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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Soviet Union
Index
The office of chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
before 1989 was little more than a ceremonial and diplomatic
convenience. The chairman had the formal authority to sign treaties
and to receive the credentials of diplomatic representatives. The
power of the person occupying the office stemmed from other
positions that person may have held. In the past, CPSU general
secretaries who also served as chairmen of the Presidium have given
priority to their party duties rather than to the ceremonial duties
of the chairmanship. Taking this consideration into account, the
1977 Constitution provided for the office of first deputy chairman
to relieve the chairman of most ceremonial duties. When the
chairmanship has been vacant, the first deputy chairman has acted
in his place, as Vasilii Kuznetsov did after Brezhnev's death and
before Iurii V. Andropov assumed the chairmanship. Gorbachev
assumed the office of chairman in October 1988. The 1988 amendments
and additions to the Constitution retained the post of first deputy
chairman in recognition of its usefulness in relieving the
legislative burden on the person occupying the positions of general
secretary of the party and chairman of the Supreme Soviet.
The 1988 amendments and additions to the Constitution
substantially altered the status of the chairman of the Presidium
of the Supreme Soviet by making him also chairman of the Supreme
Soviet and having him elected by the Congress of People's Deputies.
By designating a formal chairman of the Supreme Soviet, the
Constitution changed the status of the head of state from a
collective Presidium to a single chairman. Also, the Constitution
for the first time listed responsibilities of the chairman of the
Supreme Soviet. These responsibilities included the exercise of
leadership over the preparation of agendas of the Congress of
People's Deputies and the Supreme Soviet, the signing of laws and
treaties, the negotiation of treaties, the submission of reports on
domestic and foreign policy, and the submission of candidates for
first deputy chairman of the Supreme Soviet, members of the
Constitutional Oversight Committee, chairman of the Council of
Ministers, and other candidates for leading government posts. The
Constitution also stipulated that the chairman of the Supreme
Soviet head the Defense Council, a body that determined broad
military policy and funding.
Data as of May 1989
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