The Central Executive Committeeof the USSR (Russian: Центральный исполнительный комитет СССР, romanized: Tsentralʹnyĭ ispolnitelʹnyĭ komitet SSSR), which may be abbreviated as the CEC (Russian: ЦИК, romanized: TsIK),[2][b] was the supreme governing body of the USSR in between sessions of the All-Union Congress of Soviets from 1922 to 1938. The Central Executive Committee elected the Presidium,[c] which, like its parent body, was delegated governing authority when the other was not in session. The chairman of the Presidium, served as the ceremonial head of state of the USSR.[d] The Central Executive Committee also elected the Council of People's Commissars which was its executive and administrative organ. The Central Executive Committee of the USSR was established in 1922 by the First All-Union Congress of Soviets, and was replaced by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in 1938.
Initially the committee had four co-chairs, after 1925 there were seven. The Kazakh and Kirghiz SSRs were created in 1936 and did not have co-chairs in the committee, as it dissolved just two years later.
Description
The Central Executive Committee was created with the adoption of the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR in December 1922. The Central Executive Committee was elected by the Congress of Soviets to govern on its behalf whenever the Congress of Soviets was not in session. The Central Executive Committee was convened by the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee, which was elected by the Central Executive Committee to govern on its behalf whenever it was not in session.[3]
The Central Executive Committee of the USSR should not be confused with the Central Executive Committees that operated in each of the Soviet Union's constituent republics. These were:
List of the Central Executive Committees of the Soviet Union
Central Executive Committee of the First Congress of Soviets (elected on 30 December 1922)
1st session (Moscow) – 30 December 1922
2nd session (Moscow) – 6 July 1923
3rd session (Moscow) – 6–12 November 1923
Central Executive Committee of the Second Congress of Soviets (elected on 2 February 1924)
1st session (Moscow) – 2 February 1924
2nd session (Moscow) – 17–29 October 1924
3rd session (Tbilisi) – 3–7 March 1925
Central Executive Committee of the Third Congress of Soviets (elected on 20 May 1925)
1st session (Moscow) – 21 May 1925
2nd session (Moscow) – 12–25 April 1926
3rd session (Moscow) – 14–25 February 1927
Central Executive Committee of the Fourth Congress of Soviets (elected on 26 April 1927)
1st session (Moscow) – 27 April 1927
2nd session (Leningrad) – 15–20 October 1927
3rd session (Moscow) – 11–21 April 1928
4th session (Moscow) – 3–15 December 1928
Central Executive Committee of the Fifth Congress of Soviets (elected on 28 May 1929)
1st session (Moscow) – 29 May 1929
2nd session (Moscow) – 29 November – 8 December 1929
3rd session (Moscow) – 4–12 January 1931
Central Executive Committee of the Sixth Congress of Soviets (elected on 17 March 1931)
1st session (Moscow) – 18 March 1931
2nd session (Moscow) – 22–28 December 1931
3rd session (Moscow) – 23–30 January 1933
4th session (Moscow) – 28 December 1933 – 4 January 1934
Central Executive Committee of the Seventh Congress of Soviets (elected on 6 February 1935)
1st session (Moscow) – 7–8 February 1935
2nd session (Moscow) – 10–17 January 1936
3rd session (Moscow) – 11–14 January 1937
4th session (Moscow) – 7–9 July 1937
Leadership
Chairmen
The Presidium of the Central Executive Committee consisted of 21 members and included the Presidia of the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities. A representative of each constituent republic (initially four) was elected one of the directors of the presidium.
As more entities (usually previously Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics) were promoted to the status of constituent republics of the USSR, they received representation among the directors of the Presidium: