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DECREES A N D
CONSTITUTION
......... ..O F

SOVIET RUSSIA

R eprinted

from

The Nation

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2007 with funding from
Microsoft Corporation

http://www.archive.org/details/decreesconstitutOOrussiala

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Constitution

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ASo.

of the

Russian Socialist Federal

Soviet Republic .
The following translation of the Constitution of the Rus
sian Soviet Republic is made from an official printed text
embodying the latest revisions, and required by law to be
posted in all public places in Russia.

Resolution of the 5th All-Russian Congress

of Soviets, Adopted on July 10, 1918.
'T 'H E deelaration of rig h ts of the laboring and exploited peopie (approved by the th ird A ll-R ussian Congress of Soviets
in Ja n u a ry , 1918), tog eth er w ith the C onstitution of the Soviet
Republic, approved by the fifth Congress, constitutes a single
fundam ental law of the R ussian Socialist F ed eral Soviet
Republic.
This fundam ental law becomes effective upon the publication
of the same in its en tirety in the Izvestia of the A ll-Russian
G eneral E xecutive Com mittee. I t m ust be published by all
organs of th e Soviet Government and m ust be posted in a prominent place in every Soviet institution.
The fifth Congress in stru cts the Peoples C om m issariat of
Education to introduce in all schools and educational institutions of the R ussian Republic the study and explanation of the
basic principies of this Constitution.
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51
T-

652123

Article One
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS OF TH E LABORING AND
EXPLOITED PEO PLE
Chapter One
1. R ussia is declared to be a Republic of the Soviets of W orke rs, Soldiers, and P easan ts D eputies. All the central and local
power belongs to these Soviets.
2. T he R ussian Soviet Republic is organized on th e basis of
a free unin of free nations, as a federation of Soviet national
republics.

Chapter Two
3. B e arin g in m ind as its fu ndam ental problem th e abolition
of the exploitation of men by men, the entire abolition of th e divi
sin of the people into classes, the suppression of exploiters, th e
establishm ent of a Socialist society, and the victory of socialism
in all lands, the th ird A ll-R ussian Congress of Soviets of Worke rs, Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts D eputies fu rth e r resolves:
(a) F o r th e purpose of atta in in g th e socialization of land, all
p riv ate property in land is abolished, and th e entire land is de
clared to be national property and is to be apportioned am ong
a g ric u ltu rists w ithout any com pensation to the form er owners,
in the m easure of each ones ability to till it.
(b) All forests, trea su res of th e ea rth , and w aters of general
public u tility, all equipm ent w hether anm ate or inanim ate,
model farm s and a g ric u ltu ral enterprises, a re declared to be
national property.
(c) As a first step tow ard complete tra n s fe r of ow nership
to the Soviet Republic of all factories, milis, mines, railw ays,
and o ther m eans of production and tran sp o rta tio n , th e Soviet
law fo r the control by workm en and the establishm ent of the
Suprem e Soviet of N ational Economy is hereby confirmed, so
as to insure the power of the w orkers over the exploiters.
(d) W ith reference to intern atio n al banking and finance, the
th ird Congress of Soviets is discussing the Soviet decree reg ard in g the annulm ent of loans m ade by the G overnment of the
Czar, by landow ners and th e bourgeoisie, and it tru s ts th a t the
Soviet Governm ent w ill firm ly follow th is course u n til th e final
victory of the international w orkers revolt a g a in st th e oppression of capital.
(e) The tra n s fe r of all banks to the ow nership of th e W ork
ers and P easan ts Government, as one of the conditions of the
4

liberation of the toiling m asses from the yoke of capital, is confirmed.

(f) U niversal obligation to w ork is introduced fo r the purpose
of elim inating th e p ara sitic s tr a ta of society and organizing the
economic life of the country.
(g) F o r the purpose of securing the w orking class in th e possession of complete power, and in order to elim inate all
possibility of resto rin g the power of the exploiters, it is decreed
th a t all w orkers be arm ed, and th a t a Socialist Red A rm y be organized and th e propertied class disarm ed.
C hapter Three
4. E xp ressing its fixed resolve to lib erate m ankind from the
g rip of cap ital and im perialism , which flooded th e e a rth w ith
blood in its present m ost crim inal of all w ars, the th ird Con
gress of Soviets fully agrees w ith the Soviet Governm ent in its
policy of ab ro g atin g secret treaties, of organizing on a wide scale
the fra tern iz atio n of the w orkers and peasan ts of the belligerent
arm ies, and of m aking all efforts to conclude a general democratic peace w ithout annexations or indem nities, upon the basis
of the fre e determ ination of peoples.
5. I t is also to th is end th a t the th ird Congress of Soviets
insists upon p u ttin g an end to the b arbarous policy of the bourgeois civilization which enables the exploiters of a few chosen
nations to enslave hundreds of m illions of the w orking population
of Asia, of th e colonies, and of sm all countries generally.
6. The th ird Congress of Soviets hails the policy of the Council of Peoples Com m issars in proclaim ing th e full independence
of F inland, in w ithdraw ing troops from P ersia, and in proclaim
ing the rig h t of A rm enia to self-determ ination.
C hapter Four
7. The th ird A ll-Russian Congress of Soviets of W orkers,
Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts D eputies believes th a t now, d uring th e
progress of the decisive battle between the p ro le ta ria t and its
exploiters, the exploiters should not hold a position in any branch
of the Soviet Government. The power m ust belong entirely to
the toiling m asses and to th e ir p lenipotentiary rep resen tativ es
th e Soviets of W orkers, Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts Deputies.
8. In its effort to create a leaguefree and voluntary, and
for th a t reason all the more complete and secure of the w ork
ing classes of all the peoples of Russia, the th ird Congress of
Soviets m erely cstablishes the fundam ental principies of the
F ederation of R ussian Soviet Republics, leaving to the w orkers
and p easan ts of every people to decide the following question
5

a t th e ir plenary sessions of th e ir Soviets, nam ely, w hether or not

they desire to particpate, and on w h at basis, in the Federal
Governm ent and other F ederal Soviet institutions.

Article Two
GENERAL PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF
THE RUSSIA N SOCIALIST FEDERAL
SOVIET REPUBLIC .
Chapter F ive
9. The fundam ental problem of the constitution of th e Rus sian Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic involves, in view of the
p resen t tran sitio n period, the establishm ent of a dictatorship
of the urb an and r u ra l p ro le ta ria t and th e poorest p ea sa n try in
th e form of a pow erful A ll-Russian Soviet auth o rity , fo r the
purpose of abolishing the exploitation of men by men and of introducing socialism, in which th ere will be neith er a divisin
into classes or a sta te of autocracy.
10. The R ussian Republic is a free Socialist society of all the
w orking people of Russia. The entire power, w ithin th e boundaries of the R ussian Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic, belongs to all the w orking people of R ussia, united in u rb an and
r u ra l Soviets.
11. T he Soviets of those regions w hich differentiate themselves by a special form of existence and national ch aracter may
unite in autonomous regional unions, ruled by the local Congress
of the Soviets and th e ir executive organs.
These autonomous regional unions p articp a te in the Russian
Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic upon a federal basis.
12. The suprem e power of the Russian Socialist F ederal Soviet
Republic belongs to the A ll-Russian Congress of Soviets, and,
in periods between the convocation of the Congress, to th e AllR ussian C entral E xecutive Committee.
.
13. F o r the purpose of securing to the w orkers real freedom of
coriscience, the church is to be separated from the sta te and the
school from the church, and the rig h t of religious and anti-religious propaganda is accorded to every Citizen.
14. F o r th e purpose of securing freedom of expression to the
toiling m asses, the R ussian Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic
abolishes all dependence of the press upon capital, and tu rn s
over to th e w orking people and the poorest p ea sa n try all technical and m aterial m eans fo r -the publication of new spapers,
6

pam phlets, books, etc., and g u aran tees th e ir free circulation

th roughout the country.
15. F o r th e purpose of enabling the w orkers to hold free
m eetings, the Russian Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic offers
to the w orking class and to the poorest p e a sa n try furn ish ed
halls, and takes care of th e ir heatin g and lig h tin g appliances.
16. The R ussian Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic, hav in g
crushed th e economic and political power of th e propertied
classes, and having th u s abolished all obstacles which interfered
w ith the freedom of organization and action of the w orkers and
peasants, offers assistance, m a teria l and other, to the w orkers
and the poorest p ea sa n try in th e ir effort to unite and organize.
17. F o r the purpose of gu aran teein g to th e w orkers real access to knowledge, the R ussian Socialist F ed eral Soviet Re
public sets itself the ta sk of fu rn ish in g full and general free
education to the w orkers and th e poorest peasantry.'
18. The R ussian Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic considers
work the d u ty of every citizen of the Republic, and proclaim s
as its m otto: He shall not ea t who does not w ork.
19. F o r th e purpose of defending the victory of the g re a t
p ea sa n ts and w orkers revolution, the R ussian Socialist F ed er
al Soviet Republic recognizes the duty of all citizens of the
Republic to come to the defence of th e ir Socialist F ath e rlan d ,
and it th erefore introduces u n iversal m ilita ry train in g . The
honor of defending the revolution w ith arm s is accorded only to
the w orkers, and the non-w orking elem ents are charged w ith the
perform ance of o ther m ilita ry duties.
20. In consequence of the solidarity of the w orkers of all nations, the R ussian Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic g ra n ts
all political rig h ts of R ussian citizens to foreigners who live in
the te rrito ry of the R ussian Republic and a re engaged in w ork
and who belong to the w orking class. The R ussian Socialist
F ederal Soviet Republic also recognizes the rig h t of local Soviets
to g ra n t citizenship to such foreigners w ithout complicated form ality.
21. The R ussian Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic offers
shelter to all foreigners who seek refuge from political or reli- '
gious persecution.
22. The R ussian Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic, recognizing the equal rig h ts of all citizens, irrespective of th e ir racial or
national connections, proclaim s all privileges on th is ground, as
well as oppression of national m inorities, to be co n tra ry to the
fundam ental law s of the Republic.
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23. Being guided by the in terests of the w orking class as a

whole, th e R ussian Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic deprives
all individuis and groups of rig h ts which could be utilized by
them to th e detrim ent of the Socialist Revolution.

Article Three
ORGANIZATION OF THE SOVIET POWER
A.

O RGANIZATION OF T H E C E N TR A L PO W ER
Chapter S ix
The A ll-R ussian Congress of Soviets of W orkers', P easants,
Cossacks, and R ed A rm y D eputies
24. The A ll-R ussian Congress of Soviets is the suprem e power
of th e Russian Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic.
25. The A ll-Russian Congress of Soviets is composed of representatives of u rb an Soviets (one delegate fo r 25,000 v o ters),
and of rep resentatives of the provincial (G u b em ia ) congresses
of Soviets (one delegate fo r 125,000 in h a b ita n ts).
N ote 1: In case the Provincial Congress is not called before
the A ll-R ussian Congress is convoked, delegates fo r the la tte r
are sent directly from the County ( O uezd) Congress.
Note 2: In case the Regional (O blast) Congress is convoked
indirectly, previous to the convocation of the A ll-Russian Con
gress, delegates fo r the la tte r m ay be sent by th e Regional
Congress.
26. The A ll-R ussian Congress is convoked by the A ll-Russian
C entral E xecutive Committee a t least twice a year.
27. A special A ll-R ussian Congress is convoked by the AllR ussian C entral Executive Committee upon its own initiative, or
upon th e request of local Soviets having not less th a n one-third
of the entire population of the Republic.
28. The A ll-R ussian Congress elects an A ll-R ussian C entral
E xecutive Committee of not more th a n 200 members.
29. The A ll-R ussian C entral E xecutive Committee is entirely
responsible to the A ll-R ussian Congress of Soviets.
30. In the periods between the convocation of th e Congresses,
th e A ll-R ussian C entral Executive Committee is the suprem e
power of the Republic.
Chapter Seven
The A ll-R ussian C entral E xecutive Com m ittee
31. The A ll-R ussian C entral Executive Committee is the su
prem e legislative, executive, and controlling organ of the Russian
Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic.

32. The A ll-R ussian C entral E xecutive Com mittee directs in

a general w ay the activity of the W orkers and P e a sa n ts Govern
m ent and of all organs of the Soviet a u th o rity in th e country,
and it coordinates and regulates the operation of the Soviet
C onstitution and of the resolutions of th e all-R ussian Con
gresses and of the central organs of the Soviet power.
33. The A ll-R ussian C entral E xecutive Com mittee considers
and enacts all m easures and proposals introduced by th e Soviet
of Peoples Com m issars or by the various departm ents, and it
also issues its own decrees and regulations.
34. The A ll-R ussian C entral Executive Com mittee convokes
th e A ll-R ussian Congress of Soviets, a t w hich tim e th e E xecu
tive Committee rep o rts on its activity and on general questions.
35. The A ll-R ussian C entral E xecutive Committee form s a
Council of Peoples Com m issars fo r the purpose of general m anagem ent of th e affairs of the R ussian Socialist F ederal Soviet
Republic, and it also form s departm ents (Peoples Commissa ria ts) fo r the purpose of conducting various branches.
36. The m em bers of the A ll-R ussian C entral E xecutive Com
m ittee w ork in the various departm ents (Peoples Com missariats) or execute special orders of the A ll-R ussian C entral Executive Committee.
Chapter E ig h t
The Council o f Peoples Com m issars
37. The Council of Peoples Com missars is en tru sted w ith the
general m anagem ent of the affairs of the R ussian Socialist
F ed eral Soviet Republic.
38. F o r th e accom plishment of this ta sk th e Council of Peo
ples Com m issars issues decrees, resolutions, orders, and, in gen
eral, takes all steps necessary fo r the proper and rap id conduct
of governm ent affairs.
39. The Council of Peoples Com m issars notifies im m ediately
the A ll-R ussian C entral Executive Committee of all its orders
and resolutions.
40. The A ll-R ussian C entral Executive Committee has the
rig h t to revoke or suspend all orders and resolutions of the
Council of Peoples Commissars.
41. All orders and resolutions of the Council of Peoples Com
m issars of g re a t political significance are referred fo r consideration and final approval to the A ll-R ussian C entral Execu
tive Committee.
N ote: M easures requiring im m ediate execution m ay ue enacted directly by the Council of Peoples Com missars.

42. The members of the Council of Peoples Com missars stand

a t the head of the various Peoples C om m issariats.
43. T here a re seventeen Peoples C om m issars: (a) F o reig n
A ffairs; (b) A rm y, (c) Navy, (d) In terio r, (e) Justice, (f)
Labor, (g) Social W elfare, (h) Education, (i) P ost and Teleg rap h , (j) N ational A ffairs, (k) F inances, (1) W ays of Comm unication, (m ) A griculture, (n) Commerce and Ind u stry , (o)
N ational Supplies, (p) S tate Control, (q) Suprem e Soviet of
N ational Economy, (r) Public H ealth.
44. E very Com missar has a Collegium [Com m ittee] of which
he is the P resident, and the m em bers of which are appointed by
th e Council of Peoples Com missars.

45. A Peoples Com missar has the individual rig h t to decide

on all questions under the jurisdiction of his C om m issariat, and
he is to re p o rt on his decisin to the Collegium. I f the Collegium
does not agree w ith the Com missar on some decisions, the form er
may, w ithout stopping the execution of th e decisin, com plain of
it to th e executive members of th e Council of Peoples Commis
sa rs or to th e A ll-R ussian C entral E xecutive Committee.
Individual members of the Collegium have th is rig h t also.
46. The Council of Peoples Com m issars is entirely responsible
to th e A ll-R ussian Congress of Soviets and the A ll-R ussian Cen
tr a l 'E xecutive Committee.
47. The Peoples Com m issars and th e Collegia of th e Peoples
Com m issariats a re entirely responsible to the Council of Peoples
Com m issars and th e A ll-R ussian C entral E xecutive Committee.
48. T he title of Peoples Com missar belongs only to th e mem
bers of the Council of Peoples Com m issars, which is in charge
of general affairs of the R ussian Socialist F ederated Soviet
Republic, and it cannot be used by any other represen tativ e of
th e Soviet power, eith er central or local.
Chapter N ine
A ffa irs in the Jurisdiction o f the A ll-R u ssia n Congress and the
A ll-R ussian C entral E xecutive Com m ittee
49. The A ll-Russian Congress and th e A ll-R ussian C entral
Executive Committee deal w ith questions of state, such a s :
(a) R atification and am endm ent of the C onstitution of the
R ussian Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic.
(b) G eneral direction of the entire in te rio r and foreig n policy
of the R ussian Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic.
(c) E stablishing and changing boundaries, also ceding te rritory belonging to the R ussian Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic.
10

(d) E stablishing boundaries for regional Soviet unions belonging to the R ussian Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic, also settling disputes am ong them.
(e) Admission of new m em bers to the R ussian Socialist F ed er
al Soviet Republic, and recognition of th e secession of any
p a rts of it.
(f) The general ad m inistrative divisin of the te rrito ry of the
Russian Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic and the approval
of regional unions.
(g) E stablishing and changing w eights, m easures, and money
denom inations in the R ussian Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic.
(h) F o reig n relations, declaration of w ar, and ratification of
peace trea tie s.
(i) M aking loans, signing com mercial tre a tie s and financial
agreem ents.
(j) W orking out a basis and a general plan for the n atio n al
economy and fo r its various branches in the R ussian Socialist
Federal Soviet Republic.
(k) A pproval of the budget of the R ussian Socialist F ederal
Soviet Republic.
(1) Levying taxes and establishing the duties of citizens to the
state.
(m) E stablishing the bases fo r the organization of arm ed
forces.

