Elections in the Soviet Union

Before the proclamation of the 1936 Constitution, elections to soviets of all levels beyond local urban and rural ones (with varying ratios of citizens-per-representative each) were indirect, carried out by soviets of lesser scale below them. However, direct elections for township or industrial soviets were allowed to be competitive in theory, with candidates of different organizations other than the Communist Party and even the Orthodox Church allowed to fill the paperwork, although constant disenfranchisement of their voters and persecution of any activism during the campaign was the norm. [9]

Soviet Citizens were able to vote for representatives to represent them in the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, which was the legislative arm of the Soviet Union. The elections in the Soviet Union would be held every 4 years for the citizens to go to the polling station and vote for a single candidate. These candidates who were going to be elected for 4 years were approved by the Communist Party themselves and were the only option on the ballot. [10]

The reasoning for a single candidate was to make sure the people of the Soviet Union saw the party unified with no hint of party instability through multiple candidates vying for the same position in the Congress of the Soviets. The candidates could either be Communist or independent but they had to be approved by the Communist Party.[11]

In order to keep the public display of personal reaffirmation, elections were held not to please the citizens of the Soviet Union, instead, they were meant to show unity within their population. If Stalin was able to amass a large voter turnout, even though it was for one candidate, he could be viewed as a legitimate leader.[12]

Endorsing a candidate with one's vote shows a high amount of patriotism coming from Soviet citizens because it displays commitment and satisfaction from the citizen on government policy. Anita Pisch argues that Stalin's obsession to create an almost cult-like following “Stalin came to be portrayed in a manner that suggested a dual, Christ-like nature, or deity.”[13] To have a high amount of patriotism under his rule gave him the ability to choose whatever he wanted without large repercussions.

Even with a single candidate on the ballot, representatives could theoretically fail to get elected in the Soviet Union, but this did not happen above the lowest levels. A representative would have to keep local improvements satisfactory in order to try to gain greater than a 50% vote. Although not the definition of democracy, the Soviet people would still have the choice to keep or to basically "request" a new candidate from the Communist Party. Although selected by the Communist Party, each representative had to some degree keep their population somewhat satisfied with the way they were governing their people.[14] With the threshold of a 50% vote, many unsatisfied Soviets would form groups and would lobby to have their voices heard. This would allow the dissenters to have a small amount of input on how some things should be run in the Soviet Union. However, group dissent was extremely rare due to opposition from the authorities. [15]

During Soviet elections it was common for the average Soviet citizen to cast several ballots. These multiplied ballots would make up around seven ballots per person. As Gilison mentions, if there are approximately two million negative votes cast in an election "dissenters" would approximately represent 500,000 to 700,000 votes in that election. These individuals would try to sway an election in order to discredit the election.[15]

On December 5, 1936, the second Soviet Constitution was signed, replacing the original constitution of 1924. The new constitution was enacted by the former Congress of Soviets and signed by former General Secretary Joseph Stalin. As a result, the Congress of Soviets was dismantled and replaced by a new Supreme Soviet. The new constitution enshrined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) as the sole ruling party. In accordance with the provisions of the constitution, the nation prepared for the first legislative elections scheduled for the future Supreme Soviet (both federal and republican).

The new constitution created a bicameral legislature system consisting of two chambers, The Soviet of the Union and The Soviet of Nationalities. The Soviet of the Union was a group of deputies or representatives that entailed one deputy for every 300,000 Soviet citizens. These deputies were directly elected by the Soviet people through a means of universal suffrage. Each deputy was elected for a term of four years. On the other hand, The Soviet of Nationalities was ethnically separated. It consisted of representatives from each of the union republics, autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts, and autonomous okrugs. The union republic was granted 32 deputies, giving them higher power over the other regions/ republics. However, as the list goes down from union republics to autonomous okrugs, less and less deputies were appointed regardless of population size. Similar to The Soviet of the Union, each official was elected for a span of four years.

