Questions about All-Russian Central Executive Committee
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What was the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and what did it do?
The All-Russian Central Executive Committee was the supreme governing body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic between sessions of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, from 1917 to 1937. It issued decrees, reviewed legislation proposed by the Council of People's Commissars, formed the Council of People's Commissars, and jointly decided state budgets with the full Congress. It was elected by the Congress and was completely subordinate to it.
Who were the chairmen of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee?
The first chairman was Menshevik Nikolay Chkheidze, elected at the First All-Russian Congress of Soviets in June 1917. After the Bolshevik takeover, Lev Kamenev chaired from November 9 to 21, 1917, followed by Yakov Sverdlov until his death in office on the 16th of March 1919. Mikhail Kalinin then held the position from the 30th of March 1919 to the 15th of July 1938.
How did the Bolsheviks take control of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee in 1917?
After winning majorities in the Petrograd and Moscow Soviets by November 1917, the Bolsheviks secured dominance at the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets, which opened on the 7th of November 1917. Lenin proposed dissolving the old Menshevik-SR committee on November 8, and the new 101-member committee included 62 Bolsheviks and 29 Left Social Revolutionaries. Lev Kamenev became the new chairman.
When was the All-Russian Central Executive Committee replaced and by what?
Following the adoption of the 1936 Soviet Constitution, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee was replaced with the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR in 1937.
What was the political composition of the first All-Russian Central Executive Committee?
The first committee, elected at the First Congress of Soviets in June 1917, had 320 deputies: 123 Mensheviks, 119 Socialist Revolutionaries, 58 Bolsheviks, 13 United Social Democrats, and 7 others. This composition reflected the broader makeup of the delegates to the First Congress of Soviets.
What happened when the All-Russian Central Executive Committee merged with the peasant executive committee in November 1917?
On the 28th of November 1917, the committee merged with the 108-member executive committee elected at the Extraordinary All-Russian Peasants' Congress. The merged body included 62 Bolsheviks, 29 Left SRs, and 10 Mensheviks and Right SRs. After the merger, the Left Socialist Revolutionaries agreed to join the Council of People's Commissars and form a coalition with the Bolsheviks.