(n) S tate legislation, judicial organization and procedure, civil

and crim inal legislation, etc.
(o)
A ppointm ent and dism issal of the individual Peoples Com
m issars or the entire Council, also approval of the P resid en t of
the Council of Peoples Com missars.
(p) G ran tin g and cancelling R ussian citizenship and fixing
rig h ts of foreigners.
(q) The rig h t to declare individual and g eneral am nesty.
50. Besides the above-mentioned questions, the A ll-Russian
Congress and the A ll-R ussian C entral E xecutive Com mittee have
charge of all other affairs which, according to th e ir decisin,
require th e ir attention.
51. The following questions a re solely u n d er th e jurisdiction
of th e A ll-R ussian Congress:
(a) R atification and am endm ent of the fu ndam ental principies
of the Soviet Constitution.
(b) R atification of peace trea tie s.
.
52. The decisin of questions indicated in P a ra g ra p h s (c) and
(h) of Section 49 m ay be m ade by the A ll-R ussian C entral Exec11

utive Committee only in case it is impossible to convoke the

Congress.
B. ORG A NIZA TIO N OF LOCAL SO V IETS
C hapter Ten
The Congresses o f the Soviets
53. Congresses of Soviets a re composed as follow s:
(a) R egional: of rep resentatives of the urb an and county
Soviets, one representative fo r 25,000 in h a b ita n ts of th e county,
and one rep resentative fo r 5,000 voters of the citiesb u t not
more th a n 5.00 representatives fo r th e en tire regin or of
rep resentatives of the provincial Congresses, chosen on th e same
basis, if such a Congress m eets before th e regional Congress.
(b) P rovincial (G u b e m ia ): o representatives of urb an and
ru ra l (V olost) Soviets, one represen tativ e fo r 10,000 inh ab itan ts
from th e ru ra l d istricts, and one representative fo r 2,000 voters
in th e city ; altogether no t more th a n 300 representativ es for
th e en tire province. In case the county Congress m eets before
th e provincial, election takes place on the same basis, b u t by the
county Congress instead of the ru ra l.
(c) C ounty: of representatives of r u ra l Soviets, one delegate
fo r each 1,000 inhabitants, but not m ore th a n 300 delegates for
the en tire county.
(d) R u ral ( V o lo s t): o representatives of all village Soviets
in th e Volost, one delegate fo r te n m em bers of th e Soviet.
N ote 1: R epresentatives of u rb an Soviets which have a population of not m ore th a n 10,000 persons p a rtic p a te in th e county
C ongress; village Soviets of d istricts of less th a n 1,000 inhabi
ta n ts u n ite fo r th e purpose of electing delegates to the county
Congress.
N ote 2: R u ral Soviets of less th a n ten members send one dele
g ate to th e ru ra l ( V olost) Congress.
54. Congresses of th e Soviets a re convoked by the respective
E xecutive Committees upon th e ir own initiative, or upon request
of local Soviets com prising not less th a n one-third of th e en tire
population of th e given district. In any case they a re convoked
a t le ast tw ice a y ea r fo r regions, every th ree m onths fo r provinces and counties, and once a m onth fo r ru ra l districts.
55. E very Congress of Soviets (regional, provincial, county,
or ru ra l) elects its Executive organan Executive Committee
th e m em bership of w hich shall not exceed: (a) fo r regions and
provjnces, tw en ty -fiv e ;'(b ) fo r a county, tw en ty ; (c) fo r a ru ra l
district, ten. The Executive Committee is responsible to th e Con
gress w hich elected it.
12

56. In the boundaries of the respective te rrito rie s the Con

gress is the suprem e pow er; d uring in terv als between th e convocations of the Congress, the E xecutive Com mittee is th e su
prem e power.
Chapter E leven
*
The Soviet o f D eputies
57. Soviets of D eputies a re form ed:
(a) In cities, one deputy fo r each 1,000 in h a b ita n ts; th e total
to be not less th a n fifty and not more th a n 1,000 members.
(b) All other settlem ents (tow ns, villages, ham lets, etc.) of
less th an 10,000 in h abitants, one deputy fo r each 100 inhabi
ta n ts ; the to ta l to be not less th a n th ree and not m ore th a n fifty
deputies fo r each settlem ent.
T erm of th e deputy, th ree months.
N ote: In sm all ru ra l sections, w henever possible, all questions
shall be decided a t general m eetings of voters.
58. The Soviet of D eputies elects an E xecutive Committee to
deal w ith c u rre n t affairs; not m ore th a n five m em bers fo r ru ra l
districts, one fo r every fifty m em bers of the Soviets of cities, but
n ot more th a n fifteen and not less th a n th ree in the ag g re g ate
(P e tro g ra d and Moscow no t more th a n fo rty ) . The E xecutive
Committee is entirely responsible to the Soviet which elected it.
59. The Soviet of D eputies is convoked by th e E xecutive Com
m ittee upon its own initiative, or upon th e request of not less
th an one-half of the m em bership of the Soviet; in any case a t
least once a week in cities, and twice a week in r u ra l sections.
60. W ithin its jurisdiction th e Soviet, and in cases mentioned
in Section 57, Note, th e m eeting of th e voters is th e suprem e
power in th e given d istrict.
C iapter Tw elve
Jurisdiction o f the local organs o f the Soviets
61. Regional, provincial, county, and r u ra l organs of th e
Soviet pow er and also the Soviets of D eputies have to perform
the follow ing duties:
(a) C a rry out all orders of the respective higher organs of the
Soviet power.
(b) T ake all steps fo r raisin g the cu ltu ral and economic
sta n d ard of th e given te rrito ry .
(c) Decide all questions of local im portance w ithin th e ir re
spective territo rie s.
(d) Coordnate all Soviet activity in th e ir respective te r r i
tories.
13

62. The Congresses of Soviets and th e ir E xecutive Committees

have the rig h t to control the activity of the local Soviets (i. e.,
the regional Congress Controls all Soviets of the respective re
gin; th e provincial, of the respective province, with th e exception of the urb an Soviets, e tc .) ; and the regional and provincial
Congresses and th e ir Executive Committees have in addition the
rig h t to overrule the decisions of the Soviets of th e ir districts,
giving notice in im portant cases to the central Soviet au thority.
63. F o r the purpose of perform ing th e ir duties, th e local
Soviets, ru ra l and urban, and the Executive Committees form
sections respectively.

Article Four
T H E RIG H T TO VOTE.
Chapter Thirteen.
64. T he rig h t to vote and to be elected to the Soviets is enjoyed by the following citizens of both sexes, irrespective of
religin, nationality, domicile, etc., of the R ussian Socialist
F ed eral Soviet Republic, who shall have completed th e ir eighteenth y ear by th e day of election:
(a ) A ll who have acquired the m eans of livelihood through
labor th a t is productive and useful to society, and also persons
engaged in housekeeping which enables the form er to do pro
ductive work, i. e., laborers and employees of all classes who are
employed in industry, trade, agriculture, etc., and p easan ts and
Cossack ag ric u ltu ral laborers who employ no help fo r th e p u r
pose of m aking profits.
(b) Soldiers of the arm y and navy of the Soviets.
(c) Citizens of the two preceding categories who have in any
degree lost th e ir capacity to work.
Note 1: Local Soviets may, upon approval of th e cen tral
power, lower th e age stan d ard m entioned herein.
N ote 2: Non-citizens mentioned in Section 20 (A rticle Two,
C hapter 5) have the rig h t to vote.
65. The following persons enjoy n eith er the rig h t to vote or
the rig h t to be voted for, even though they belong to one of th e
categories enum erated above, nam ely:
(a) P ersons who employ hired labor in order to obtain from it
an increase in profits.
(b) P ersons who have an income w ithout doing any work, such
as in te rest from capital, receipts from property, etc.
14

(c) P rv a te m erchants, trad e and commercial brokers.

(d) Monks and clergy of all denom inations.
(e) Employees and agents of the form er plice, the gendarm e
corps, and the O khrana [C zars secret Service], also members
of th e fo rm er reigning dynasty.
(f) P ersons who have in legal form been declared demented or
mdhtally deficient, and also persons under guardianship.
(g) P ersons who have been deprived by a Soviet of th e ir rig h ts
of citizenship because of selfish or dishonorable offences, fo r
the period fixed by the sentence.
Chapter F ourteen
E lections
66. Elections are conducted according to eustom on days fixed
by the local Soviets.
67. Election takes place in the presence of an election com
m ittee and the rep resentative of the local Soviet.
68. In case the representative of the Soviet cannot fo r valid
causes be present, the chairm an of the election com mittee takes
his place, and in case the la tte r is absent, the chairm an of the
election m eeting replaces him.
69. M inutes of the proceedings and resu lts of elections are to
be compiled and signed by the members of the election com
m ittee and the representative of the Soviet.
70. Detailed instructions reg a rd in g the election proceedings
and the p articip atio n in them of professional and other w orkers
organizations are to be issued by the local Soviets, according to
the instructions of the A ll-Russian C entral E xecutive Committee.
Chapter F iftcen
The checking and cancellation of elections and recall o f the
deputies
71. The respective Soviets receive all th e records of the proeeedings of the eldction.
72. The Soviet appoints a commission to verify the election.
73. T his commission rep o rts the results to the Soviet.
74. The Soviet decides the question when th e re is doubt as to
which candidate is elected.
75. The Soviet announces a new election if the election of one
candidate or another cannot be determ ined.
76. If an election w as irre g u la rly carried on in its entirety,
it m ay be declared void by a higher Soviet authority.
77. The highest au th o rity in relation to questions of elections
is the A ll-R ussian C entral Executive Committee.
15

78. V oters who have sent a deputy to the Soviet have the rig h t
to recall him, and to have a new election, according to general
provisions.
'

Article Five
THE BUDGET
Chapter S ixteen
79. The financia! policy of th e R ussian Socialist F ederal
Soviet Republic in the present tran sitio n period of dictatorship
of the p ro le ta ria t fac ilita te s th e fundam ental purpose of expropriatio n of the bourgeoisie and the p rep a ra tio n of conditions
necessary fo r th e equality of all citizens of R ussia in the production and distribution of w ealth. To th is end- it sets fo rth as
its ta sk th e supplying of the organs of th e Soviet power w ith all
necessary funds fo r local and sta te needs of the Soviet Republic,
w ithout reg a rd to p rv ate pro p erty rig h ts.
80. The sta te expenditure and income of th e R ussian Socialist
F ed eral Soviet Republic are combined in the sta te budget.
81. The A ll-R ussian Congress of Soviets or the A ll-Russian
C entral Executive Committee determ ine w h at m a tte rs of income
and ta x atio n shall go to the sta te budget and w h at shall go to
the local Soviets; they also set the lim its of taxes.
82. The Soviets levy taxes only fo r the local needs. The sta te
needs a re covered by the funds of the sta te trea su ry .
83. No expenditure out of the sta te tre a su ry not set fo rth in
the b u d get of income and expense shall be m ade w ithout a
special o rder of the central power.
84. T he local Soviets shall receive credits from the proper
Peoples Com m issars out of th e sta te tre a su ry , fo r the purpose
of m aking expenditures fo r general sta te needs.
85. All credits allotted to the Soviets from th e sta te trea su ry ,
and also credits approved fo r local needs, m u st be expended
according to the estim ates, and cannot be used fo r any other
purposes w ithout a special order of the A ll-R ussian C entral E x
ecutive Committee and the Soviet of Peoples Com missars.
86. Local Soviets draw up sem i-annual and annual estim ates
of income and expenditure fo r local needs. The estim ates of
urb an and r u ra l Soviets p articip a tin g in county congresses, and
also the estim ates of the county organs of the Soviet power, are
to be approved by provincial and regional congresses or by th e ir
executive com m ittees; the estim ates of th e urban, provincial,

16

and regional organs of the Soviets a re to be approved by th e AllR ussian C entral Executive Committee and th e Council of Peo
p les Commissars.
87. The Soviets m ay ask fo r additional credits from th e re
spective Peoples C om m issariats fo r expenditures not set fo rth
in the estm ate, or w here the allotted sum is insufficient.
88. I* case of an insufficiency of local funds fo r local needs,
the necessary subsidy m ay be obtained from the sta te tre a su ry
by applying to the A ll-R ussian C entral E xecutive Committee or
the Council of Peoples Com missars.

Article Six
THE COAT OF ARMS A N D FLAG OF THE R U SSIAN
SOCIALIST FED ER A L SOVIET REPUBLIC
Chapter Seventeen
89. The coat of arm s of the R ussian Socialist F ederal Soviet
Republic consists of a red background on which a golden scythe
and a ham m er a re placed (crosswise, handles dow nw ard) in
sun-rays and surrounded by a w reath, inscribed:
R ussian Socialist Federal S o viet Republic
W orkers o f the W orld, U n itel
90. The commercial, naval, and arm y flag of the R ussian So
cialist F ed eral Soviet Republic consists of a red cloth, in the
le ft crner of which (on top, n ea r the pole) a re in golden characters the le tte rs R. S. F. S. R., or the in scription: R ussian
Socialist F ederal Soviet Republic.
C hairm an of the fifth A ll-R ussian Congress of Soviets and
of the A ll-R ussian C entral E xecutive Committee
J . Sverdlov.
Executive OfficersA ll-Russian C entral E xecutive Com mittee:
T. I. Teodorovitch, F . A. Rosin, A. P. Rosenholz, A. C.
M itrofanov, K. G. Maximov.
S ecretary of the A ll-R ussian C entral E xecutive Committee
V. A. Avanessov.

17

Laws and Decrees

The following documents are taken in part from a collection in the Library of Congress at W ashington and in
part from a volume of laws, regulations, and decrees published by the Executive Committee of the Workers and
Soldiers Deputies of the province of Tomsk, Russia. The
documents selected have appeared in various issues of the
International Relations section of the Nation.

Land Law
HE Fundamental Law of Socialization of the Land
went into effect in September, 1918, replacing the
earlier and briefer Land Decree of November 7, 1917.
D IV ISIO N I.

General Provisions.
All property rig h ts in the land, trea su res of the
ea rth , w aters, forcsts, and fundam ental n a tu ra l rcsourccs w ith
in the boundaries of the R ussian F ederated Soviet Republic a re
abolished.
A rticle 2. The land passes over to the use of th e en tire
laboring population w ithout any com pensation, open or secret,
to the form er owners.
A rticle 3. The rig h t to use the land belongs to thosc who
till it by th e ir own labor, w ith the exception of special cases
covered by this decree.
A r ticle 4. The rig h t to use the land cannot be lim ited by
sex, religin, nationality, or foreign citizenship.
A rticle 5. The sub-surface deposits, th e forests, w aters, and
fu n d am ental n a tu ra l resources a re a t the disposition (according
to th e ir ch aracter) of th e county, provincial, regional, and
F ederal Soviet powers and a re under th e control of th e la tte r.
The method of disposition and utilization of the sub-surface de
posits, w aters, and fundam ental n a tu ra l resources will be d ealt
w ith by a special decree.
A rticle 1.

18

A rticle 6. All prv ate live stock and inventoried p ro p erty

of non-laboring hom esteads pass over w ithout indem nification to
th e disposition (in accordance w ith th e ir ch a racter) of the land
d ep artm ents of the county, provincial, regional, and F ed eral
Soviets.
A rticle 7. All hom estead stru c tu re s mentioned in A rticle
6, as Well as all ag ric u ltu ra l appurtenances, pass over to the
disposition (in accordance w ith th e ir c h a racter) of the county,
provincial, regional, and F ederal Soviets w ithout indemnifi
cation.
A rticle 8. All persons who a re unable to w ork and who will
be deprived of all m eans of subsistence by forc of the decree
socializing all lands, forests, inventoried property, etc., m ay
receive a pensin (fo r a lifetim e or until the person becomes of
ag e ), upon the certification of the local courts and the land
d ep artm ents of the Soviet power, such as a soldier receives,
until such tim e as the decree fo r the insurance of the incapacitated is issued.
A rticle 9. The apportionm ent of lands of a g ric u ltu ral valu
am ong the laboring people is under th e ju risdiction of the
Volostnoi [several villagesl, county, provincial, regional, and
F ederal land departm ents of the Soviets in accordance w ith th e ir
ch aracter.
A rticle 10. The surplus lands a re under the supervisin, in
every republic, of the land departm ents of the regional and F ed
eral Soviets.
A rticle 11. The land d epartm ents of the local and cen tral
Soviets a re thus en trusted w ith the equitable apportionm ent of
th e land am ong the w orking a g ric u ltu ra l population, and w ith
th e productive utilization of the n a tu ra l resources. They also
have th e following duties:
(a) C reating favorable conditions fo r th e development of the
productive forces of the country by in creasing the fe rtility of
the land, im proving ag ric u ltu ral technique, and, finally, raisin g
the sta n d ard of a g ric u ltu ra l knowledge am ong the laboring
population.
(b) C reating a surplus fund of lands of ag ric u ltu ra l valu.
(c) Developing various branches of ag ric u ltu ral industry,
such as gardening, cattle-breeding, dairying, etc.
(d) A ccelerating the tran sitio n from the od unproductive
system of field cultivation to the new productive one (under
various clim ates), by a proper distribution of the laborin g popu
lation in various p a rts of the country.
19

(e)
Developing collective hom esteads in ag ricu ltu re (in preference to individual hom esteads) as the m ost profitable system
of saving labor and m aterial, w ith a view to passing on to
socialism.
A rticle 12. The apportionm ent o f land am ong the laboring
population is to be carried on on th e b asis o f each ones ab ility
to till it and in accordance w ith local conditions, so th a t the
production and consum ption standard m ay not compel some
p easants to work beyond th eir stren g th ; and a t th e sam e tim e
it should give them sufficient m eans of subsistence.
A rticle 13. P ersonal labor is th e general and fundam ental

source of th e rig h t to use the land fo r ag ric u ltu ra l purposes.

In addition, th e organs of the Soviet power, w ith a view to
ra isin g th e ag ric u ltu ra l sta n d ard (by organizing model farm s
or experim ental fields), a re perm itted to borrow from th e surplus land fu n d (form erly belonging to the Crown, m onasteries,
clergy, or landow ners) certain plots and to w ork them by labor
paid by th e state. Such labor is subject to the general rules of
w orkm ens control.
A rticle 14. All citizens engaged in a g ric u ltu ra l w ork a re to
be insured a t the expense of the sta te ag a in st od age, sickness,
or in ju ries which incapacitate them.
A rticle 15. All incapacitated a g ric u ltu rists and th e mem
bers of th e ir fam ilies who a re unable to w ork a re to be cared
fo r by th e organs of th e Soviet power.
A rticle 16. E very ag ric u ltu ral hom estead is to be insured
ag a in st fire, epidemics am ong cattle, poor crops, d ry w eather,
hail, etc., by m eans of m utual Soviet insurance.
A rticle 17. Surplus profits, obtained on account of th e
n a tu ra l fe rtility of th e land or on account of its location n ea r
m arkets, a re to be tu rn ed over fo r th e benefit of social needs
to the organs of th e Soviet power.
A rticle 18. The tra d e in a g ric u ltu ral m achinery and in seeds
is monopolized by the organs of the Soviet power.
'
A rticle 19. The g ra in trade, in te rn al as well as export, is
to be a sta te monopoly.
D IV ISIO N II.
Who H as the R ig h t to Use the Land.

A rticle 20. Plots of land m ay be used in the R ussian F ed

erated Soviet Republic fo r th e follow ing social and p rv ate
needs:
A . C ultural and educational:
20

1. The state, in the form of th e organs of the Soviet power

(F ed eral, regional, provincial, county, and r u ra l) .
2. Social orgnizations (under the control and by perm ission of the local S oviets).
B. F o r a g ric u ltu ral purposes:
3. A g ricu ltu ra l communities.
4. A g ricu ltu ra l associations.
5. V illage organizations.
6. Individuis and fam ilies.
C. F o r construction purposes:
7. By the organs of the Soviet power.
8. By social organizations, individuis, and fam ilies (if
the construction is not a m eans of obtaining profits).
9. By in dustrial, commercial, and tra n sp o rta tio n enterprises (by special perm ission and under the control of the
Soviet pow er).
D. F o r constructing w ays of com m unication:
10. By organs of the Soviet pow er (F ederal, regional,
provincial, county, and ru ra l, according to the im portance
of the w ays of com m unication).
D IV ISIO N III.
The order in which land is apportioned.
A rticle 21. L and is given to those who w ish to w ork it themselves for the benefit of the com m unity and not fo r personal
advantage.
A rticle 22. The following is th e .o rd er in which land is given
for personal ag ric u ltu ra l needs:
1. To local ag ric u ltu rists who have no land or a small
am ount of land, and to local a g ric u ltu ra l w orkers (form erly h ired ), on an equal basis.
2. A g ricu ltu ra l em igrants who have come to a given locality a fte r the issuance of the decree of socialization of
the land.
3. N on-agricultural elem ents in the order of th e ir reg is
tr a r o n a t the land departm ents of th e local Soviets.
N ote: W hen a rra n g in g th e order of th e apportionm ent of
land, preference is given to laboring a g ric u ltu ra l associations
over individual homesteads.
A rticle 23. F o r the purpose of gardening, fishing, cattlebreeding, o r fo restry , land is given on the follow ing basis:
(1) land which cannot be tilled ; (2) land which can be tilled,
b u t which on account of its location is p referab ly to be used fo r
other a g ric u ltu ral purposes.
21