Shortly after the signing of the new constitution, elections were held for the Supreme Soviet, the first under the new constitution. As promised by the government a multi-candidate election was held but was soon corrupted after the Great Purge, a time of political distrust and oppression. Many political candidates and threats to the CPSU were arrested as part of an effort to ensure the victory of the Communist party. As a result, only one candidate was left standing halfway through the election process, Joseph Stalin's choice, Vyacheslav Molotov. Molotov had won both the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities through a landslide vote of Party deputies during the elections for the Premier. The CPSU and Stalin were victorious in these elections, dominating the Soviet of the Union by a vote of 461 deputies to 108 and the Soviet of the Nationalities by a vote of 409 deputies to 165.

Mikhail Kalinin was elected as the first Chairman of the Presidium. Vyacheslav Molotov was reelected Premier of the Soviet Union for the last time as Stalin would replace him as premier in 1941 with Stalin himself.

The night of February 9, 1946, Stalin walked out onto a stage and was greeted by a grand audience of voters. He proceeded to deliver a speech to those in attendance and for those listening at home through radio. In his speech, he glorified the Soviet Union's role in the victory of World War 2 and emphasized the importance of having a strong and successful social system.

“Our victory signifies, first of all, that our Soviet social system was victorious, that the Soviet social system successfully passed the test of fire in the war and proved that it is fully viable. [...] The war proved that the Soviet social system is a genuinely people's system, which grew up from the ranks of the people and enjoys their powerful support; that the Soviet social system is fully viable and stable form of organization of society.” (Stalin 1945).[16]

The election for Supreme Soviet was held the next day. Out of an eligible population of 101,718,000, approximately 325,000 people had their voting rights revoked for a multitude of reasons. Also for the first time, members of the Red Army were allowed to cast their votes outside of the Soviet Union, in small districts of 100,000 each. The final results saw a clear Communist victory in both chambers of the Supreme Soviet, in which Nikolai Shvernik won his first full term as Chairman of the Presidum, after being named acting chairman following the passing of Mikhail Kalinin.

As a result, Joseph Stalin was reelected as premier, his first full term of four years as head of government. This time, Stalin received 682 deputy votes within the Soviet of the Union and 657 deputies in the Soviet of Nationalities. This was a large increase from the previous election and showed a positive growth rate for voter support for him.

The 1950 election would be the last election Joseph Stalin ever ran in as head of government. Similar to previous elections, he was the only name on the ballot when the time came to elect a new Council of Ministers, and he was reelected one final time as Premier.

Of the 111,116,378 eligible voters, 111,090,010 came to vote. The results showed a large favor for the CPSU, as it received 678 votes from the Soviet of The Union (580 CPSU) and 638 votes from the Soviet of Nationalities (519 CPSU), with the rest coming from independent candidates and Komsomol nominees representing the youth. Nikolai Shvernik was reelected Chairman of the Presidium.

The 1954 elections were the first of the post-Stalin era of the Soviet Union, and the first time Nikita Khrushchev would participate, this time, as Party leader.

Total voter turnout was 120,750,816, which gave the CPSU a clear advantage, winning 1080 to 297 (independents), ensuring total control of the Supreme Soviet's two chambers. Georgy Malenkov was elected to his first full term as Premier, and Kliment Voroshilov was elected to his first full term as Chairman of the Presidium.

Held during the Khruschev Thaw this was the first ever federal legislative elections following the landmark address On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences that ended the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1956. Many of the CPSU candidates to the Supreme Soviet that year expressed confidence that the gains of De-Stalinization would be further institutionalized in the legislature.

Total voter turnout that year was 133,796,091, and while the CPSU kept its supermajority in the Supreme Soviet (563 to 175 MPs in the Soviet of the Union, 485 to 155 senators in the Soviet of Nationalities), the independent/Komsomol faction grew in the former, with 32 new elected MPs. This time Nikita Khrushchev was elected to his first full term as Premier of the Soviet Union replacing Nikolai Bulganin, and Kliment Voroshilov was reelected for a second term as Chairman of the Presidum.

• Soviet democracy