Draft Constitution of the “Thaw” period: historical-legal analysis

Abstract

The author discloses details of the work of the Constitutional Commission on the new Constitution of the Soviet Union in the period from 1961 to 1964. The list of members of the Constitutional Commission, persons responsible for the formation of constitutional values at the initial stage of building a communist society, and their reassignment to subcommissions is published for the first time. On the example of the activity of the subcommission on the questions of “Public administration, activities of soviets, and nongovernmental organizations”, the author describes the organizational aspects of its work and the nuances of functionality. Assessment is given to the organizing role of apparatus of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR with regards to elaboration of a number of articles for the new Constitution, through the prism of the form and content. The article leans on the materials preserved in the State Archive of the Russian Federation (Fund 7523. Register 131). The presented material is the result of summary of archival research previously not available to the broad academic community. It allows you to debunk the myths that developed after publication of some works and memoirs on the topic. The article illustrates the contribution of staff members of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and a researchers to the creation of the first constitutional framework of the establishing communist society. The author also lists the actors who made considerable contribution to the development of basic constitutional values.