A r tic le 24. In ru ra l d istricts, land is used fo r construction

purposes in accordance w ith the decisin of the local Soviets
and the population.
In cities, land m ay be obtained in the order in which applications a re filed w ith the respective local Soviets, if the construc
tion planned does not th re a te n to h arm the neighboring buildings and if it answ ers all other requirem ents of the building
regulations.
N ote: F o r th e purpose of erecting social buildings, land is
given regardless of the order in which applications a re filed.
D IV ISIO N IV.
The standard o f agricultural production and consumption.
A rticle 25. The am ount of land given to individual home
steads fo r ag ric u ltu ral purposes, w ith a view to obtaining m eans
of subsistence, m ust not exceed the sta n d ard of ag ric u ltu ra l pro
duction and consumption as determ ined on the basis indicated in
th e in struction following.
In stru ctio n fo r determ ining the production and consum ption
standard fo r the use o f land o f agricultural valu.
. 1. The whole of ag ric u ltu ral R ussia is divided into as m any
clim atic sections as th ere are field cultivation system s historically in existence a t the given a g ric u ltu ra l period.
2. F o r every ag ric u ltu ral section a special production and con
sum ption stan d ard is set. W ithin th e section the stan d ard m ay
be changed in accordance w ith the clim ate and th e n a tu ra l fertility of the land, also in accordance w ith its location (n ear a
m ark et o r railw ay) and other conditions which a re of g re a t local
im portance.
3. F o r an exact determ ination of the sta n d ard of each section,
it is necessary to take an all-R ussian ag ric u ltu ral census in the
n e a r fu tu re .
N ote: A fte r the socialization of the land has been accomplished, it is necessary to survey it im m ediately and to determ ine
its topography.
4. The apportionm ent of land on the production and consump
tion basis am ong the ag ric u ltu ral population is to be carried on
g rad u ally in various ag ric u ltu ral sections, according to reg u la
tions stated herein.
N ote: U ntil the socialization of land is entirely accomplished,
the relations of ag ric u ltu rists w ill be regulated by th e lad
d ep artm ents of the Soviets in accordance w ith a special in
struction.
5. F o r the determ ination of the production and consum ption
oo

sta n d ard of a given clim atic section, it is necessary to tak e the

sta n d ard (an average ag ric u ltu ra l hom estead) of one of the
counties of th a t section (or another ag ric u ltu ra l sta n d ard of
equal size) w ith a small population, and w ith such a proportion
of various a g ric u ltu ra l advantages as, in the opinion of the
local in h a b ita n ts (regional or provincial congress of th e land
d ep artm ents o{ the Soviets), will be recognized as the m ost n o r
mal, i. e.t the m ost favorable fo r the type of field cultivation
which predom inates in th a t clim atic section.
6. F o r the determ ination of w h at an average a g ric u ltu ral
hom estead is, it is necessary to take into consideration only those
lands which w ere actually in the possession of w orking p easan ts
down to 1917, i. e., lands bought by peasan t organizations, asso
ciations, individuis, and entailed and rented lands.
7. F o rests, sub-surface deposits, and w ate rs a re not to be considered in th is determ ination.
8. P rv a te lands which w ere never used fo r ag ric u ltu ra l p u r
poses, and which w ere actually in the possession of the state,
p rv ate banks, m onasteries, or land ow ners, will not be taken
into consideration in th is determ ination, as th e y 'w ill constitute
the su rp lus land fund which will serve to supply th e landless
p easan ts and those who have less land th a n the p ea sa n ts produc
tion and consum ption sta n d ard calis for.
9. F o r determ ining the entire am ount of land which w as in
actu al possession of the w orking peasan ts down to the revolu
tion of 1917, it is necessary to determ ine its q u an tity according
to its special ch aracter (field, pasture, meadow, drainag e, g ardens, orchards, e sta te s).
10. T his determ ination m ust be made in exact figures, as well
as in th e proportion of the entire q u an tity to each individual
hom estead, settlem ent, village,- county, province, or regin, or
the en tire clim atic section of the given system of field cultivation.
11. W hen thus determ ining the entire q u an tity of land, it is
necessary to determ ine the quality of each acre of a typical field
or meadow by ascertaining the am ount (in poods) of g ra in or
hay yielded by an acre of land of the given section fo r th e p ast
ten years.
12. W hen determ ining the q u an tity and quality of land, it is
necessary to determ ine a t the same tim e the entire population
of the given clim atic section engaged in ag ricu ltu re, and also
th a t p a rt of th e population which subsists a t the expense of
ag ricu ltu re.
13. The census of the in h ab itan ts engaged in ag ric u ltu ral
23

work is to be taken by sex, age, and fam ily fo r each homestead

separately, and la te r the inform ation obtained is to be classified by villages, counties, and provinces of the given section.
14. W hen ta k in g the census of the population it is necessary
to determ ine the num ber of workingm en and members dependent upon them , and fo r th a t purpose the entire population is
divided into the following classes according to ages:
Those unable to work.
G irls................................................... to 12 years of age.
B oys....................................................to 12 y ears of age.
M en............................................... from 60 years of age.
W om en......................................... from 50 years of age.
Those incapacitated by physical or m ental illness are recorded
separately.
[Those able to work.']
Men
from 18 to 60 1.0 un it of w orking stren g th
Women from 18 to 50 0.8

Boys
from 12 to 16 0.5

Girls
from 12 to 16 0.5

Boys
from 16 to 180.75

Girls
from 16 to 18 0.6

N ote: These figures m ay be changed in accordance w ith

clim atic and custom ary conditions by decisin of the ap p ro p riate
organs of th e Soviet power.
15. By dividing the num ber of acres by the num ber of work
ing units, the num ber of acres to each u n it m ay be obtained.
16. The num ber of incapacitated members to each w orking
u n it m ay be obtained by dividing the entire incapacitated elem ent by th e to tal of w orking units.
17. I t is also necessary to describe and figure out the num ber
of work anim als and cattle th a t can be fed on one acre of land
and w ith one w orking unit.
18. F o r determ ining w h at an average landowning peasant is
in a county, it is necessary to ascertain th e average acre in
quality and fertility . This average is the sum of crops from
various soils divided by the num ber of the soil categories [P a ra g raph 9?]
19. The average obtained as above is to serve as a basis for
determ ining the production and consumption stan d ard by which
all th e hom esteads will be equalized from th e surplus land fund.
N ote: In case the average, as indicated above, obtained a fte r
prelim inary calculations, proves insufficient fo r existence (see

24

Divisin 1, A rticle 12), it m ay be increased from the surplus

land fund.
20. F o r determ ining the am ount of land needed fo r additional d istribution am ong peasants, it is necessary to m ultiply
the num ber of acres of land to each w orking u n it in a county
by the sum of ag ric u ltu ral w orking u n its of th e given clim atic
section, and to su b trac t from the product the am ount of land
which th e w orking population have on hand.
21. F u rth e r, upon ascertain in g the num ber of acres of land
(in figures and percentage according to ch a racter) which the
surplus land fund has, and com paring th is figure w ith the quan
tity of land necessary fo r additional d istribution am ong peasan ts
who have not sufficient land, the follow ing is to be determ in ed :
is it possible to confine the em igration w ithin the boundaries of
the given clim atic section? I f so, it is necessary to determ ine
th e size of the surplus land fund and its capacity. I f it is not
possible to confine it w ithin the given clim atic section, ascertain
how m any fam ilies will have to em igrate to another section.
N ote: The m ain land departm ents of th e Soviet power m ust
be inform ed of the q u an tity of surplus land, as well as of a lack
of th e sam e; and the location, am ount, and kind of unoccupied
lands m ust be indicated.
22. W hen additional distribution takes place, it is necessary to
know the exact am ount and quality of land which the p easan ts
have, th e num ber of cattle on hand, the num ber of members of
the fam ilies, etc.
23. W hen additional d istribution takes place in accordance
w ith the production and consumption sta n d ard , th is stan d ard
m ust be raised in the following cases:
(1) W hen the w orking stre n g th of a fam ily is overtaxed by
the num ber of incapacitated m em bers; (2) when the land which
the fam ily has on hand is not sufficiently fertile ; (3) in accord
ance w ith the quality of such land of th e surplus fund as is
given to the p ea sa n t (the same applies to m eadow s).
25.
W hen an additional apportionm ent of land takes place
and th e given d istric t lacks certain advantages, the p easan t gets
a certain am ount of land possessing o ther advantages.
D IV ISIO N V.
Standard fo r the U tilization of L and fo r Construction, A g r i
cultural, and Educational Purposes, etc.
A rticle 2G. When land is apportioned fo r educational and in
dustrial purposes and also for the erection of d w ellings, for
25

cattle breeding, and other ag ric u ltu ral needs (w ith the exception
of field cultiv atio n ), the q u an tity of land to be apportioned
shall be determ ined by the local Soviets in accordance w ith th e
needs of th e individuis or organizations which ask perm ission
to use th e land.

DIVISION VI.
E m igration.
A rticle 27. In case the surplus land fund in the given sec
tion proves to be insufficient fo r additional distribution am ong
peasants, the surplus of the population m ay be tra n sfe rrc d to
another section w here th ere is suficient surplus land.
A rticle 28. T ra n sfe r from one section to an o th er is to take
place only a fte r the peasants of the la tte r section a re all distributed.
A rticle 29. The em igration from one section to another, as
well as th e distribution of the in h a b ita n ts w ithin the section,
m ust be carried on as follow s: a t first those who a re fu rth e st
aw ay from th e surplus fund are to em igrate, so th a t
(a) th e land of the surplus fund is used first of all by the
p easan ts of th a t village or ham let in the vicinity of which the
surplus land fund lies.
N ote: I f th ere are several such villages, preference is given
to those th a t tilled the land before.
(b) th e second place is given to the p easants of th e Volost
w ithin the boundaries of which the surplus land lies.
(c) th e th ird place is given to th e peasan ts of the county
w ithin the boundaries of which the surplus land lies.
(d) finally, if the given system of field cultivation covers
several provinces, the p easants of the province w ithin the boun
daries of which the surplus land lies receive additional land.
A rticle 30. The em igration accordingly ru n s in th e following
o rd er: (a) volunteers a re the first to em ig rate; (b) second,
those organizations which suffer m ost from lack of lan d ; (c)
a g ric u ltu ral associations, communities, la rg e fam ilies, and small
fam ilies which have sm all am ounts of land.
A rticle 31. The apportionm ent of land am ong ag ric u ltu rists
who have to em igrate is to be carried on as follow s: in the first
place, sm all fam ilies suffering from lack of lan d ; second, larg e
fam ilies suffering from lack of lan d ; th ird , other fam ilies suffer
ing from lack of land; fourth, a g ric u ltu ral associations; and,
finally, communities.
.
A rticle 32. The tra n s fe r of peasants from one section to
2G

an o th er is to be done w ith consideration, so th a t the new place

shall give the p ea sa n t a chance to cultivate land successfully
and the clim atic conditions shall be analogous to those of his
previous domicile. In th a t case it is necessary to take into con
sideration th e customs and n atio n ality of the em igrants.
A rticle 33. The cost of tra n s fe rrin g peasan ts to new places
is to be provided fey the state.
A rticle 34. In connection w ith the tra n sfe r, the sta te is to
hclp the p easants in the building of homes, roads, drains, and
wells, in obtaining ag ric u ltu ra l m achinery and artificial fe rtilizers, by creatin g artificial w ate r system s (when n ecessary ),
and by erecting educational centres.
N ote: F o r the purpose of expediting the establishm ent of
ag ric u ltu ra l w ork on a socialistic basis, the sta te offers to extend to the em igrants every aid necessary fo r a system atic and
scientific m anagem ent of collective hom esteads.

D IV ISIO N VIL
F orm of U tilization o f Land.
A rticle 35. The R ussian F ederated Soviet Republic, for the
purpose of atta in in g socialism, offers to extend aid (cu ltu ral
and m a terial) to the general tilling of land, giving preference
to the com m unistic and cooperativo hom esteads over individual
ones.

A rticle 36. Lands of cooperativo and individual hom esteads

m ust, if possible, be in the same location.

D IV ISIO N V III.
Obtaining R ig h ts to the Use o f Land.
A rticle 37.

Land may be obtained:

(a) F o r educational purposes.
1. Social usefulness.
(b) F o r a g ric u ltu ral purposes.
1. P ersonal labor.
(c) F o r building purposes.
1. Social buildings.
2. Dwellings.
3. The necessity of conducting a w orking homestead.
(d) F o r the purpose of constructing w ays of com munication.
1. Public necessity.
27

D IV ISIO N IX.
The Order in W hich the R ig h t to Use the L and M ay be Obtained.
A r ticle 38. A n a p p lica tio n m u st be filed w ith th e lan d de-

p a r tm en t o f th e S o v ie t p o w er in w h o se ju r isd ictio n th e d esired

lan d lie s.
A rticle 39. The application shows the order in which the per-

mission to use the land is granted. The perm ission is g ran ted
on th e basis of th e general provisions of th is decree.
N ote: The application should contain th e follow ing inform ation, in addition to th e fu ll am e and address of the person who
desires to use th e la n d : form er occupation, the purpose fo r which
land is desired, th e inventory on hand, th e location of th e de
sired plot and its size.
N ote: I f th e land d epartm ent of the Volostnoi Soviet refuses
to g ra n t the perm ission to use land, the question m ay be brought
(w ithin one week) to th e notice of th e land d epartm en t of th e
county S oviet; if the county Soviet refuses, it m ay be presented
to th e land departm ent of th e provincial Soviet w ithin two
weeks.
.
N ote: The rig h t to use land (sub-surface deposits, w aters,
forests, and fundam ental n a tu ra l resources) cannot be obtained
under an y circum stances through purchase, rental, inheritance,
or any o ther prv ate transaction.
D IV ISIO N X.
A rticle 40. The rig h t to use the land becomes effective in

th e follow ing order.

A rticle 41. The rig h t to use land fo r construction purposes
becomes effective upon actual occupation of the plot or upon
p rep aratio n s fo r its occupation, b u t not la te r than th ree m onths
a fte r the receipt of perm ission from the local Soviet.
N ote: By actual prep aratio n s is m eant the delivery of building m a terials to the place of destination or the ciosing of a
contract w ith w orkers.
A rticle 42. The rig h t to use land fo r ag ric u ltu ra l purposes
(on th e basis of personal labor) becomes effective upon beginning th e w ork a t the opening of the n ex t ag ric u ltu ral season.
A rticle 43. The rig h t to use the land fo r field cultivation
becomes effective upon the actual beginning of field w ork (w ith
out hired help) a t the opening of the ag ric u ltu ra l season n ext
a fte r th e receipt of a perm it from the local Soviet.
N ote: Buildings m ay be erected on plots of land th a t m ay be
tilled only by special perm ission of the land d epartm en t of the
Soviet Government.
A rticle 44. In case of actual inability to use the plot in the
period of tim e allowed by the land departm ent, the la tte r m ay
28

extend th is period if th e re is valid cause, i. e., the illness of the

w orking hands, trouble b rought about by epidemics, etc.
D IV ISIO N XI.
T ra n sfe r of R ig h t to Use Given P lots of Land.
A rticle 45. The r ig h t to use the land is not tran sfe ra b le.
A rticle 46. The rig h t to use land m ay be obtained by anyone
on the basis of this decree, and it cannot be tra n sfe rre d from
one person to another.
D IV ISIO N X II.
T em porary Cancellation o f the R ig h t to Use the Land.
A rticle 47. A ny land-borrow ers rig h t to use the plot of land
m ay be suspended fo r a certain length of tim e, w itho u t cancelling it entirely.
A rticle 48. A ny land-borrow er m ay cease utilizing the land
a t a certain tim e and still have the rig h t to it (a) if n a tu ra l
calam ities (floods, etc.) deprive him of th e possibility; (b) if
the ag ric u ltu rist is tem porarily ill; (c) if th e a g ric u ltu rist is
called to do some governm ent d u ty ; or fo r other cause valid
from th e social point of view. He m ay hold it until such tim e
as conditions a re favorable fo r th e utilization of his plot.
N ote: T he period of such tem porary cessation is to be determined in each case by the land dep artm en t of th e local Soviet.
A rticle 49. Upon every tem p o rary cessation of the use of
the land (as indicated in A rticle 48), th e local Soviet eith er
organizes com m unity help to the ag ric u ltu rist or calis upon the
w orkers, paid by the sta te and subject to th e general regulations
of w o rk ers control, to do the w ork of th e afflicted a g ric u ltu rist
(tem p o rary incapacity, death, etc.), so as to save his pro p erty
and proceed w ith production.
D IV ISIO N X III.
* Cessation of the R ig h t to Use the Land.
A rticle 50. The rig h t to use the land m ay cease fo r an entire

ag ric u ltu ra l unit, or fo r individual m em bers of the same.

A rticle 51. The rig h t of the given individual to use th e land
m ay cease fo r the whole plot or for a p a r t of it.
A rticle 52. The rig h t is cancelled (a) if the organization,
or th e purpose fo r which it had taken land, is declared void;
(b) if units, associations, com munities, etc., d isin teg rate; (c) if
the individual finds it impossible to cultvate th e field or do
other ag ric u ltu ra l work, and if a t the same tim e the individual
29

has other m eans of subsistence (fo r instance, a pensin paid to

the in c a p a c ita te d ); (d) upon the death of th e individual, or
w hen his civil righ ts are cancelled by the court.
A rticle 53. The righ t to use a plot o f land ceases (a ) in case
o f a form al refu sal to use the plot; (b) in case o f obvious unw illin gn ess to use the plot, although no form al refu sa l h as been
filed; (c) in case the land is used for illeg a l purposes ( e. g.,
throw ing g a r b a g e ); (d) in case the land is exploited by illegal
m eans (e. g., hirin g land secretly) ; (e) in case the u se o f the
land by a given individual brings in ju ry to h is neighbor (e. g.,
m anufacture o f chem icals).

N ote: The land-borrow er, upon cessation of his rig h t to the

use of th e land, has the rig h t to dem and from the respective
land d ep artm ents of the Soviets a fee fo r the unused im prove-'
m ents and labor invested in the land, if the given plot did not
b rin g him sufficient profit.
C hairm an of th e A ll-R ussian C entral Executive
C om m ittee:
S verdlov.

M embers of the E xecutive Body:

S piridonova, M ouranov , Zinoveiv, Ou stinov , K amkov , L ander , S koulov,

VOLODARSKY, PETERSON, N a TANSON-BOBROV.

S ecretaries of the C entral Executive Com mittees:

A vanessov , S m oliansky .

. C hairm an of the Soviet of Peoples C om m issaries:

V. Oulianov (L e n i n e ).
'
Peoples Com missar of A g ricu ltu re:
A. K oleguev.

Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples

of Russia
'T 'H E October revolution of the workm en and peasants began
A under the common banner of em ancipation.
The peasants a re being em ancipated from the power of th e
landow ners, fo r th ere is no longer the landow ners p ro p erty
r ig h t in the land it has been abolished.
The soldiers and
sailors a re being em ancipated from the power of au to cratic
generis, fo r generis will henceforth be elective and subject to
30

recall. The workingm en are being em ancipated from the whims

and a rb itra ry will of the capitalists, fo r henceforth th ere will
be established the control of the w orkers over milis and fae
to n es. E verything living and capable of life is being em anci
pated from the h atefu l shackles.
T here rem ain only the peoples of R ussia, who have suffered
and are suffering oppression and a rb itra rin e ss, and whose em ancipation m u st im m ediately be begun, whose liberation m ust be
effected resolutely and definitively.
D uring the period of Czarism the peoples of R ussia w ere system atically incited ag a in st one another. The results of such a
policy a re know n: m assacres and pogrom s on the one hand,
slavery of peoples on the other.
T here can be and th e re m ust be no re tu rn to th is disgraceful
policy of instigation. H enceforth the policy of a v oluntary and
honest unin of the peoples of R ussia m u st be substituted.
In the period of im perialism , a fte r the F e b ru a ry revolution,
when the power w as tra n sfe rre d to the hands of the Cadet
bourgeoisie, the naked policy of instigation gave w ay to one of
cow ardly d istru st of the peoples of R ussia, to a policy of fau ltfinding and provocation, of freedom and equ ality of peoples.
The resu lts of such a policy a re know n: the grow th of national
enm ity, th e im pairm ent of m utual tru st.
And end m ust be p u t to this unw orthy policy of falsehood and
d istru st, of fault-finding and provocation. H enceforth it m ust
be replaced by an open and honest policy which leads to complete
m utual tr u s t of th e people of Russia. Only as th e resu lt of
such a tr u s t can there be form ed an honest and la stin g unin
of the peoples of Russia. Only as the re su lt of such a unin
can the workm en and p easants of the peoples of R ussia be
cemented into one revolutionary forc able to resist all attem p ts
on th e p a r t of the im perialist-annexationist bourgeoisie.
S ta rtin g w ith these assum ptions, the first Congress of Soviets,
in Ju n e of th is year, proclaim ed the r ig h t of the peoples of
R ussia to free self-determ ination.
The second Congress of Soviets, in October of th is year, reaffirmed this inalienable rig h t of the peoples of R ussia more
decisively and definitively.
The united will of these Congresses, th e Council of th e Peo
ples Com missaries, resolved to base th e ir action reg ard in g the
question of the nationalities of R ussia upon the following p rin
cipies :
31

1. The equality and sovereignty of the peoples of Russia.

2. The rig h t of the peoples of R ussia to free self-determ ination, even to the point of separation and the form ation of an
independent state.
3. The abolition of any and all n ational and national-religious privileges and disabilities.
4. The fre e development of national m inorities and ethnographic groups inhabiting the te rrito ry of Russia.
The specific decrees which are to follow will be fram ed immediately upon the form ation of a commission fo r the affairs of
nationalities.
In the am e of the R ussian Republic, Peoples Comm isar fo r A ffairs of N ationalities:
J o se p h D ju g a s h v il i -S t a l in e
P resident of the Council of the Peoples C om m issars:
V . O u l ia n o v (L e n i n )

