The Evolution of Soviet Constitutional Law

Extract

This article may be considered as a continuation of such preceding studies as have been published by the author on the question of the constitutional order in the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics. But this time the author has deemed it expedient to change the method adopted in his former writings, in studying Soviet constitutional law. Had the old method been applied, it would have been sufficient to give a juridical analysis of the principal event in the development of Soviet constitutional law in the course of these last years, which was the promulgation of the latest Constitution, of June 11th, 1936, and also the constitutions which were elaborated on a similar basis and promulgated in the different Republics forming part of the U.S.S.R. But it will scarcely be found adequate to apply strictly juridical methods to such political bodies of a recent type where the text of the constitution and, in general, all written law, very often serve only propaganda purposes, intended to disguise the real relations existing between the rulers and the ruled.