R.
ARTICLE 133. To defend the fatherland
is the sacred duty of every citizen of the U.S.S.R. Treason to the country--violation of the oath of allegiance, desertion to the enemy, impairing
the military power of the state, espionage is punishable with all the severity
of the law as the most heinous of crimes.


CHAPTER 11
THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM
ARTICLE 134. Members of all Soviets of
Working People's Deputies--of the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R., the Supreme
Soviets of the Union Republics, the Soviets of Working People's Deputies of the
Territories and Regions, the Supreme Soviets of the Autonomous Republics, and
Soviets of Working People's Deputies of Autonomous Regions, area, district,
city and rural (station, village, hamlet, kishlak, aul) Soviets of Working People's Deputies--are chosen by the electors on the basis of universal, direct
and equal suffrage by secret ballot.
ARTICLE 135. Elections of deputies are
universal: all citizens of the U.S.S.R. who have reached the age of eighteen,
irrespective of race or nationality, religion, educational and residential
qualifications, social origin, property status or past activities, have the
right to vote in the election of deputies and to be elected, with the exception
of insane persons and persons who have been convicted by a court of law and
whose sentences include deprivation of electoral rights.
ARTICLE 136. Elections of deputies are
equal: each citizen has one vote; all citizens participate in elections on an equal footing.
ARTICLE 137. Women have the right to
elect and be elected on equal terms with men.
ARTICLE 138. Citizens serving in the
Red Army have the right to elect and be elected on equal terms with all other
citizens.
ARTICLE 139. Elections of deputies are
direct: all Soviets of Working People's Deputies, from rural and city Soviets
of Working People's Deputies to the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R., inclusive,
are elected by the citizens by direct vote.
ARTICLE 140. Voting at elections of
deputies is secret.
ARTICLE 141. Candidates for election
are nominated according to electoral areas. The right to nominate candidates is
secured to public organizations and societies of the working people: Communist
Party organizations, trade unions, cooperatives, youth organizations and
cultural societies.
ARTICLE 142. It is the duty of every
deputy to report to his electors on his work and on the work of the Soviet of
Working People's Deputies, and he is liable to be recalled at any time in the
manner established by law upon decision of a majority of the electors.