Declaration of the Rights of the Laboring

and Exploited People

HE form of the following declaration is explained by

the fact that it was prepared for submission to the Constituent Assembly, which, however, broke up without acting
upon it.
H E C entral Executive Committee proclaim s the following
basie principies.
I.
The C onstituent Assembly resolves:
1. R ussia is declared to be a Republic of Soviets of Woi'kmens, Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts Deputies. All the power in the
centre and in th e provinces belongs to these Soviets.
2. The R ussian Soviet Republic is form ed on the basis of a
free unin of free nations, as a federation of national Soviet
republics.
II.
T aking as its fundam ental ta sk the abolition of any exploitation of man by men, the complete elim ination of the divisin of
society into classes, the ru thless suppression of exploiters, the
32

establishm ent of a socialistic organization of society, and the

victory of socialism in all countries, the C onstituent Assembly
resolves, fu rth e r:
1. To effect the socialization of the land, prv ate ow nership
of land is abolished, and the whole land fund is declared common national property and tra n sfe rre d to the laborers w ithout
com pensation, on the basis of equalized use of the soil.
All forests, m inerals, and w aters of state-w ide im portance, as
well as the whole inventory of anim ate and inanim ate objects,
all estates and ag ric u ltu ral enterprises, are declared natio n al
property.
2. The Soviet law of labor control and the Suprem e Board of
N ational Economy are confirmed, w ith a view to securing the
au th o rity of the toilers over the exploiters, as the first step to
the complete tra n s fe r of all factories, milis, mines, railw ays, and
other m eans of production and tran sp o rta tio n to the ow nership
of the W orkm ens and P e a sa n ts Soviet1Republic.
3. The tra n s fe r of all banks to the ow nership of the W ork
e rs and P e a sa n ts sta te is confirmed, th is being one of the conditions of the em ancipation of the laboring m asses from the
yoke of capital.
4. W ith a view to the destruction of the p ara sitic classes of
society and the organization of the national economy, universal
labor service is established.
5. In the in te re st of securing all the power fo r the laboring
m asses and the elim ination of any possibility of the restablishment of the power of the exploiters, the arm ing of the toilers,
the form ation of a socialistic red arm y of w orkm en and peasajits, and the complete disarm am ent of the w ealthy classes are
decreed.
III.
1.
E xpressing its inflexible determ ination to w rest hum anity
from th e talons of financial capital and im perialism , which have
drenched th e e a rth w ith blood in this m ost crim inal of w ars,
the C onstituent Assembly subscribes unanim ously to the policy
of ab ro g ating secret trea tie s which has been adopted by the
Soviet Government, the organization of the w idest fra tern iz ation w ith the workmen and peasants of the arm ies now w arrin g
ag ain st each other, and the securing, a t any cost and by revolu tionary m easures, of a dem ocratic peace w ithout annexations
and indem nities, on the basis of free self-determ ination of
peoples.
'
33

2.
F o r these same purposes the C onstituent Assembly insists
upon a complete break w ith the barbarous policy of bourgeois
civilization, which built th e pro sp erity of th e exploiters among
th e few chosen nations upon th e enslavem ent of hundreds of
m illions of the laboring population in A sia, in the colonies in
g eneral, and in the sm all countries.
The C onstituent Assembly welcomes the policy of the Council
of th e Peoples Com missaries which has proclaimed the com
plete independence of Finland, which has begun the removal of
th e troops from P ersia, and which has declared the freedom of
self-determ ination of A rm enia.
T he C onstituent Assembly views the Soviet law of the repudiation of the loans contracted by the Government of the Czar,
th e landow ners, and bourgeoisie, as the first blow to in te rn a
tional banking, finance, and capital, and expresses its confidence
th a t th e Soviet au th o rity will continu to pursue th a t course
u n til the complete victory of the risin g of internatio n al labor
a g a in st the yoke of capital is attained.
IV.
H aving been elected on the basis of p a rty lists made up be
fo re th e October revolution, when the people could not yet rise
en m asse ag a in st the exgloiters and did not know the stren g th
of th e opposition when the la tte r defends its class privileges,
and when the people had not yet practically und ertak en the
creation of a socialistic society, the C onstituent Assembly would
deem it radically w rong, even from a form al point of view, to
set itself in opposition to the Soviets.
In substance, the C onstituent Assembly considers th a t now,
a t th e moment of the decisive b attle of the people w ith th e ir
exploiters, th ere can be no place fo r th e la tte r in any of the
o rgans of governm ent. The power m ust belong wholly and exclusively to the toiling m asses and th e ir plenipotentiaries, the
Soviets of W orkm ens Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts Delegates.
S upporting th e Soviet Governm ent and the decrees of the
Council of the Peoples Commissaries, the C onstituent Assembly
recognizes th a t its tasks are completed when it has fram ed a
general statem en t of the fundam ental bases of a socialistic reconstruction of society.
A t th e same tim e, aim ing a t the creation of a really free and
v o lu ntary and, consequently, a more complete and lastin g unin
of th e laboring classes of all the nations of Russia, the Con
stitu e n t Assembly confines itself to the establishm ent of the
34

fundam ental principies of federation of th e Soviet Republic of

Russia, leaving it to the workmen and p easants of each nation
to decide indepcndently, a t th e ir own rep resen tativ e Soviet Con
gress, w hether they wish to p articp ate in the F ederal Govern
ment and in the other Soviet institutions, and on w h at basis. . . .

Abolition of Classes and Civil Ranks

1. All classes and class divisions of citizens, class privileges
and disabilities, class organizations and in stitu tio n s which have
un til now existed in Russia, as well as all civil ran k s, are
abolished.
2. All designations (as m erchant, nobleman, burgher, p eas
ant, etc.), titles (as Prince, Count, etc.), and distinctions of
civil ran k s (P rivy, S tate, and other C ouncillors), are abolished,
and one common designation is established fo r all the popula
tion of R ussiacitizen of the R ussian Republic.
3. The properties of the noblemens class institutions are
hereby tra n sfe rre d to corresponding Zemstvo self-governing
bodies.
4. The properties of m erch an ts and b u rg h e rs associations
a re hereby placed a t the disposal of corresponding m unicipal
bodies.
5. All class institutions, transactions, and archives are here
by tra n sfe rre d to th e jurisdiction of corresponding m unicipal
and Zemstvo bodies.
6. All corresponding clauses of the laws w hich have existed
until now a re abolished.
7. This decree becomes effective from th e day of its publication, and is to be im m ediately pu t into effect by the local
Soviets of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts Deputies.
P resid en t of the C entral E xecutive Com mittee:
Y a . S verdlov
P resid en t of the Council of Peoples Com m issars:
V l . O u l ia n o v (L e n i n )
D irector of the A ffairs of the Council of Peoples
C om m issars:
B o n c h -B r u y e v ic h
S ecretary to the Council:
N . G orbounov
N ovem ber 10, 1917
'
35

Church and State

1. The church is separated from th e stae.
2. W ithin the lim its of the Republic, it is prohibited to pass
any local laws or regulations which would re stric t or lim it the
freedom of conscience or establish any kind of privileges or
advantages on the ground of the religious affiliations of citizens.
3. E very citizen m ay profess any religin or none a t all.
A ny legal disabilities connected w ith the profession of any re
ligin or none are abolished.
.
N ote: From all official acts any indication of the religious
affiliation or non-affiliation of citizens is to be omitted.
4. The proceedings of sta te and other public legal in s titu
tions a re not to be accompanied by any religious customs or
ceremonies.
5. The free observance of religious customs is g u aran teed
in so f a r as the sam e do not disturb the public order and are
not accom panied by attem p ts upon the rig h ts of the citizens of
the Soviet Republic. The local auth o rities have the rig h t to
take all necessary m easures fo r the preservation, in such cases,
of public order and security.
6. No one m ay decline to perform his civil duties, giving as
a reason his religious views. Exem ptions from this law, conditioned upon the substitution of one civil duty fo r another, are
p erm itted by decisin of the peoples court in each individual
case.
7. Religious or judicial oaths are abolished. In necessary
cases a solemn prom ise only is given.
8. A cts of a civil n a tu re are perform ed exclusively by civil
au thorities, such as the departm ents of reg istra tio n of m arriag es and births.
9. The school is separated from the church. The teaching
of religious doctrines in all sta te and public, as well as in p r
vate, educational institutions in which general subjects are
ta u g h t, is forbidden. Citizens m ay teach and study religin
privately.
10. All church and religious societies are subject to th e gen
eral regulations governing prv ate associations and unions, and
do not enjoy any privileges or subsidies either from the sta te
or from its local autonomous and self-governing institutions.
11. Compulsory collection of paym ents and assessm ents for
the benefit of church or religious societies, or as a m eans of
compulsin or punishm ent of th e ir co-members on the p a r t of
these societies, is not allowed.
36

12. No church or religious society has the rig h t to own

property. They have no rig h ts of a ju rid ic al person.
13. All the properties of the existing church and religious
societies in Russia are declared national property. Buildings
and articles specially designated for religious services are, by
special decisions of the local or central sta te authorities, given
fo r the free use of corresponding religious societies.
P resident of the Council of the Peoples Com m issars:
O u l ia n o v (L e n i n )
Com m issars:
P o dv o isk y , A lg asso v , T r u t o v sk y , S h l ik h t e r ,
P r o s h ia n , M e n z h i n s k y , S h l ia p n ik o v ,
P etro vsk y
D irector of the A ffairs of the G overnm ent:
B o n c h -B r u y e v ic h
S ecretary to the Council of the Peoples Com m issars:
G orbounov

Supreme Board of National Economy

1. The Suprem e Board of N ational Economy is established
under the Council of the Peoples Com missaries.
2. The task of the Suprem e Board of N ational Economy is
th e organization of the pational economy and state finances.
F o r th a t purpose the Suprem e 'B oard of N ational Economy
elaborates general stan d ard s and a plan fo r the regulation of
the economic life of the country, cordinates and unifies the
activity of the central and local reg u la tin g institutions (fuel
board, m etal board, tra n sp o rt board, central supplies committee,
etc., and the respective Peoples Com m issaries of commerce and
industry, supplies, agriculture, finance, w ar and navy, etc.)
of th e A ll-R ussian Board of W orkm ens Control, and also of the
corresponding activities of facto ry and trad e organizations of
the w orking class.
3. The Suprem e Board of N ational Economy is given the
rig h t of confiscation, requisition, sequestration, and compulsory
syndication of various branches of in d u stry and commerce, and
other m easures in the domain of production, distribution, and
sta te finance.
4. All existing institutio ns fo r the regulation of the national
economy a re subordinated to the Suprem e Board of N ational
Economy, which is given the rig h t to reform them.
5. The Suprem e Board of N ational Economy is formed (a)37

of th e A ll-R ussian Board of W orkm ens Control, whose personnel is determ ined by the decree of November 14, 1917; (b)
of rep resentatives of all the Peoples Com m issaries; (c) of
learned persons, who are invited and have a Consulting voice.
6. The Suprem e Board of N ational Economy is divided into
sections and departm ents (as fuel, m etal, demobilization, finance,
etc.), and th e num ber and the sphere of activity of these sec
tions and departm ents are determ ined by th e entire Board.
7. The departm ents of the Suprem e B oard of N ational Econ
omy conduct the w ork of reg u la tin g th e sep arate branches of
n atio n al economic life, and also p rep a re th e m easures of the
respective Peoples Commissaries.
8. The Suprem e Board of N ational Economy form s out of
its m em bership a bureau of fifteen persons, fo r the coordination
of the cu rren t w ork of the sections and departm ents and th e p er
form ance of tasks which dem and im m ediate attention.
9. All projects of law and la rg e m easures which have reference to th e regulation of the n ational economy in its en tirety
a re subm itted to the Council of the Peoples Commissaries
thro u g h th e Suprem e Board of N ational Economy.
10. T he Suprem e Board of N ational Economy unifies and
directs th e Soviets of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts Depu
ties, which include the local organs of w orkm ens control, and
also th e local com m issaries of labor, commerce and industry,
supplies, etc.
In the absence of corresponding economic
branches, the Suprem e Board of N ational Economy form s local
organs.
All decisions of the Suprem e Board of N ational Economy are
binding upon the economic departm ents of the local Soviets,
which constitute the local organs of th e Suprem e Board of
N ational Economy.
P resident of the C entral E xecutive Committee:
Y a S verdlov
P resident of the Council of Peoples Com m issars:
V l . O u l ia n o v (L e n i n )
Peoples C om m issars:
L . T r o t sk y , L. S t a s h i n , N. A vilov (N.
G l yebo v ) .
D irector of the A ffairs of the Council of Peoples
C om m issars:
B o n c h -B r u y e v ic h
S e c re ta ry :

N. G orbounov
38

Nationalization of Banks
In the in te rest of the reg u la r organization of the national
economy, of the thorough eradication of bank speculation, and
the complete em ancipation of the workm en, peasants, and the
whole laboring population from the exploitation of banking
capital, and w ith a view to the establishm ent of a single national
bank of the R ussian Republic which shall serve the real interests
of the people and the poorer classes, the C entral Executive
Committee resolves:
1. The banking business is declared a sta te monopoly.
2. All existing p rv ate joint-stock banks and banking offices
are m erged in the sta te bank.
3. The assets and liabilities of the liquidated establishm ents
are taken over by the sta te bank.
4. The order of the m erger of p rivate banks in the sta te
bank is to be determ ined by a special decree.
5. The tem porary ad m in istra ro n of the affairs of the p ri
vate banks is entrusted to the board of the sta te bank.
6. The in terests of the small depositors will be safeguarded.
December 14, 1917.

Regional and Local Boards of National

Economy
1. F o r the purpose of the organization and regulation of the
en tire economic life of every in d u stria l regin, in conform ity
w ith general sta te and local interests, under the regional and
local Soviets of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts D eputies,
th ere are organized regional Boards of N ational Economy, as
local in stitutions fo r the organization and the regulation of
production, directed by the Suprem e Board of N ational Economy
and acting under the general control of the respective Soviet
of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts Deputies.
2. The Regional Board of N ational Economy is form ed (a)
of the collegia elected a t the jo in t conferences of produceis
trad e unions and factory committees (m ining, commercial, in
d u strial, tra n sp o rt, etc.), and also a t conferences of land com
m ittees called by the Soviets of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and P eas
a n ts D eputies; (b) of representatives of Soviets of W orkm ens,
Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts D eputies nd dem ocratic cooperative
39

societies; (c) of representatives of the technical, adm inistrative,

and commercial m anagem ent of enterprises v'num bering not
more th a n one-third of the entire m em bership of th e bo ard ). . . .
R epresentatives of departm ents p articip a te in the deliberations of the Regional Board of N ational Economy and have a
Consulting voice.
3. The Regional Board of N ational Economy is divided into
sections, according to the branches of economic life: (1) state
economy and banks, (2) fuel, (3) m etal m anufacture, (4) textile m anufacture, (5) cotton m anufacture, (6) wood, (7) m in
eral substances, (8) anim al products, (9) food products, (10)
chemical products, (11) construction works, (12) tra n sp o rt, (13)
ag ricu ltu re, (14) supplies and consum ption, or other sections
which the Regional Board of N ational Economy, owing to local
circum stances, m ay find necessary.
Each section which takes charge of any branch of production
is divided into four m ain dep artm en ts: (1) o rganizatio n : (a)
m anagem ent, (b) financing, and (c) technical organization of
en terp rises; (2) supply and distribution; (3) labor; (4) statistical. Sim ilar departm ents of the sections, by m eeting jointly, form conferences (1) on organization, (2) on supplies and
distribution, (3) on labor questions, (4) on statistics. They
m ain tain perm anent business bureaus.
The Board of N ational Economy form s also other inter-sectional conferences, as on demobilization, etc.
4. The Regional Board of N ational Economy elects an execu
tive committee which directs all the activity of the Board, its
departm ents, sections, and bureaus.
The Regional Board of N ational Economy elects a presidium
which constitutes the presidium of the executive committee and
of th e sep arate committees of the Regional Board of N ational
Economy.
5. The Regional Board of N ational Economy has jurisdiction
over th e following m a tte rs:
(a) The consideration and solution of questions of principie
and those common to the whole regin; the unification and
direction of the activities of the lower organs of w orkm ens
control in the regin, the regulation of th e ir m utual relations,
the composition and elaboration of detailed instructions fo r them
reg a rd in g various questions of control.
(b) The direction, under the supervisin of the Suprem e
Board of N ational Economy, of the m anagem ent of p riv ate en
te rp rises which have become the pro p erty of the Republic.
40

(c) The investigation of conflicts not settled by the local

organs.
(d) The investigation of all the needs of the regin as to
fuel, raw m aterial, m eans of production, labor forc, tra n sp o r
ta ro n , facilities, supplies, and, in general, articles of prim e
necessity.
(e) The accounting of raw m aterial, unfinished products,
goods, labor forces, implements, and other articles of production.
(f) The tak in g of m easures for the satisfactio n of the w ants
and economic needs of the population, ru ra l economy, etc.
(g) The establishm ent of regulations and plans fo r the dis
trib u tio n of general sta te supplies in the regin.
(h) The form ation of plans fo r the distribution of orders
am ong the enterprises.
(i) The regulation of tra n sp o rt in the regin.
(j) The establishm ent of stric t supervisin over the en tire
economic life of the regin w ith reg ard to organization, finances,
etc.
(k) The ta k in g of m easures fo r the m ost complete u tiliza
r o n of the productive forces of the regin, in the industries as
well as in ru ra l economy.
(1)
The establishm ent of bases of d istribution of the labor
forces, m aterials, fuel, m eans of production, goods, supplies, etc.
(m) The tak in g of m easures for the im provem ent of the sanita ry and hygienic conditions of labor.
6. All reg u la tin g in stitu tions of local significance come under
the jurisdiction of the respective Regional Boards of N ational
Economy, and all employees, together w ith the technical and
ad m in istrative ap p a ratu s, are placed a t the disposal of the
Regional Board of N ational Economy.
7. All decisions of the Regional Board of N ational Economy
have a com pulsory character, and m ust be carried out by all
local in stitutions and also by the directorates of enterprises.
The decisions of the Regional Board of N ational Economy
may be suspended and vacated only by the Suprem e Board of
N ational Economy.
8. The lim its of the economic regions a re fixed by a congress
of Regional Boards of N ational Economy and, until its meeting,
by the Suprem e Board of N ational Economy.
9. All Regional Boards of N ational Economy m ust, immediately upon form ation, enter into business connection w ith the
Suprem e Board of N ational Economy, obeying its directions
upon questions affecting general sta te interests.
41

10.
The form ation of Boards of N ational Economy of sm aller
regions (provincial, d istrict, etc.), modelled a f te r the organiza
tion of Regional Boards of N ational Economy, is le ft to the initiativ e of provincial Soviets of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and P eas
a n ts D eputies. The establishm ent of the sphere of th e ir activity
and th e ir general direction and coordination devolve upon the
Regional Board of N ational Economy.
C hairm an of the Suprem e Board of N ational Economy:
V. O b o l e n s k y
(Passed a t the m eeting of the Suprem e Board of N ational
Economy on December 23, 1917.)

