Soviet of Nationalities
민족 소비에트
The second chamber of the USSR Central Executive Committee (later the Supreme Soviet), established by the 1924 Constitution to represent the national-territorial units of the Union. Championed by Rakovsky, it was composed of 5 delegates from each union republic, 1 from each autonomous republic, and 1 from each autonomous oblast. Its composition was fiercely debated at the 12th Party Congress (1923), where Rakovsky clashed with Stalin over whether autonomous republics within the RSFSR should hold votes equal to those of the union republics.
Related historical events
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) overview of the Soviet of Nationalities as both the CEC chamber (1924–1938) and the Supreme Soviet chamber (1938–1991), including the 5/1/1 delegate formula
- Wikipedia (EN) structure of the CEC: bicameral from 1924, consisting of the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities
- historicalmaterialism.org Roger D. Markwick's detailed account of Rakovsky's advocacy for the Soviet of Nationalities at the 12th Congress; Stalin's proposal gave RSFSR autonomous republics equal weight with Ukraine and Belarus, securing ~280 of 360 seats; Rakovsky's amendment to cap any single republic at two-fifths was defeated
- soviethistory.msu.edu Lewis Siegelbaum: the Council of Nationalities was the resolution of the national representation issue at the 12th Congress, with five representatives from each union or autonomous republic and one from each autonomous region
- Marxists Internet Archive Stalin's speech at the 12th Congress: acknowledges Rakovsky's proposal that the second chamber consist of representatives of state entities and rejects it