Congress of People’s Deputies of the U. S. S. R.

The highest organ of state power in the Soviet Union, in the period between May 1989 to the end of 1991. The 19th All-Union Conference of the C.P.S.U. which convened from June 28th to July 1st, 1988 adopted the resolution on the democratization and political system reform of the Soviet Union, proposed a change in the highest state organs and decided the establishment of the Congress of People’s Deputies of the Soviet Union, thus the supreme state power system of the Soviet Union was changed from a three-tier structure wherein the USS.R. Supreme Soviet, the Presidium of the USS.R. Supreme Soviet and the Chairman of the Presidium of the USS.R. Supreme Soviet had existed, to a four-tier structure level in order to expand the representative nature of the organs of state power and thus enable the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union to better exercise its legislative power. Thus the 4 new supreme state organs would be the Congress of People’s Deputies of the Soviet Union, the USS.R. Supreme Soviet, the Presidium of the USS.R. Supreme Soviet and the Chairman of the Presidium of the USS.R. Supreme Soviet. In December 1988, the 12th extraordinary session of the 11th Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union adopted the amendment to the Constitution of the Soviet Union, which stipulated that the Congress of People’s Deputies of the Soviet Union should be established as the highest organ of state power of the Soviet Union, and the former supreme organ of state power called Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union would now serve as the permanent legislature organ, and as supervision organ of state power, it would not have decision power on major state affairs, which were left only to Congress of People’s Deputies of the Soviet Union.

On May 25, 1989, the first meeting of the Congress of People’s Deputies of the Soviet Union was held, and the new highest organ of state power of the Soviet Union was formally established. The second meeting of the Congress of People’s Deputies of the Soviet Union was held between December 12 to 24, 1989. The third meeting of the Congress of People’s Deputies of the Soviet Union was held between March 12 to15, 1990. The fourth meeting of the Congress of People’s Deputies of the Soviet Union was held between December 17 to 21, 1990.

The fifth extraordinary meeting of the Congress of People’s Deputies of the Soviet Union was held between September 2 to 5, 1991, wherein a new law titled as “On State Authorities of the Soviet Union During the Transitional Period” was promulgated, according to this law, the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union was reorganized into a bicameral parliament as the supreme representative power organ of the Soviet Union before the new constitution and new power institutions came into being. Till then, the institution called the Congress of People’s Deputies of the Soviet Union was abolished.