The Provincial Soviet Organization

'T 'H E scheme of the general sta tu te s of Soviets of W orkm ens,
Soldiers, P easant, and Cossack D eputies, as a rep rese n ta
tive organ, is no less necessary fo r th e obscure places in our
provinces th a n is the scheme of the departm ents and sub-dep artm en ts of the Soviets. . . .
T he sta tu te s of the Soviets m ay be divided into sections, as
follow s: (1) the purpose of the organization of Soviets; (2)
th e basis of represen tatio n ; (3) sections of the Soviet; (4)
elections of the presidium and executive com mittee of the S oviet;
(5) the functions of the presidium ; (6) the executive com mit
tee and its functions; (7) general sessions; (8) committees.
1. The purpose of th e organization of th e Soviet.
The Soviet of W orkm ens, Soldiers, P easant, and Cossack
D eputies is the sovereign sta te organ of revolutionary democracy, in addition to the organization of governm ental au th o rity
in th e provinces. The Soviet pursues the following objects:
(a) The organization of the larg e laboring m asses of w ork
men, p easants, soldiers, and Cossacks;
(b) The struggle ag ain st counter-revolutionary cu rren ts and
the strengthening of the Soviet Republic and all liberties gained
by the October revolution.
2. The basis and order of representation in the Soviets.
(a) A Soviet of W orkm ens, Soldiers, P easant, and Cossack
D eputies is constituted of one or two rep resentatives each of
all w orkm ens, soldiers, peasant, and Cossack organizations
(p arties, tra d e unions, committees, etc.) in the cities, villages,
and settlem ents.
(b) The peasants elect two rep resentatives from each town42

ship to the d istric t Soviet (a tow nship Soviet has one or two
rep resen tatives from each small town, village, or h a m le t).
(c) The Cossacks elect two representatives (or three) from
each village to the Regional Soviet of W orkm ens, Soldiers,
P easant, and Cossack D eputies, and one rep resentative each
from a fo repost [sm all settlem ent], ham let, or sm all town to the
village Soviet. (In Cossack te rrito rie s the peasan t rep rese n ta
cin in th e R egional Soviet is proportional, according to the
v illag e s).
(d) The workm en and all p ro letarian laboring m asses in cities
w here the urban p ro le ta ria t does not exceed 5,000 or 6,000 p er
sons have representation on the follow ing b asis: (1) E very
en terp rise em ploying 100 persons sends one representative. (2)
E n terp rises em ploying from 100 to 200 persons send tw o rep re
sen tativ es; from 200 to 300 persons, th re e representatives, etc.
(3) E n te rp rise s em ploying less th a n fifty persons combine, if
possible, w ith other sm all kindred enterprises and send a common rep resentative to the Soviet. Those unable to combine rnay
send th e ir representatives indcpendently.
(e) The soldiers of a local g arriso n (Cossacks, sailors) send
to the Soviet th e ir rep resentatives on th e following principie:
each company, squadron, command, etc., elects two rep rese n ta
tives to the Soviet; clerks, hospital atien d a n ts, horse reserves,
and other sm all units send one representative each.
Addenda to P a ra g ra p h 2. (1) E very m em ber newly elected to
the Soviet m ust presen t a certifcate from his constituents, which
is exam ined by the credentials com m ittee; (2) if a m em ber of
the Soviet deviates from the instructions of his constituents,
then the constituents have the rig h t to recall him and elect
another in his place; (3) each section (the w orkm ens, the sol
d iers, etc.) of the Soviet has the rig h t to include in its membership experienced and necessary w orkers by cooptation up to
one-fifth of its entire m em bership. Those added by cooptation
have the rig h t of a Consulting voice a t general sessions of the
Soviet in the com mittees and sections.
3. Sections of the Soviet: (a) a Soviet has four sections
peasant, w orkm ens, soldiers, and Cossack; (b) each section
elects from its m em bership a presidium consisting of a ch air
m an, two vice-chairm en, and two secretarles, which directs all
the business of the section; (c) the represen tatio n in the p re
sidium is proportional to the m em bership of this or th a t p a rty
group.
4. Election of the presidium and executive com m ittee: (a)
43

the members of the Soviet, in each section, elect a presidium ,

which is chosen a t a general m eeting by a universal, direct,
equal, and secret vote, in the proportion and num ber indicated
in P a ra g ra p h 3 (Sections of the Soviet) ; (b) the presidia of all
sections of the Soviet constitute the general presidium of the
Soviet, which elects from its m em bership a general chairm an
of all sections, two vice-chairmen, and two secretarles; (c) besides th e presidium , the general assem bly of the Soviet elects
from its m em bership an executive committee, proportionate to
the m em bership of each p a rty group (not section), so arran g ed
th a t the m em bership of the executive com mittee shall not exceed
one-fourth of the en tire m em bership of th e Soviet; (d) the
m em bers of th e presidium form a p a r t of th e m em bership of
th e E xecutive Committee on an equal basis w ith the other mem
bers.
5. The functions of the presidium : (a) the presidium is the
directing organ of the entire Soviet and decides independently
all m a tte rs which cannot suffer delay; (b) the presidium meets
not less th an four tim es a week; (c) the presidium renders an
account of its activity to th e executive com mittee and to the
en tire Soviet, who have th e rig h t to recall it and to replace
it a t any tim e or period; (d) the presidium m ust in its activity
abide stric tly by the instructions of the executive committee and
the general assembly.
6. The executive committee and its functions: (a) the ex
ecutive committee of the Soviet is an organ formed out of the
m em bership of the Soviet (P a ra g ra p h 4). The president, or
one of the vice-presidents of the Soviet, is the chairm an of the
executive com mittee (P a ra g ra p h 4) ; (b) all c u rre n t business
of th e Soviet is decided and carried on by the executive com
m ittee, and only m a tte rs of p a rtic u la r im portance a re subm itted
to the decisin of the general assem bly of the Soviet; (c) ques
tions considered by th e executive com mittee are passed or rejected by a relative m a jo rity of votes; on questions of ex trao rd in ary im portance a m inority rep o rt is received, entered upon
th e records, and reported to the general assem bly; (d) ques
tions a re decided by an open vote, and only in m a tte rs of extra o rd in a ry im portance, a t the request of members of the exec
utive committee, by a secret ballot; (e) a session of th e execur
tive com mittee is considered legal when not less th a n one-half
of its m em bership is presen t: (f) m em bers of the executive
com mittee who fo r one reason or another cannot atten d a ses
sion of the executive committee, m ust n o tify the member of the
44

executive com mittee on duty to th a t effect n o t la te r th a n h a lf

an hour before the opening of the session; (g) m em bers of the
executive committee who have been absent from th ree sessions
w ithout sufficient reason are deprived of th e rig h t to vote a t
two sessions, and the presidium notifies th e ir constituents reg ard in g the case; (h) the executive com m ittee m eets once a .
week (irrespective of special sessions) ; (i) special sessions, to
consider questions of ex tra o rd in ary im portance, are called by
th e ch airm an or the vice-chairm en or by th ree m em bers of the
executive com m ittee; (j) members of the executive committee
m ust be notified of a special session by a summons not la te r
th an two hours before the opening of the session; (k) a special
session is legal w ith any num ber of m em bers p rese n t; (1) the
sessions of the executive com m ittee m ay be open or executive;
(m) m em bers of the executive com mittee are on duty in the
reception rooms of the Soviet, one from each section, by tu rn s.
7. G eneral sessions: (a) general sessions of th e Soviets are
called by the presidium w henever necessity arises, b u t not less
th a n twice a m onth; (b) general sessions m ay be regarded as
legal when h alf of the entire m em bership of the Soviet is p res
en t; special sessions, when any num ber are p rese n t; (c) all
questions subm itted fo r the consideration of the general assembly m ust first be passed upon either by the executive committee
or by the presidium ; (d) a general session m ay be called also a t
the request of one-fifth of the m em bership of the Soviet; (e) admission to th e sessions of th e Soviet is by ticket only; (f) the
sessions m ay be open or executive by decisin of the presidium
or of the assem bly itself.
'
8. C om m ittees: (a) committees a re elected in each case by
th e general assembly, by the executive committee, or by the
presidium ; (b) the m em bership of a com mittee is determ m ed
by the assem bly; (c) the chairm an of each com mittee m akes a
rep o rt about the w ork of the com mittee to the general assembly
of the Soviet, th e executive committee, and the presidium ;
(d) au d iting committees, control com mittees, etc., fo r the exam ination of the Soviet affairs, are selected only by the general
assembly of the Soviet; (e) each com mittee has the r ig h t of
independent cooptation of learned persons w ith the privilege
of a Consulting voice.
.
Iv. [V l .?] O u l ia n o v [L e n in e ]

45

The Rights and Duties of Soviets

1. Soviets of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts Deputies,
being local organs, a re quite independent in reg ard to questions
of a local character, but alw ays ac t in accord w ith th e decrees
of th e central Soviet G overnm ent as well as of the la rg e r bodies
(d istrict, provincial, and regional Soviets) of which they form
a p art.
2. Upon the Soviets, as organs of governm ent, devolve the
task s of adm inistration and service in all departm ents of local
lifead m inistrative, econoYnic, financial, and educational.
3. U nder adm inistration, the Soviets c a rry out all decrees and
decisions of the central Government, ta k e m easures fo r giving
the people the w idest inform ation about those decisions, issue
obligatory ordinances, make requisitions and confiscations, im
pose fines, suppress counter-revolutionary organs of th e press,
m ake a rre sts, and dissolve public organizations which incite
active opposition to or the overthrow of th e Soviet Government.
N ote: The Soviets render a re p o rt to the central Soviet
G overnm ent reg a rd in g all m easures undertaken by them and
im p o rta n t local events.
4. The Soviets elect from th e ir num ber an executive organ
w hich is charged w ith the d uty of ca rry in g out th e ir decisions
and the perform ance of th e c u rre n t w ork of adm inistration.
N ote 1; The M ilitary-R evolutionary Committees, as fighting
organs which carne into existence d u rin g the Revolution, a re
abolished.
N ote 2: As a tem po rary m easure, it is perm itted to appoint
Com missaries in those provinces and d istricts w here th e power
of th e Soviet is not sufficiently w ell-established or w here th e
Soviet Governm ent is not exclusively recognized.
'
5. The Soviets, being organs of governm ent, are allowed
credits from sta te funds fo r th ree m onths upon th e p resen ta
r o n of detailed budgets.
In structions R egarding the O rganization o f Soviets
A t the session of the collegium under the Peoples Commissa ry fo r In te rn a l A ffairs, on J a n u a ry 9, 1918, instructions re
g ard in g the organization of Soviets of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and
P e a sa n ts Deputies were voted as follows.
In all Soviets, in place of the od, antiquated governm ent in
stitutions, th e following departm ents or com m issariats m ust
first be organized:
1. A dm inistration, in charge of the domestic and foreign re46

lations of the Republic and technically unifying all the other

departm ents.
2. Finance, whose duty is the com pilation of the local bud
get, the collection of local and sta te taxes, the ca rry in g out of
m easures fo r the nationalization of the banks, the ad m in istra
tion of th e Peoples Bank, control over the disbursem ent of
n atio n al funds, etc.
3. Board of N ational Economy, which organizes th e m anu
fa c tu re of the most necessary products of factory, mili, and home
industries, determ ines the am ount of raw m aterials and fuel,
obtains and d istributes them , organizes and supplies the ru ra l
economy, etc.
4. Land, whose duty it is to m ake an exact survey of the land,
forests, w aters, and other resources, and of th e ir distribution fo r
purposes of utilization.
5. Labor, which m u st organize and un ite tra d e unions, fac
to ry and mili committees, p easan t associations, etc., and also
create insurance organizations of all kinds.
6. W ays of Communication, whose d uty is the ta k in g of
m easures fo r the nationalization of the railw ays and steam ship enterprises, the direction of this m ost im portant branch
of th e n ational economy, the building of new roads of local im
portance, etc.
7. Post, T elegraph, and Telephone, which m ust aid and develop these sta te enterprises.
8. Public E ducation, which looks a fte r the education and in
struction of the population in the school and out of school,
establishes new schools, kindergartens, universities, libraries,
clubs, etc., carries out m easures fo r the nationalization of p rin ting-shops, th e publication of necessary periodicals and books
and th eir circulation am ong the population, etc.
9. Legal, which m ust liqudate the od courts, organize peo
ples and a rb itra tio n courts, take charge of places of detention,
reform them , etc.
10. M edico-Sanitary, whose duty is sa n ita ry and hygienic su p er
visin, th e organization of medical aid accessible to all, sa n ita ry
equipm ent of u rban and ru ra l settlem ents, etc.
11. Public Realty, whose duty is the regulation of the housing
problem, supervisin over confiscated and public buildings, the
construction of new ones, etc.
N ote: Soviets are advised to utilize the organizational app a ra tu s of Zemstvo and m unicipal institutions, w ith approp riate changes, when form ing th e departm ents.
47

A t th e same session was passed the d r a f t of the decree fixing

the boundaries of provinces, districts, etc., as follows:
1. Questions of changes of boundaries of provinces, districts,
or tow nships a re to be settled entirely by the local Soviets
of W orkm ens, Soldiers, P e a sa n ts, and L aborers Deputies.
2. W hen p a rts of one province or te rrito ry a re included in
another, the technical questions and m isunderstandings which
arise a re dealt w ith by mixed commissions of the interested
Provincial Soviets or th e ir congress.
3. A sim ilar procedure is followed w hen the boundaries of a
d istric t or tow nship a re rectified a t the expense of another.
4. T errito ries, provinces, districts, and tow nships m ay also
be divided into p arts, form ing new adm inistrative economic
units.
5. D etailed d ata reg ard in g all such changes are to be reported
to the Com missar fo r In te rn a l A ffairs.
P resident of the Council of Peoples Com m issars:
V . O u l ia n o v (N . L e n i n )
Peoples C om m issars:
P et r o v sk y , A. S h l ia p n ik o v , V. T r u t o v sk y ,
M. U r it z k y
D irector of the A ffairs of the Council of Peoples
Com m issars:
B o n c h -B r u y e v ic h
S ecretary:
N . G orbounov

The Peoples Court

'T p H E Council of Peoples Com missaries resolves:
1.
To abolish all existing general legal institutions, such as
d istric t courts, courts of appeal, and the governing Senate w ith
all its departm ents, m ilitary and naval courts of all grades, as
well as commercial courts, and to replace all these in stitu tio n s
w ith courts established on the basis of dem ocratic elections.
R egarding fu rth e r procedure and the continuation of unfinished cases a special decree will be issued.
Beginning October 25 of this year, the passage of tim e lim its
is stopped u ntil the issuance of a special decree.
2. To abolish the existing in stitution of justices of the peace,

48

and to replace the justices of the peace heretofore elected by

indirect vote, by local courts consisting of a perm anent local
judge and two ju ro rs, the la tte r of whom a re summoned in p airs
to each session from special lists of ju ro rs. Local judges are
henceforth to be elected on the basis of direct dem ocratic vote,
and, until the tim e of such elections, are to be chosen by regional
and tow nship Soviets, or, w here th ere are none such, by d istrict,
city, and provincial Soviets of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and P eas
a n ts D eputies.
These sam e Soviets make up the lists of a lte rn a tin g ju ro rs
and determ ine the tim e of th e ir presence a t the session.
The fo rm er justices of the peace are not deprived of the rig h t
to be elected as local judges, either tem porarily by the Soviets
or finally by a dem ocratic election, if they express th e ir consent
thereto.
Local judges adjudicate all civil cases to an am ount not exceeding 3,000 rubes, and crim inal cases if the accused is liable
to a penalty of not more than two y ea rs deprivation of freedom.
The verdicts and rulings of the local courts are final and no
appeal can be taken from them. In cases in which the recovery of over 100 rubes in money or deprivation of freedom
for more th a n seven days is adjudged, a request fo r review is
allowed.
The court of cassation is the d istric t session, and in the capitals the m etropolitan session, of local judges.
F o r the tria l of crim inal cases a t the fro n ts, local judges are
elected by regim ental Soviets in the same order, and, where
th ere a re none, by the regim ental committees.
R egarding procedure in other legal cases, a special decree will
be issued.
3.
To abolish all existing institutions of investig atin g magistra te s and the p ro cu rato rs office, as well as the grades of
counsellors-at-law and p rivate attorneys.
U ntil the reform ation of the entire system of legal procedure,
the p relim inary investigation in crim inal cases is made by the
local judges singly, b u t th e ir orders of personal detention and
indictm ent m ust be confirmed by the decisin of the entire local
court.
As to the functions of prosecutors and counsel for defence,
who are allowed even in the stage of p relim inary investigation,
and in civil cases the functions of solicitors, all citizens of m oral
in teg rity , of either sex, who enjoy civil rig h ts, are allowed to
perform them.
49

4. F o r the tra n s fe r and fu rth e r direction of cases and suits,

proceedings of the legal bodies as well as of officials engaged
in p relim inary investigation and the p ro c u ra to rs office, and also
of th e associations of counsellors-at-law , the respective local
Soviets elect special com missaries, who take charge of the
archives and th e properties of those bodies.
All the lower and clerical personnel of the abolished in stitu
tions a re ordered to continu in th e ir positions and to perform ,
under the general direction of the com missaries, all duties
necessary in order to dispose of unfinished cases, and also to
give inform ation on appointed days to interested persons about
the sta te of th e ir cases.
5. Local judges tr y cases in the am e of the R ussian Republic,
and a re guided in th e ir rulings and verdicts by the law s of the
Governm ents which have been overthrow n only in so f a r as
those law s are not annulled by the revolution, and do not contra d ic t the revolutionary conscience and revolutionary conception of right.
N ote: All those laws a re considered annulled which contradict
the decrees of the C entral E xecutive Committee of the Soviets
of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts Deputies and th e W ork
mens and P e a sa n ts Government, also the mnimum program m es
of the R ussian Social-Democratic Labor p a rty and the p a rty of
Socialist Revolutionaries.
6. In all civil as well as crim inal cases the p arties m ay reso rt
to the arb itra tio n court. The organization of the arb itra tio n
court will be determ ined by a special decree.
7. The rig h t of pardon and resto ratio n of rig h ts of persons
convicted in crim inal cases belongs henceforth to th e legal
authorities.
8. F o r the struggle ag ain st the counter-revolutionary forces
by m eans of m easures fo r the defence of the revolution and its
accom plishments, and also fo r the tria l of proceedings ag a in st
profiteering, speculation, sabotage, and other misdeeds of m erchants, m anufactu rers, officials, and other persons, w orkm ens
and p e a sa n ts revolutionary trib u n a ls are established, consisting of a chairm an and six ju rc rs, serving in tu rn , elected by
provincial or city Soviets of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and P easan ts
Deputies.
F o r the conduct of the prelim inary investigation in such cases,
special investigating commissions a re form ed under th e above
Soviets.
All existing investigating commissions are abolished, and
50

th e ir cases and proceedings a re tra n sfe rre d to the newly-form ed

investigating commissions.
P resident of the Council of Peoples Com m issars:
V . O u l ia n o v (L e n i n )
C om m issars:
A. S h l i k h t e r , L. T r o tz k y , A. S h lia p n ik o v ,
I. D j u g a s h v ili ( S t a l i n ) , N. A v ilo v
(N. G ly e b o v ), P. S t u c h k a
November 2U, 1917

Instructions to the Revolutionary Tribunal

'T 'H E Revolutionary T ribunal is guided by the following instru ctio n s:
1. The R evolutionary T ribunal has ju risdiction in cases of
persons (a) who organize u prisings ag a in st the au th o rity of the
W orkm ens and P e a sa n ts Government, actively oppose the la tte r
or do not obey it, or cali upon other persons to oppose or disobey
i t; (b) who utilize th e ir positions in the sta te or public service
to distu rb or ham per the re g u la r progress of work in the institution or en terp rise in which they are or have been serving
(sabotage, concealing or destroying docum ents or property,
e tc .) ; (c) who stop or reduce production of articles of general
use w ithout actual necessity fo r so doing; (d) who vilate the
decrees, orders, binding ordinances, and other published acts of
the organs of the W orkm ens and P e a sa n ts Government, if such
acts stip u late a tria l by the Revolutionary T ribunal fo r th e ir
violation; (e) who, tak in g advantage of th e ir social or adm inistra tiv e position, m isuse the au th o rity given them by the revolu
tio n ary people. Crimes ag a in st the people com m itted by m eans
of the press are under the jurisdiction of a specially institu ted
R evolutionary T ribunal.
2. The Revolutionary T ribunal for offences indicated in A rticle 1 imposes upon the guilty the following penalties: (1) fine,
(2) deprivation of freedom, (3) exile from the capitals, from
p articu la r localities, or from the te rrito ry of the Russian Republic, (4) public censure, (5) declaring the ofender a public
enemy, (6) deprivation of all or some political rig h ts, (7) sequestration or confiscation, p a rtia l or general, of property, (8)
sentence of com pulsory public work.
The Revolutionary T ribunal fixes the penalty, being guided by
r i

th e circum stances of the case and th e dictates of the revolutio n a ry conscience.

3.
(a) The Revolutionary T ribunal is elected by the Soviet
of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts D eputies and consists of
one perm anent chairm an, two perm anent substitutes, one perm an ent secretary and two substitutes, and fo rty ju ro rs. All
persons, except the ju ro rs, a re elected fo r three m onths and may
be recalled by the Soviets before the expiration of the term .
(b) The ju ro rs a re selected for one month from a general list
of ju ro rs by the Executive Committees of the Soviets of W ork
m ens, Soldiers, and P easan ts Deputies by draw ing lots, and
lists of ju ro rs num bering six, and one or two in addition, are
made up fo r each session.
(c) The session of each successive ju ry of the Revolutionary
T ribunal la sts not longer than one week.
(d) A stenographic record is kept of th e entire proceedings
of th e R evolutionary T ribunal.
(e) The grounds fo r in stitu tin g proceedings a re : rep o rts of
legal and adm inistrative institutions and officials, public, trade,
and p a rty organizations, and p rvate persons.
(f) F o r the conduct of the p relim inary investigation in such
cases an investigating commission is created under th e Revolu
tio n ary T ribunal, consisting of six m em bers elected by the Soviets
of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts Deputies.
(g) Upon receiving inform ation or com plaint, the in v estig at
ing commission exam ines it and w ithin forty-eight hours either
orders the dism issal of the case, if it does not find th a t a crime
has been committed, or tra n s fe r it to the proper jurisdiction, or
brings it up fo r tria l a t the session of the Revolutionary T ri
bunal.
(h) The orders of the investigating commission about arrests,
searches, ab stra cts of papers, and releases of detained persons
a re valid if issued jointly by three members. In cases which do
not perm it of delay such orders m ay be issued by any member
of th e investigating commission singly, on the condition th a t
w ithin twelve hours th e m easure shall be approved by the in
vestigating commission.
(i) The order of the investigating commission is carried out
by the Red G uard, the m ilitia, the troops, and the executive
o rgans of the Republic.
(j) Com plaints ag a in st the decisions of the investigating
commission are subm itted to the Revolutionary T ribunal through
52

its president and are considered a t executive sessions of the

R evolutionary T ribunal.
(k) The investigating commission has the rig h t (1) to demand of all departm ents and officials, as well as of all local
self-governing bodies, legal in stitutions and authorities, public
notaries, social and trad e organizations, com mercial and indus
tria l enterprises, and governm ental, public, and priv ate credit
institutions, the delivery of necessary docum ents and info rm a
ro n , and of unfinished cases; (2) to examine, through its mem
bers or special representatives, the tran sactio n s of all aboveenum erated in stitutions and officials in order to secure necessary
inform ation.
4. Ths sessions of the R evolutionary T ribunal are public.
5. The verdicts of the Revolutionary T rib u n al are rendered by
a m ajo rity of votes of the members of the T ribunal.
6. The legal investigation is made w ith the particip atio n of
the prosecution and defence.
7. (a) Citizens of either sex who enjoy political rig h ts are adm itted a t the will of the p arties as prosecutors and counsel for
the defence, w ith the rig h t to p articp a te in the case.
(b) U nder the Revolutionary trib u n als a collegium of persons
is created who devote themselves to the Service of the law, in
the form of public prosecution as well as of public defence.
(c) The above-mentioned collegium is form ed by the free
reg istra tio n of all persons who desire to render aid to revolu
tio n ary justice, and who present recom m endations from the So
viets of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts D eputies.
8. The Revolutionary T ribunal m ay invite fo r each case a
public prosecutor from the m em bership of the above-named col
legium.
9. If the accused does not for some reason use his rig h t to
invite counsel fo r defence, the R evolutionary T ribunal, a t his
request, appoints a member of the collegium for his defence.
10. Besides the above-mentioned prosecutors and defence, one
prosecutor and one counsel for defence, draw n from the public
p resen t a t the session, m ay take p a r t in the co u rts proceedings.
11. The verdicts of the R evolutionary T ribunal are final. In
case of violation of the form of procedure established by these
instructions, or the discovery of indications of obvious injustice
in the verdict, the Peoples Com missar of Justice has the rig h t
to address to th e C entral Executive Committee of the Soviets of
W orkers, Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts Deputies a request to order a
second and la st tria l of the case.
53

12. The m aintenance of the Revolutionary T ribun al is charged

to th e account of the state. The am ount of com pensation and
the daily fees a re fixed by the Soviets of W orkers, Soldiers, and
P e a sa n ts D eputies. The ju ro rs receive the difference between
the daily fees and th e ir daily earnings, if the la tte r are less th an
the daily fees; a t the same tim e the ju ro rs m ay not be deprived
of th e ir positions during the session.
Peoples Com missar of Ju stice:
I\ Z. S tein ber g
December 19, 1917

The Revolutionary Tribunal of the Press

1. U nder the R evolutionary T ribunal is created a Revolution
a ry T ribunal of the Press. This T ribunal will have jurisdiction
of crim es and offences ag a in st the people com mitted by m eans of
the press.
2. Crimes and offences by m eans of the press a re th e publication and circulation of any false or perverted rep o rts and inform ation about events of public life, in so f a r as they constitute
an attem p t upon the rig h ts and in terests of the revolutionary
people.
3. The Revolutionary T ribunal of the P ress consists of th ree
members, elected fo r a period not longer th a n th ree m onths by
th e Soviet of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts Deputies.
These members a re charged w ith the conduct of the p relim inary
investigation as well as the tria l of th e case.
4. The following serve as grounds fo r in stitu tin g proceedings:
rep o rts of legal or adm inistrative institutions, public organizations, or p rv ate persons.
5. The prosecution and defence a re conducted on th e principies
laid down in the instructions to the general R evolutionary T ri
bunal.
6. The sessions of the Revolutionary T ribunal of the P ress a re
public.
7. The decisions of the R evolutionary T ribunal of the P ress
are final and are not subject to appeal.
8. The R evolutionary T ribunal imposes the following penalties: (1) fine, (2) expression of public censure, which the convicted organ of the press brings to th e general knowledge in a
w ay indicated by the T ribunal, (3) the publication in a prominent place o r in a special edition of a denial of the false report,
(4) tem porary or perm anent suppression of the publication or
54

its exclusin from circulation, (5) confiscation to national own

ership of the printing-shop or property of the organ of the press
if it belongs to the convicted p arties.
9.
The tria l of an organ of the press by the R evolutionary
T rib u n al of the P ress does not absolve the g uilty persons from
general crim inal responsibility.
Peoples Com missar of Ju stice :
I. Z. S tein ber g
Dcccmber 18, 1917

To the Soviet of Workmens, Soldiers,

and Peasants Deputies, a Request for
the Immediate Election of Com
missaries of Justice, Their
Duties and Rights
the decree of the
B Y[November
24, 1917]

Council of the Peoples Com missaries

the general legal institu tio n s and ju s
tices courts, the p ro cu rato rs office, the institu tio n s of investi
g atin g m ag istrates, counsellors-at-law , and p rv ate attorneys, are
abolished. U ntil the creation of perm anent legal institutions,
elect im m ediately Com missaries of Justice.
The duties of the elected Com m issaries a re the safe-keeping
of archives and the pro p erty of the courts, the direction of unfinished cases, and the giving of inform ation to interested persons.
In view of the approach of the tim e fo r rendering sem i-annual
and annual financial reports fo r 1917, the elected Com m issaries
are requested to take m easures fo r the im m ediate p rep aratio n
and delivery of the above-mentioned reports in the established
form and order. The publications of the official Gazette of the
Provisional W orkm ens and P e a sa n ts G overnm ent are to serve
as a guide to the lo'cal authorities.
R eport the beginning of the activity of the new courts, th e ir
stru ctu re, the am es of the Com m issaries of Justice. R eport
the ten tativ e budgets of the legal departm ent for 1918.
The credits of the legal departm ent which w ere not used
locally in 1917, you m ay use by order of the Soviets.
In stru ctio ns for the R evolutionary T ribunal of the P ress, and
for general courts, crim inal and civil, are being prepared.
Peoples Com missar of Ju stice :
I. Z. S t e in b e r g
55

Marriage, Children, and Registration

of Civil Status

T H Eonly.Russian

Republic henceforth recognizes civil m arriag e

Civil m a rria g e is perform ed on the basis of the following

r u le s :
1. P ersons who wish to contract m a rria g e declare [th eir intention] orally or by a w ritten statem en t to the d ep artm en t of
reg istratio n of m arriag es and b irth s a t the city hall (regional,
district, tow nship, Zemstvo in stitu tio n s), according to the place
of th e ir residence.
N ote: Church m a rria g e is a p rv ate affair of those contracting it, while civil m a rria g e is obligatory.
2. D eclarations of intention to contract m arriag e a re not
accepted (a) from persons of the male sex younger th a n eighteen
years, and of the fem ale sex, sixteen years of age; in T ranscaucasia the native inhab itan ts m ay en ter into m a rria g e upon
atta in in g the age of sixteen fo r the groom and thirteen fo r the
b rid e; (b) from relatives in the direct line, full and half-b ro th ers
and siste rs; consanguinity is recognized also between a child born
out of wedlock and his descendants on one'side and relatives on
the o th er; (c) from m arried persons, and (d) from insane.
3. Those w ishing to contract m a rria g e ap p ear a t the d ep a rt
m ent of reg istra tio n of m arriag es and sign a statem en t concerning the absence of the obstacles to contracting m a rria g e
enum erated in A rticle 2 of this decree, and also a statem en t
th a t they contract m arria g e voluntarily.
Those guilty of deliberately m aking false statem en ts about
the absence of the obstacles enum erated in A rticle 2 a re crim inally prosecuted fo r false statem ents and the m arriag e is declared invalid.
4. Upon the signing of the above-mentioned statem ent, the
director of the departm ent of reg istra tio n of m arriag es records
the act of m arriag e in the book of m a rria g e reg istries and then
declares the m arriag e to have become legally effective.
W hen contracting m a rria g e the p arties are allowed to decide
freely w hether they will henceforth be called by the surnam e of
the husband or w ife or by a combined surnam e.
As proof of the act of m arriag e, the contracting p arties imm ediately receive a copy of the certifcate of th e ir m a r
riage. . . .
t
56

5. Com plaints ag a ip st the refu sal to perform m arria g e or

incorrect reg istra tio n a re lodged, w ithout lim itation of time,
w ith the local judge in the locality w here th e dep artm en t of
reg istra tio n of m a rria g e is; the ruling of the local judge on
such com plaint m ay be appealed in th e usual way.
6. In case the form er books of reg istra tio n of m arriag es have
been destroyed, or lost in some other w ay, or if fo r some other
cause m arried persons cannot obtain a certifcate of th e ir m a r
riage, those persons are given a rig h t to subm it a declaration
to the respective d epartm ent of reg istra tio n of m a rria g es, ac
cording to th e place of residence of both p a rtie s or one of them,
to the effect th a t they have been in the sta te of wedlock since
such and such tim e. Such declaration is attested, in addition
to the statem en t stipulated by A rticle 3, by a fu rth e r statem ent
of the p arties th a t th e book of reg istra tio n has really been lost
or th a t for some other sufficient cause they cannot obtain a
copy of the certifcate.
R egistration o f D irths.
7. The reg istra tio n of the b irth of a child is m ade by the
same d ep artm ent of reg istra tio n of m arriag es and b irth s in the
place of residence of the m other, and a special en try of each
b irth is m ade in the book of reg istra tio n of birth s. . . .
8. The b irth of a child m ust be reported to the departm ent
eith er by his p are n ts or one of them, or by the persons in whose
care, because of the death of his paren ts, the child rem ained,
w ith an indication of the am e and surnam e adopted for the
child and th e presentation of two w itnesses to a tte s t the fac t
of birth.
9. The books of reg istra tio n of m a rriag es as well a t the
books of reg istra tio n of b irth s are kept in two copies, and one
copy is sent a t th e end of the y ear to the proper court for
preservation.
10. Children born out of wedlock are on an equality w ith
those born in wedlock w ith reg ard to the rig h ts and duties of
p aren ts to w ards children, and likewise of children tow ards
p arents.
The persons who m ake a declaration and give a signed sta te
ment to th a t effect are registered as the fa th e r and m other of
the child.
Those g u ilty of deliberately m aking false statem ents re g a rd
ing the above are crim inally prosecuted for false testim ony and
the reg istra tio n is declared invalid.
57

In case the fa th e r of a child born out of wedlock does not

m ake such a declaration, th e m other of the child or the g u ard ian
or the child itself has the rig h t to prove fatherhood by legal
m eans.
R egistration of D eaths.
11. The record of the death of a person is m ade in the place
w here the death occurred by the dep artm en t which has charge
of the reg istra tio n of m arriag es and births, by en try in a spe
cial book fo r reg istratio n of deaths. . . .
12. The death of a person m ust be reported to the departm ent
by th e legal or ad m inistrative au th o rities or persons in whose
care th e deceased was.
13. In stitu tio n s in charge of cem eteries a re henceforth forbidden to place obstacles in the w ay of the burial in cem etery
grounds in accordance w ith the ritu a l of civil funerals.
14. All religious and adm inistrative institutions which hitherto have had charge of the reg istra tio n of m arriag es, birth s,
and deaths according to the customs of any religious sect, are
ordered to tra n s fe r im m ediately all th e reg istra tio n books to
the respective m unicipal, district, ru ra l, or Zemstvo adm inistratio n s.
P resident of the Council of Peoples Com m issars:
V . O u l ia n o v (L e n i n )
P resident of the C entral E xecutive Committee of
the Soviets of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and
P e a sa n ts D eputies:
Y a . S verdlov
D irector of the A ffairs of the Council of Peoples
Com m issars:
B o n c h -B r u y e v ic h
S e c re ta ry :
N . G orbounov
D ecember 18, 1917.

Divorce
1. M arriage is annulled by the petition of both p arties or
even of one of them.
2. The above petition is subm itted, according to th e rules of
local jurisdiction, to the local court.
N ote: A declaration of annulm ent of m a rria g e by m utual
consent may be filed directly w ith the departm ent of reg istratio n
of m arriag es in which a record of th a t m arriag e is kept, which
58

departm ent m akes an en try of the annulm ent of the m arriag e

in the record and issues a certifcate.
3. On the day appointed fo r the exam ination of the petition
fo r the annulm ent of m arriage, th e local ju d g e summons both
parties or th e ir solicitors.
4. I f the residence of the p a rty who is to be summoned is
unknown, th e petitioner is allowed to file th e petition fo r a n
nulm ent of m a rria g e in the place of residence of the absent
p a rty la st known to the petitioner, or in the place of residence
of the petitioner, sta tin g to the court, however, the la st known
place of residence of the defendant.
5. If the place of residence of the p a rty who is to be sum
moned is unknown, then the day fo r the tria l of the case is set
not ea rlier th a n th e expiration of two m onths from the date of
th e publication of a notice of summons in th e local G overnment
gazette, and th e summons is sent to the address of the la st known
place of residence of the defendant given by the petitioner.
6. H aving convinced him self th a t the petition fo r the an n u l
m ent of th e m a rria g e really comes from both p arties or from
one of them , the judge personally and singly renders the de
cisin of the annulm ent of the m a rria g e and issues a certifcate
thereof to the parties. A t the same tim e, the judge tran sm its
a copy of his decisin to the departm ent of re g istra tio n of m a r
riag es w here the annulled m a rria g e w as perform ed and where
the book containing a record of the m a rria g e is kept.
7. W hen annulling a m a rria g e by m utual consent, the p arties
are obliged to sta te in th e ir petition w h at surnam es the divorced
p arties and th e ir children are to b ear in the fu tu re . B ut when
dissolving the m arriag e b y -th e petition of one of the p arties,
and in the absence of an u n derstanding about this m a tte r between the p arties, the divorced p arties preserve th e ir own s u r
names, and the surnam e of th e children is determ ined by the
judge, and in case of disagreem ent of the parties, by the local
court.
8. In case the p arties are agreed on the m a tte r, the judge,
sim ultaneously w ith the decisin of annulm ent of the m arriag e,
determ ines w ith w hich of the p aren ts the m inor children begotten of the m a rria g e shall live, and which of the p are n ts m ust
bear the expense of m aintenance and education of the children,
and to w h at extent and also w hether and to w h at extent the
husband is obliged to fu rn ish food and m aintenance to his di
vorced wife.
9. B ut if no understanding shall be reached, then the par59

ticipation of the husband in fu rn ish in g his divorced w ife w ith

food and m aintenance when she has no m eans of her own or
has insufficient m eans and is unable to work, as well as the
question w ith whom the children are to live, is decided by a
re g u la r civil suit in the local court, irrespective of the am ount
of th e suit. The judge, having rendered the decisin annulling
the m a rria g e, determ ines tem porarily, until th e settlem ent of
th e dispute, the fa te of the children, and also rules on the ques
tion of th e tem porary m aintenance of the children and the wife,
if she is in need of it.
10. Suits for adjudging m arriag es illegal or invalid belong
henceforth to th e jurisdiction of the local court.
11. The operation of this law extends to all citizens of the
R ussian Republic irrespective of th e ir adherence to th is or th a t
religious sect.
12. All suits fo r annulm ent of m a rria g e which are now tried
in ecclesiastical consistories of the G reek-Catholic and other
denom inations, in th e governing synod and all other in stitu tio n s
of C h ristian and non-C hristian religions, and by officials in
charge of ecclesiastical affairs of all denom inations, and in
which no decisions have been rendered or the decisions already
rendered have not become legally effective, a re declared by reason
of th is law nuil and void, and are subject to imm ediate tra n s fe r
to th e local d istric t courts fo r safe-keeping, w ith all archives in
the possession of the above-mentioned institu tio n s and persons
having jurisdiction in divorce suits. The p arties are given the
rig h t to file a new petition fo r th e annulm ent of the m arriag e
according to this decree, w ithout aw aitin g the dism issal of the
first suit, and a new summons of absent p arties (P a ra g ra p h s 4
and 5) is not obligatory if such a summons w as published in the
form er order.
P resident of the C entral E xecutive Committee of
the Soviets of W orkers, Soldiers, and P easan ts
D eputies:
Y a . S verdlov
P resident of the Council of Peoples Com m issars:
V . O u l ia n o v (L e n i n )
D irector of the A ffairs of the Council of Peoples
C om m issars:
B o n c h -B r u y e v ic h
S ecretary:

N . G orbounov
December 18, 1917
60

Eight-Hour Law
1. T his law applies to all establishm ents and industries irrespective of th e ir size or to whom they belong, and to all persons
employed in hired labor.
2. The w orking time, or the num ber of w orking hours in a
day, is considered to be the tim e during which, according to the
co n tract of employment (A rticles 48, 60, 96, 98, and 103 of the
In d u strial Labor la w ), the w orkm an is obliged to be in the in
d u strial establishm ent a t the disposal of its superintenden t for
the perform ance of the work.
Note 1. In underground w ork the time taken by the descent
into the mine and ascent to the surface is considered w orking
time.
'
Note 2. The w orking time of workm en sent to perform any
kind of labor beyond the boundaries of an establishm ent is de
term ined by special agreem ent w ith the workmen.
3. The w orking tim e fixed by the rules governing the in tern al
organization of the establishm ent (C lause 1, A rticle 103 of the
In d u strial Labor law) m ust not exceed eight w orking hours in a
day and fo rty-eight hours in a week, including th erein also the
tim e employed in cleaning the engine and in p u ttin g the prem ises
in order.
On C hristm as eve (December 24) and on the Pentecost holiday
(W hitsunday) w ork'is stopped a t eleven oclock in the m orning.
4. Not la te r th an six hours a f te r the beginning of w ork a
free in terv al fo r rest and eating m ust be designated. The interval m ust not be sh o rter th a n one hour.
F ree recesses during work are those which a re fixed by the
rules of the in te rn al organization; d uring such recesses the
w orkm an is free to dispose of his tim e and to leave the bound
aries of th e establishm ent.
D uring the free recesses in w orking tim e the engines, lathes,
and benches m ust be stopped; exceptions from th is rule are
allowed only fo r such over-time w ork as is perform ed in accox-dance w ith A rticles 18-22 of this law, as well as for engines and
motors which are w orking for ventilation, w ater-supply, lighting,
etc.; moreover, w ork m ay not be stopped in those m anufactu ries
in which stoppage is impossible for technical reasons (such as
unfinished casting or unfinished p o lish in g ).
Note 1. E stablishm ents whose work is recognized by law or
by the m ain cham ber of labor as continuous and which is p er
form ed in th ree sh ifts a day, do not observe the rules regard in g
recesses, b u t are obliged to give the w orkm an the rig h t to take
food du rin g his work.
61

Note 2. I f a w orkm an, owing to the conditions of his work,

cannot absent him self from th e place of w ork to take food, then
a room or place is to be provided fo r him fo r th a t purpose. The
settin g aside of a special room fo r the above purpose is obligato ry fo r those workm en who, w hen w orking, come into contact
w ith m a terials recognized by the rulings of the m ain board of
facto ry and m ining industries (or the org an ta k in g its place)
as in ju rious to th e health of the workm en (lead, m ercury, etc.).
5. The general duration of all recesses during tw enty-four
hours shall not exceed two hours.
6. N ight tim e is considered the tim e between nine oclock in
the evening and six oclock in the m orning.
7. In the n ig h t tim e it is forbidden to utilize the labor of
w orkers of the fem ale sex, or of w orkers of the m ale sex under
sixteen y ears of age.
8. F o r enterprises w orking two sh ifts of workmen, the nig h t
tim e is considered from nine oclock in the evening u n til five
oclock in th e m orning, w hile the free recesses '(A rtic le 4) m ay
be reduced to h a lf an hour fo r each shift.
9. In those cases where, by request of the w orkers (fo r instance, in brick w orks) or on account of clim atic conditions, it
is desired to m ake the m idday recess m ore lengthy, the m ain
board of facto ry and m ining industries (or the organ tak in g its
place) m ay perm it a corresponding d ep a rtu re from the ru les in
A rticles 4, 5, 6, and 8 of th is sta tu te .
'
10. W hen h irin g m inors under eighteen years of age th e fol
lowing rules in addition to th e above a re applied: (a) m inors
under fourteen years are not perm itted to w ork fo r h ire ; (b)
the w orking tim e of m inors under eighteen m ay not be longer
th a n six hours a day.
N ote: Beginning J a n u a ry 1, 1919, all persons who have not
reached fifteen y ears are not perm itted to w ork fo r hire, and be
ginning J a n u a ry 1, 1920, those who have not reached tw en ty
y ears of age.
'
11. In the table of holidays on which w ork is stopped (Clause
2, A rticle 103 of In d u strial Labor law ) a re included all Sundays
and the following holidays: J a n u a ry 1, J a n u a ry 6, F eb ru ary 27,
M arch 25, May 1, A ugust 15, Septem ber 14, December 25 and
26, F rid a y and S atu rd ay of Passion week, M onday and Tuesday
of E a ste r week, Ascensin Day, and the second day of Pentecost.
Note 1. F o r non-C hristians it is perm itted to include other
holidays instead of Sundays, according to the precepts of th e ir
religin; of the rem aining holidays m entioned in th is article
only those are obligatory fo r them which a re not indicated in
the follow ing note.
62

N ote 2. By the consent of the m a jo rity of workm en of an

establishm ent or industry, or a p a rt of them , the holidays of
Ja n u a ry 1 and 6, A ugust 15, Septem ber 14, December 26, S atu rday of Passion week, and E a ste r Monday m ay be replaced by
other free days.
12. In one-shift day work th e least duration of the Sunday
and holiday re st given each w orkm an is fixed a t forty-tw o hours.
In tw o-shift w ork w ith two complements of workm en, and in
th ree-sh ift w ork w ith three complements of workm en, the least
d u ratio n of a Sunday and holiday re st fo r each w orkm an is fixed
by agreem ent w ith the w orkm ens organizations.
13. By m utual agreem ent of the superintendent of the establism m ent or in d u stry w ith the people employed by it, the la tte r
may, as a d ep a rtu re from the rules about holidays indicated in
A rticle 11, be engaged in w ork on a holiday instead of on a
week-day. Such an u n derstanding m ust im m ediately be repoited
to the proper officials who look a fte r the execution of this law.
14. The m ain board of facto ry and m ining in dustries (or
th e organ tak in g its place) is given the rig h t to issue re g u la
tions p erm itting, to the extent of real necessity, d ep artu res from
the rules set fo rth in A rticles 3, 4, 5, and 8 fo r those establish
m ents which, by the n a tu re of th e ir production fo r th e satisfaction of public needs, m ust perform the w ork in th e n ig h t tim e
or m ust w ork irre g u la rly a t different seasons of the year (for
instance, w ork fo r lighting and w ate r supply of cities).
15. In m anufactories and w orks in w hich the w orkm en a re
subjected to the operation of p articu la rly unfavorable conditions, or to danger of occupational poisoning (such as w ork in
an ex tra o rd in arily high tem perature, in m ercury and bleaching
faeto n es, etc.), the w orking tim e indicated in A rticles 3-5 and 8
is subject to f u rth e r reduction. A list of such w orks and m an u
factories, w ith th e indication of the duration of the w orking
tim e perm issible in each line of work, as well as other conditions
of the work, is to be compiled by the m ain board of factory and
mining in d u stries (or the organ which takes its place).
16. Women and youths of either sex under eighteen years of
age a re not perm itted to work underground.
17. A d ep a rtu re from the rules stated in A rticles 3-5 and 8-12
is perm itted by agreem ent w ith the workm en and w ith the ap
proval of th e w orkm ens organizations w ith reg ard to workm en
engaged in au x ilia ry work, such as rep airs, care of boilers,
motors, lathes, facto ry heating, w ater supply, lighting of the
facto ry buildings, guard and fire duty, and in general such
work w ithout whose p relim inary perform ance the industrial
63

en terp rise can no t be p u t in operation a t th e fixed tim e and

which m u st of necessity be perform ed a fte r the stoppage of the
work.
18. The w ork which is perform ed by the w orkm an a t a tim e
when, according to th e tables of w orking tim e, he is not supposed to w ork is considered over-time. Over-tim e w ork is p er
m itted only when conditions stated in A rticles 19-23 of this
sta tu te a re observed and when it is paid fo r a t a double rate .
19. P ersons of the fem ale sex, and persons of the male sex
who have not reached eighteen years of age, a re not perm itted to
w ork over-time.
20. W orkm en of the m ale sex older th a n eighteen y ears m ay
w ork over-tim e w ith the perm ission of th e w orkm ens organization
only in the follow ing cases: (a) when over-time w ork is necessa ry in order to finish in tim e the w ork begun, which because
of unforeseen and accidental delay could not by the m echanical
conditions of production be finished in the norm al w orking time
(according to the rules of the establishm ent), and when the
stoppage of th a t w ork a t th e set tim e m ight cause danger or
in ju ry to m a teria ls and the m echanism (w ork w ith chemical
processes, casting, etc., m ay be considered of th a t n a tu re ) ; (b)
fo r th e perform ance of w ork necessary to av e rt danger to life
or pro perty, or fo r th e removal of accidental causes which have
d isturbed th e technical conditions necessary fo r the reg u lar
w ate r supply, lighting, sanitation, and u rg en t public communication; (c) when w orking on necessary re p a irs in case of sudden
in ju ry to boilers, motors, lathes, and, in general, unforeseen
derangem ent of mechanisms, ap p a ratu s, or stru ctu re s (buildings, dam s, etc.) which cause th e stoppage of the w ork of th e
en tire establishm ent or any of its branches; (d) when perform ing tem porary w ork in any branch of the establishm ent in cases
w here because of fire, break-down, or unforeseen circum stances,
the w ork of one or o ther branch of the establishm ent w as
stopped fo r some tim e or entirely and w hen th is w ork is neces
sa ry fo r the full operation of the other branches of th e estab
lishm ent.
21. In such a case as is m entioned in the la st p a ra g ra p h of
A rticle 20 it is necessary to obtain from the com m issar of labor
or labor inspector a special perm it fo r over-time w ork; and in
the application fo r such perm it th e daily duration of such work
and th e tim e during which it will be perform ed m u st be indicated. A bout over-time w ork specified in Clauses (b) and (c) of
A rticle 20, ordinary notice is given.
64

22. All over-tim e w ork is recorded in the w orkm ens account

books by special entry, w ith an indication of the pay due for
it; in addition, a special over-tim e account has to be kept in the
office books fo r each w orkm an separately.
23. O ver-tim e w ork under conditions stated in A rticles 19-22
is allowed on no t more th a n fifty days in a y ear fo r each separate
establishm ent, and each day of over-time w ork in a branch is
counted even if on th a t day only one w orkm an did over-time
work in th a t branch.
24. The duration of over-tim e w ork of each individual w ork
m an m ust in no case exceed four hours fo r two days in succession.
25. F o r some tim e, u n til the end of m ilitary operations, in
the establishm ents w orking fo r defence, the rules lim iting the
d u ratio n of over-tim e w ork (A rticles 19-24) and those about
recesses d u ring the w ork (A rticles 4-6) m ay be suspended by
agreem ent w ith th e workm en and th e w orkm ens organizations.
26. T his law is to be p u t into operation by telegraph and
becomes effective im m ediately. F o r its violation offenders are
liable to im prisonm ent fo r a period not longer th a n one year.
In the am e of the R ussian Republic,
F o r the Com missar of L abor:
N . L a r in
October 29, 1917

Insurance Law
1. The Insu ran ce Council is instituted under the Peoples
Com m issary of Labor fo r the supervisin of all m a tte rs rela tin g
to th e insurance of workmen.
2. The Insurance Council consists of tw enty-four members
from th e insured, fo u r from the A ll-Russian C entral Council of
T rade Unions, two each from the A ll-R ussian C entral Council of
factory and mili committees and ag ric u ltu ral lab o rers com
m ittees, th ree from th e Peoples C om m issariat of Labor, one
from the Peoples C om m issariat of Justice, eight from employers, and one each fi*om Zemstvo and m unicipal self-governm ents, from physicians, and from lawyers.
3. The Insu ran ce Council elects from its num ber a ch a ir
m an, two vice-chairm en, and two secretaries.
4. The m em bers of the Council from the Peoples Commis65

s a ria ts a re appointed by order of the respective Peoples Com

m issaries.
'
5. The period of incumbency of the elected members of the
Council is fixed a t one year.
6. The m em bers of the Council from Zemstvo and m unicipal
self-governm ents, and from physicians and law yers, a re elected,
respectively, by th e m ain head com mittees of the A ll-Russian
Zemstvo U nion and U nion of M unicipalities by th e directorate
of th e Society of R ussian Physicians in memory of N. I. Pirogov,
and by th e A ll-R ussian Association of Law yers.
7. The m em bers of th e Council from insurance funds are
elected in accordance w ith the rules established by th e allR ussian conventions of m em bers of th e funds assembled in accordance w ith A rticle 27 of th is law.
8. The members of the Council from the A ll-R ussian T rades
Council and A ll-R ussian C entral Council of fac to ry and mili
com mittees and ag ric u ltu ra l la b o rers com mittees a re elected by
th e respective all-R ussian conventions.
9. T he m em bers of th e Council from em ployers a re elected by
th e cen tral em ployers associations by th e ir m utual consent.
10. P ersons of either sex m ay be elected as members of the
Council from insurance funds, trad e unions, factory, mili, and
a g ric u ltu ra l lab o rers committees, and also from em ployers, even
if th ey a re not members of insurance funds, tra d e unin, factory,
mili, or a g ric u ltu ra l lab o rers com mittees, or em ployers asso
ciations.
11. As su bstitutes fo r the m em bers of the Council th ere are
elected twelve from the insured, two from the A ll-R ussian Cen
tr a l Council of T rade Unions, one each from the A ll-R ussian
C entral Council of th e factory, mili, and a g ric u ltu ral lab o rers
committees, fo u r from employers, and one each from m unicipal
and Zemstvo self-governm ents, physicians, and law yers, accord
ing to A rticles 6, 7, 8, and 9.
T he substitution of members is m ade in the order of the m ajo rity of votes received in th e election, and, in case of an equal
num ber of votes, by draw ing lots. The substitutes m ay p a r
ticp ate in th e sessions of the Council even if the m em bership
is complete, bu t in the la tte r case only w ith th e rig h t of a Con
su lting voice.
12. The members of the Council by election and th e ir sub
stitu tes, upon the expiration of the tim e of th e ir incumbency,
continu to perform th e ir duties until new elections. R etiring
m embers m ay be reelected.
66

13. Members of the Council receive, for th e ir participatio n in

the labors of the Council, rem uneration from the funds of the
sta te trea su ry , th e am ount of which is fixed by the sta tu te s of
the Council. The am ount of rem uneration of the substitutes is
fixed by the instructions of the Council.
14. The absence of members of the Council from the insurance funds, tra d e unions, factory, mili, and ag ric u ltu ral labo rers
committees, from w ork or office a t the tim e w hen they a re en
gaged in the perform ance of the duties devolving upon them as
members of the Council, does not give the em ployer the rig h t to
impose upon them fines for absence from w ork (In d u stria l Labor
law, edition of 1913, articles 104 and 106) or to demand the
cancellation of the em ployment contract.
15. To th e sessions of th e Council m ay be invited persons
from whom it m ay be expected th a t useful inform ation will be
obtained about the m a tte r under discussion. When considering
m a tte rs which concern the jurisdiction of th e peoples commis
sa ria ts which have no rep resentatives on the Council, such per
sons are invited by arran g em en t w ith the respective Peoples
Commissar. Invited persons enjoy the rig h t of a Consulting
voice.
16. The direction of th e business of the Insurance Council
devolves upon the bureau of the Council, which is elected by the
general assem bly of the Council. The sessions of the Council
are called by the bureau whenever necessary. M atters are subm itted fo r th e consideration of the Council in the order established by the bureau of the Council. Members of the Council
have the r ig h t to subm it th ro u g h the bureau, for consideration
by the Council, questions which rela te to m a tte rs in its juri^diction.
17. The In surance Council has jurisdiction in the following
cases:
(a) the issuance, w ithin the lim its of the law s in forc, of
regulations and instructions concerning all kinds of w orkm ens
insurance, as well as the issuance of rules establishing the order
of operation of local insurance institutions in charge of these
m a tte rs;
(b) the exam ination of objections which m ay arise from the
application by the local insurance institutions of the laws governing questions of w orkm ens insurance;
(c) the annulm ent of the decisions of insurance boards ag ain st
which, by law, appeals m ay be taken to the Council;
67

(d) the consideration of com plaints ag a in st th e decisions of

th e insurance boards subm itted to the In surance Council;
(e) the fixing of the am ount of rem uneration of members of
th e insurance boards fo r particip atio n in the labors of these
b o a rd s;
(f) the issuance of rules governing the accounting of in su r
ance funds and other insurance in stitu tio n s;
(g) the establishm ent of a general ru le fo r the application of
the insurance law s to persons who w ork in cooperative societies,
a rtisan s, those eng-aged in home industries, and poor peasants
who w ork independently w ithout em ploying hired labor;
(h) consideration of legislative proposals reg ard in g m a tte rs
of w orkm ens insurance, instructions to sections, and the general
assem bly of th e Council;
(i) proposals reg a rd in g the inspection of local institu tio n s in
charge of insurance, and also the inspection of insurance funds
and other insurance in stitu tio n s;
(j) th e consideration of questions having relation to m a tte rs
w ithin th e jurisdiction of th e Council and subm itted by the
Peoples Com m issariat of Labor, as well as by members of the
Council through the bureau of th e Council.
The In surance Council has ju risdiction in th e following cases
in p a rtic u la r:
I. R egarding w orkm ens insurance ag a in st sickness:
(a)
th e establishm ent of th e form and order of fu rn ish in g
p ro p er inform ation by employers, as well as the keeping of books
and records containing this inform ation, and the order of th e ir
submission fo r exam ination;
(b) the fixing of tim e lim its fo r the establishm ent of hospital
fu n d s ;
(c) the issuance of regulations governing the equipm ent and
m aintenance of medical in stitutions fo r members of hospital
funds, as well as the extent of medical aid in all its form s;
(d) the establishm ent of the order and general basis of rend ering medical aid to m em bers of hospital fun d s;
(e) the establishm ent of the form s of medical rep o rts of in
stitu tio n s which tr e a t members of hospital funds;
(f) the establishm ent of th e form of annual rep o rts about
th e em ployment of hospital funds.
II. R egarding w orkm ens insurance ag a in st accidents:
(a)
th e establishm ent of the form of certifcate attestin g the
circum stances under which the accident occurred;
6S

(b) the establishm ent of tim e lim its fo r the issuance to peilsioners of certificates necessary fo r receiving a pensin;
(c) th e establishm ent of the form of pensin books and rules
govem ing th e ir issuance;
(d) th e establishm ent of regulations and the tim e lim it for
th e delivery of inform ation about the n a tu re of an enterp rise
and th e num ber of persons employed in it;
(e) the approval of tables fo r reckoning th e capitalized cost
of pensions;
(f) th e consideration of the basis fo r calculating the proportions of th e insurance contributions of em ployers;
(g ) th e establishm ent and determ ination of the classes of
dangerous occupations;
(h) the selection of the form s of sta tistic a l rep o rts about
accidents.
III. R egarding w orkm ens insurance a g a in st unem ploym ent:
(a) the fixing of th e am ount of the contribution of em ployers
to the unem ploym ent fund in its ratio to w ages;
(b) th e establishm ent of rules of deposit, keeping, and disbursem ent of the all-R ussian unem ploym ent fu n d ;
(c) th e establishm ent of th e form of the order on which em
ployers shall fu rn ish necessary inform ation;
(d) th e exam ination of com plaints a g a in st the decisions of
insurance boards.
19. The Insu ran ce Council tra n sa c ts its business in general
sessions and in separate sections of th e Council.
20. S ep arate sections are established by the Council fo r the
consideration of questions and business (a) of insurance ag ain st
sickness, (b) accident insurance, (c) unem ploym ent insurance,
(d) od age insurance, etc.
21. The personnel of the sections, the order of th e ir election,
and th e apportionm ent of business am ong the sections is d eter
mined by the Council in special instructions fo r each section.
22. The decisions of the Council a re final. The Peoples Com
m issar of L abor is given the rig h t of vetoing the decisions of
the Council.
23. The general assem bly of the Council m ay order the fo r
mation of com mittees to ca rry out special m issions of the Council
or sections, and persons who a re not members of the Council
.may be included in those committees.
69

24. W hen the inspection is being made, as stipulated in

Clause (i) o A rticle 17 of th is law, institu tio n s and persons are
obliged to produce all books, accounts, and records which have
reference to the object of the inspection.
25. The rules of procedure in the general assembly, sections,
and com mittees, as well as in the b ureau of th e Council, are
determ ined by instructions form ulated by the Council.
26. The decisions of the Council a re published in a special
colleetion which is sent free to local insurance institu tio n s and
insurance organizations, as well as governm ental and public
in stitutions and organizations, a t the discretion of th e bureau
of th e Council. Decisions having a binding ch aracter are' pub
lished fo r general inform ation in the central organ of th e Gov
ernm ent.
27. F o r the consideration of the m ost im p o rtan t m easures of
a g eneral ch aracter which rela te to w orkm ens insurance, allR ussian and regional conventions of insured a re called annually.
N ote: The order of elections to the conventions is determ ined
by local w orkm ens insurance organizations.
28. The business of the In surance Council is to be tran sacted
by th e dep artm en t of social insurance of th e Peoples Commiss a ria t of Labor, under the direction of th e bureau of the Council.
29. U ntil the election of the members of th e Insu ran ce Coun
cil from m em bers of insurance funds in the w ay provided by
A rticle 7 of th is law, the above m em bers of th e Council are
elected a t the P etro g rad W orkm ens In surance Conference on
the basis of one delegate to 1,000 workmen.
The members of the Insurance Council from employers, un til
th e ir election in the w ay indicated in A rticle 9 of th is law, are
elected by the P etro g rad A ssociation of M anufactu rers.
'
Com plaints ag a in st election erro rs a re lodged w ith th e Peo
ples C om m issariat of Labor.
Peoples Com missar of Labor,
A. S h l ia p n ik o v
D irector of the D epartm ent of Social Insurance,
A. V in o k u r o v
S ecretary of the D epartm ent,
A. P o derin
N ovem ber 29, 1917
70

|
r
1

The Administration of National

Undertakings
P art I.
1. The C entral A dm inistration of N ationalized U n d ertak
ings, of w hatever branch of industry, assigns fo r each larg e
nationalized undertak in g technical and ad m in istrativ e directors,
in whose hands a re placed the actual adm in istratio n and direc
tion of the entire activity of the undertaking. They are respon
sible to the C entral A dm inistration and the Com m issar appointed by it.
2. The technical director appoints technical employees and
gives all orders reg ard in g the technical adm inistration of the
undertaking. The facto ry com mittee may, however, complain
reg ard in g these appointm ents and orders to the Com missar
of the C entral A dm inistration, and then to the C entral A dm in
istratio n itse lf; but only the Com m issar and C entral A dm inis
tra tio n m ay stop the appointm ents and order of the technical
director.
3. In connection w ith the A dm inistrative D irector there is an
Economic A dm inistrative Council, consisting of delegates from
laborers, employees, and engineers of th e undertaking. The
Council exam ines the estim ates of the undertaking, the plan of
its works, the rules of in te rn al distribution, com plaints, the
m aterial and m oral conditions of the w ork and life of the w ork
men and employees, and likewise all questions reg ard in g the
progress of the undertaking.
4. On questions of a technical ch a racter rela tin g to the enterprise th e Council has only a consultative voice, b u t on other
questions a decisive voice, on condition, however, th a t the Ad
m in istrativ e D irector appointed by the C entral A dm inistration
has the rig h t to appeal from the orders of the Council to the
Commissioner of the C entral A dm inistration.
5. The duty of acting upon decisions of th e Economic A dm in
istra tiv e Council belongs to the A dm inistrative D irector.
6. The Council of the enterprise has the rig h t to make rep re
sentation to the C entral A dm inistration reg a rd in g a change of
the directors of the enterprise, and to presen t its own candidates.
7. Depending on the size and im portance of the enterprise,
the C entral A dm inistration m ay appoint several technical and
ad m in istrative directors.
71

8. The composition of the Economic A dm inistrative Council

of th e en terp rise consists of (a) a rep resen tativ e of th e w ork
men of the u n d ertak in g ; (b) a represen tativ e of the other employees; (c) a rep resen tativ e of the h ighest technical and comm ercial personnel; (d) the directors of the undertak in g , appointed by th e C entral A dm inistration; (e) represen tativ es of
the local or regional council of professional unions, of the peo
ples economic council, of th e council of w orkm ens deputies, and
of th e professional council of th a t b ranch of in d u stry to which
th e given enterprise belongs; (f) a rep resen tativ e of th e w ork
m ens cooperative council; and (g) a rep resen tativ e of th e Soviet
of p ea sa n ts deputies of the corresponding regin.
9. In the composition of th e Economic A dm inistrative Council
of the enterprise, representatives of workm en and other employees, as m entioned under (a) and (b) of A rticle 8, m ay
fu rn ish only h a lf of th e num ber of members.
10. The w orkm ens control of nationalized undertak in g s is
attain ed by leaving all declarations and orders of th e facto ry
committee, or of the controlling commission, to the judgm ent
and decisin of the Economic A dm inistrative Council of the
enterprise.
11. The workmen, employees, and highest technical and comm ercial personnel of nationalized u ndertakings a re in duty
bound before the R ussian Soviet Republic to observe stric t in
d u stria l discipline, and to c a rry out conscientiously and accura te ly the w ork assigned to them . To th e Economic A dm inis
tra tiv e Council are given judicial powers, including th a t of dism issal w ithout notice fo r longer or sh o rter periods, together
w ith th e declaration of a boycott fo r non-p ro letariat recognition
of th e ir rig h ts and duties.
12. In the case of those in d u strial branches for which cen tral
ad m inistrations have not yet been form ed, all th e ir rig h ts are
vested in provincial councils of n ational economy, and in corresponding indu strial sections of the Suprem e Council of N ational
Economy.
13. The estim ates and plan of w ork of a nationalized u n d er
tak in g m ust be presented by its Economic A dm inistrative Coun
cil to th e central adm inistration of a given ind u strial branch a t
least as often as once in three m onths, through the provincial
organizations, w here such have been established.
14. The m anagem ent of nationalized undertakings, w here
such m anagem ent has heretofore been organizad on other p rin
72

cipies because of the absence of a general plan and general or

ders fo r the whole of Russia, m ust now be reorganized, in accord
ance w ith th e p resent regulation, w ithin the next th ree m onths
[i. e., by th e end of May, new style].
15. F o r th e consideration of the declarations of the Economic
A dm inistrative Council concerning the activity of th e directors
of th e u n d ertak in g a t the central adm in istratio n of a given
branch of industry, a special section is established, composed
one-third of representatives of general governm ental, political,
and economic institutions of the p ro letariat, one-third of re p re
sentatives of workm en and other employees of the given indus
tria l branch, and one-third of represen tativ es of the directing,
technical, and com mercial personnel and its professional or
ganizations.
16. The present order m ust be posted on the prem ises of each
nationalized undertaking.
N ote: Sm all nationalized enterprises are m anaged on sim ilar
principies, w ith the proviso th a t the duties of technical and ad
m in istrativ e directors m ay be combined in one person, and the
num erical stren g th of the Economic A d m inistrative Council m ay
be cut down by the omission of represen tativ es of one or another
in stitution or organization.
P art II.
17. A C entral A dm inistration [P rin cip al Committee] for
each nationalized branch of in d u stry is to be established in connection w ith the Suprem e Council of N ational Economy, to
be composed one-third of rep resentatives of workm en and em
ployees of a given in d u stria l b ran ch ; one-third of re p re se n ta
tives of the general p ro letariat, general governm ental, pojitical,
and economic organizations and institu tio n s (Suprem e Council
of N ational Economy, the Peoples Com m issars, A ll-Russian
Council of Professional Unions, A ll-R ussian Council of W ork
mens Cooperative Unions, C entral E xecutive Committee of the
Councils of W orkm ens D elegates) and one-third of rep rese n ta
tives of scientific bodies, of the suprem e technical and commer
cial personnel, and of dem ocratic organizations of all Russia
(Council of the Congresses of All Russia, cooperative unions of
consumers, councils of p ea sa n ts deputies).
18. The C entral A dm inistration selects its bureau, for which
all orders of the C entral A dm inistration a re obligatory, which
conducs the cu rren t work and carries into effect the general
plans fo r the undertaking.
19. The C entral A dm inistration organizes provincial and
73

*
I

local adm inistrations of a given in d u strial branch, on principies

sim ilar to those on which its own organization is based.
20. The rig h ts and duties of each C entral A dm inistration
a re indicated in the order concerning th e establishm ent of each
of them , b u t in each case each C entral A dm inistration unites in
its own hands (a) the m anagem ent of th e enterprises of a given
in d u stria l branch, (b) th e ir financing, (c) th e ir technical unification or reconstruction, (d) standardization of the w orking
conditions of the given in d u stria l branch.
21. All orders of the Suprem e Council of N ational Economy
are obligatory fo r each C entral A dm inistration; the C entral
A d m inistration comes into contact w ith th e Suprem e Council, as
represented by the bureau of productive organization of the
Suprem e Council of N ational Economy, through the corresponding productive sections.
22. W hen the C entral A dm inistration fo r any in d u strial
branch which has not yet been nationalized is organized, it has
th e rig h t to sequestrate the enterprises of th e given branch, and
equally, w ithout sequestration, to prevent its m anagers completely or in p a r t from engaging in its adm inistration, appoint
commissioners, give orders, which a re obligatory, to the owners
of non-nationalized enterprises, and incur expenses on account of
these enterprises fo r m easures which th e C entral A dm inistration
m ay consider necessary; and likew ise to combine into a tech
nical whole sep arate enterprises or p a rts of the same, to tra n sfe r from some enterprises to others fuel and custom ers orders,
and establish prices upon articles of production and commerce.
23. The C entral A dm inistration Controls im ports and exports
of coiresponding goods fo r a period which it determ ines, for
which purpose it form s a p a r t of the general governm ental or
ganizations of external commerce.
24. The C entral A dm inistration has the rig h t to concntrate
in its hands and in institutions established by it, both the entire
p rep a ra tio n of articles necessary fo r a given branch of in d u stry
(ra w m aterial, m achinery, etc.), and th e disposal to enterprises
subject to it of all products and acceptance of orders fo r them.

P art III.
25. Upon the introduction of nationalization into any indus
tria l branch, or into any individual enterprise, the corresponding C entral A dm inistration (or the tem porary C entral A dm inis
tratio n appointed w ith its rig h ts) takes under its m anagem ent
74

the nationalized enterprises, each separately, and preserves the

larg e ones as separate adm inistrative units, annexing to them
the sm aller ones.
20.
U ntil the nationalized enterprises have been taken over
by the C entral A dm inistration (or principal com m issary), all
form er m anagers or directorates m ust continu th e ir w ork in its
en tirety in the usual m anner, and under the supervisin of the
corresponding commissioner (if one has been appointed), ta k in g
all m easures necessary fo r the preservation of the national
p ro p erty and fo r th e continuous course of operations.
27. The C entral A dm inistration and its organs establish new
m anagem ents and technical adm inistrative d irectorates of en ter
prises.
28. Technical ad m inistrative d irectorates of nationalized
en terp rises a re organized according to P a r t I of th is decree.
29. The m anagem ent of a la rg e u n dertaking, trea ted as a
se p arate ad m in istrativ e unit, is organized w ith a view to secur
ing, in as la rg e a m easure as possible, th e utilization of the
technical and commercial experience accum ulated by the u n d er
ta k in g ; fo r which purpose th e re are included in the composition
of the new m anagem ent not only representatives of the laborers
and employees of the en terp rise (to the num ber of one-third of
the general num erical stren g th of the m anagem ent) and of the
C entral A dm inistration itself (to th e num ber of one-third or
less as the C entral A dm inistration shall see fit), but also, as f a r
as possible, m em bers of form er m anagem ents, excepting persons
specially removed by the C entral A dm inistration, and, upon th e ir
refusal, rep resentatives of any special com petent organizations,
even if they are not p ro le ta ria t (to a num ber not exceeding oneth ird of the general m em bership of the m anagem ent).
30. W hen nationalization is introduced, w hether of the entire
branch of the in d u stry or of sep arate enterprises, the C entral
A dm inistrations a re perm itted, in order to fac ilita te the change,
to pay to the highest technical and com mercial personnel th eir
present salaries, and even, in case of refu sal on th e ir p a rt to
work and th e im possibility of filling th e ir places w ith other p er
sons, to introduce fo r th e ir benefit obligatory w ork and to b rin g
su it ag a in st them.
31. The form er m anagem ent of each nationalized u n d e rta k
ing m ust p rep are a rep o rt fo r the la st year of operation and an
inventory of the undertaking, in accordance w ith which invento ry the now m anagem ent verifies the properties taken over.
75

The actual ta k in g over of the en terp rise is done by th e new

m anagem ent im m ediately upon its confirm ation by the principal
committee, w ithout w aiting fo r the p resentation of the invento ry and report.
32. Upon receipt in th e ir locality of notice of the nationalization of an enterprise, and u n til the organization of the m an
agem ent and its adm inistration by the C entral A dm inistration
(or th e principal com m issary, or in stitu tio n having th e rig h ts
of th e principal com m issary) th e workm en and employees of
th e given enterprise, and, if possible, also the Council of W ork
m ens D eputies, the Council of N ational Economy, and Council
of P rofessional Unions, select tem p o rary com m issars, under
whose supervisin and observation (and, if necessary, under
whose m anagem ent) the activity of the u ndertaking contines.
T he workm en and employees of the given enterprise, and the
regional councils of national economy, of professional unions,
and of w orkm ens delegates have the rig h t also to organize tem
p o rary m anagem ents and directorates of nationalized en ter
prises u n til the same are completely established by the C entral
A dm inistration.
33. I f the initiative fo r th e nationalization of a given en ter
p rise comes, not from the general governm ental and p ro letariat
organs authorized fo r th a t purpose, but from the workm en of
a given en terp rise or from some local or regional organization,
then th ey propose to the Suprem e Council of N ational Economy,
as represented by its bureau of productive organization, th a t
th e necessary steps be undertaken through th e proper production sections, according to the decree of F e b ru a ry 28 reg ard in g
the method of confiscating enterprises.
34. In exceptional cases local labor organizations a re given
the rig h t to take tem porarily under th e ir m anagem ent the given
enterprise, if circum stances do not p erm it of aw aiting the de
cisin of the question in the reg u la r order, bu t on condition th a t
such action be im m ediately brought to the notice of the n earest
provincial council of national economy, w hich then puts a tem
p o rary sequestration upon the en terp rise pending the complete
solution of the question of nationalization by the Suprem e Coun
cil of N ational Economy; or, if it shall consider the reasons
insufficient or nationalization clearly inexpedient, or a prolonged
sequestration unnecessary, it directs a tem porary sequestration
or even directly restablishes the form er m anagem ent of the
en terp rise under its supervisin, or introduces into the compo76

sition of the m anagem ent representatives of labor organizations.

35.
The presen t order m ust be furnished by the professional
unions of all R ussia to all th e ir local divisions, and by the councils of fac to ry com mittees to all fac to ry com mittees, and m ust
be published in full in the Izve stia of all provincial councils of
w orkm ens and p ea san ts deputies.
F o r the B ureau of O rganization of Production
of the Suprem e Council of N ational Economy:
V . L a r in
S uperintendent:
S h e v e r d in
M arch 7, 1918

Price Committees
1. A lthough the shops in th e large cities have not received
any goods d uring the la st few m onths, and all the articles in
them w ere purchased ea rlier by the p roprietors a t com paratively
low prices, nevertheless a t the p resent tim e th e p roprietors dem and fo r these goods prices much higher th a n those which prevailed fo u r m onths ago. Accordingly, an exam ination of all
books of all shops in all cities and settlem ents w ith a population of not less th a n 10,000 is ordered.
2. In view of the obvious necessity of control over the fixing
of prices, com mittees on prices are created fo r every class of
commercial establishm ent (dry-goods, haberdashery, hardw are,
groceries, etc.)
3. The determ ination of those branches of commerce fo r each
of which a special com mittee on prices is created is le ft to a
commission of representatives of the local Soviet of W orkm ens
Deputies, the city council, and the unin of com mercial-industria l employees in equal num bers (th ree each from those o r
ganizations) .
4. The sam e commission determ ines which commercial establishm ents a re w ithin the jurisdiction of each com mittee on
prices.
5. Committees on pnces, in accordanee w ith th is ordinance,
are to be created w ithout fail in every city and se/tlem ent w itn
a population of not less th an 10,000.
6. The m em bers of th e committee on prices com prise two
rep resen tatives of the respective section of com mercial-indus77

tria l employees, two representatives of consum ers leagues, two

rep resentatives of p roprietors of the respective commercial
establishm ents, one statistician , and one book-keeper, chosen by
the local Soviet of W orkm ens D eputies.
7. T he com m ittee on prices Controls a giv en branch o f com
m erce in its en tirety and directs it on th e follow in g principies:

(a) th e verification of the disbursem ents of th e commercial

establishm ent fo r th e acquisition, keeping, and organization of
th e sale of goods, and additional expenses connected w ith the
conduct of the business;
(b) the determ ination, on th is basis, of the norm al average
price of each product fo r a given city;
(c) the fixing of an average am ount of profit;
(d) the apportionm ent of the profit am ong all the shops, w ith
the rig h t of taking as a whole all disbursem ents and all incomes
of all shops of a given branch of commerce in a given city, but
so calculated th a t all p roprietors who a re personally engaged in
th e ir business, and th e ir fam ilies, shall be secured a t least a
suitable m aintenance.

8. T he com mittee on prices Controls the sources of supply of

shops fo r articles in which they deal, and takes m easures for
th e u n in te rru p te d delivery to th e shops of those articles in
proper quantities, and in extrem e cases, a t the expense of the
proprietors, m aking necessary expenditures and organizing the
tem p o rary m anagem ent of those shops whose proprieto rs cease
trad in g or who m aliciously do not take proper m easures fo r
securing the supply of goods fo r the shop, or who vilate the
rules of the committee.
9. F o r the unification of the supply of goods to shops, the
com m ittee on prices assum es the duty of a purchasing centre
w hich supplies all stores under its control; w hile the p ro p ri
etors, fo r th a t purpose, place a t its disposal all th e ir connections,
knowledge,- and technical and adm inistrative ap p a ratu s, and
supply such funds as they o rd inarily disburse fo r supplying
th e ir shops w ith goods. T he committee on prices has th e rig h t
to organize purchasing centres, and m ay increase, in case of
necessity, the represen tation of the p roprietors of shops on the
com mittee to fo u r members instead of two.
10. The committee on prices sees to it th a t th e shops under
its control c a rry out all regulations of th e authorities reg ard in g
th e distribution of products am ong th e population, w hether by
cards or on some other basis..
78

11. The com mittee on prices of each city elects rep rese n ta
tives to the all-city committee on prices, w hich coordinates the
activity of sep arate com mittees under the direction of the cen
tra l, regional, and local boards of national economy, and in accordance w ith th e ir regulations.

12. F o r th e expense connected w ith the business of the com

m ittees on prices and the m aintenance of th e ir personnel, a deduction from the profits of the commercial establishm ents under
th e ir control is m ade in suitable proportions and by th e ir order.
13. E xecutive au th o rity for ca rry in g out this ordinance in
each city, including the form ation of a commission provided for
in Clause 3, is given to local tra d e unions of commercial-ind u stria l employees, and, in case of th e absence of such, to the
local Soviet of W orkm ens D eputies; or, in th e absence of such
Soviet, to th e city council, or, in case of the absence of such city
council, to the local consum ers leagues.
14. T his ordinance shall be p u t into effect not la te r th a n the
month of F eb ru ary . P ersons guilty of violating it are Hable to
im prisonm ent fo r a period not longer th a n one year, and to a
fine a t the discretion of the R evolutionary T ribunal.
Committee on Prices of the Suprem e Council of
N ational Economy:
V . S m ir n o v
N. L a r in
Ja nuary 30, 1918

The Supply of Agricultural Implements

To fa cto ry and m ili com m ittees and representatives of m anufactu rin g enterprises.
'T 'H E Suprem e Board of N ational Economy has now under-* taken th e organization of the entire business of supplying
the ag ric u ltu ra l population w ith ag ric u ltu ral m achinery and im
plements. In order th a t all th is w ork m ay be carried out successfully, it is necessary th a t the Suprem e Board of N ational
Economy should have a t its disposal exact inform ation about all
those establishm ents which a t this moment have already changed
or are read y to change to the production of ag ric u ltu ral m a
chinery. Only w ith all this inform ation a t hand will it be possible to organize system atically this branch of national economy,
which is most im portant for the R ussian Republic, and to avoid
79

in the fu tu re those ills which m ay be caused by an unorganized

change from w a r production to peace work. Moreover, all the
inform ation is necessary fo r th e apportionm ent of orders for
ag ric u ltu ra l m achines and im plem ents, which th e Suprem e Board
of N ational Economy w ill soon place.
In view of w h at has been said, we urg en tly request all facto ry
and m ili com mittees and m a n u factu rers, or th e ir organizations,
to fu rn ish in w ritin g th e m ost com plete inform ation about th e ir
establishm ents which have to do w ith th e m a n u factu re of a g ri
cu ltu ral m achinery, indicating the num ber of workmen, the m a
chine equipm ent, and the possible m nim um production per
month, tog eth er w ith a statem ent of th e m achines and im ple
m ents (type and p a te n t), necessary in r u ra l economy, fo r which
th ey can take orders.
In view of the exceptional im portance of th e m a tte r of supplying our ru ra l economy, we respectfully request the provincial
papers to re p rin t th is appeal.
The Suprem e Council of N ational Economy.

Orders of the Peoples Commissar of

Education of the Western Provinces
and Front
HE following orders are selected from a group of six
educational documents published at Petrograd, March
10, 1918. The omitted orders, Nos. 3-5, relate to the budget
for 1919 and to routine matters.

No. 1
To all p rim ary and secondary educational institu tio n s o f the
w estern provinces.
I propose to the adm inistration of all the above-mentioned
educational institutions, from the date of the publication of this
order, n o t to discharge students fo r non-paym ent of dues. As
to those who have already been discharged before th is order
was published, they m ust im m ediately be reinstated.
I propose to all departm ents of public education in local
Soviets of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts D eputies, to at80

tend strictly to the ca rry in g out of my order. The question of

th e legal position of students who have not paid th e ir school
dues will be explained in the n ear fu tu re.
No special notification will be given to each educational institution, and the present order becomes th e law of th e land from
th e date of its publication in the new spaper Sovietskaya Pravda
[Soviet T ru th ].
N o. 2
H aving in mind to afford to the larg e popular m asses access
to books, th e Com m issariat of Public E ducation will shortly
proceed to reg late the lib ra ry business and its reorganization
on new principies. In view of th is the Com m issar directs th a t:
I. All lib raries found w ithin the boundaries of the w estern
provinces and front, and belonging to m unicipalities, public in
stitutions, or organizations of various sorts, or to priv ate p er
sons, a re taken over fo r the benefit of public educational in sti
tutions in local Soviets of W orkm ens, Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts
D eputies, and, in the city of Smolensk, by th e local section of
public education of the provincial com m issariat.
II. All institutions, organizations, and p riv ate persons possessing lib raries in the city of Smolensk m ust, w ithin five days
follow ing the date of the publication of this order in the new s
pap er S o vietskaya Pravda, present to th e C om m issariat of Public
E ducation exact inform ation concerning:
(1) the location of the libraries belonging to them ;
(2) the num ber of volumes found in the lib ra rie s;
(3) the contents of the lib raries (complete catalogues of the
books m ust be presented, and in case such do not exist, then
general inform ation concerning the ch a racter of the books colle c te d );
(4) the periodical publications subscribed to by the lib ra rie s;
(5) th e num ber of subscribers;
(6) the rules adopted fo r the use of these books.
N ote: T his order does not affect persons who have libraries
consisting of less th a n 500 volumes, if these lib ra rie s are not
intended fo r public readers.
III. In case reading-room s a re found a t such libraries, it is
necessary to indicate:

(1) the list of periodical publications found in the readingroom ;

.
(2) sta tistica l data, if such are a t hand, reg a rd in g the reading-room visitors.
IV. In stitu tio n s, organizations, and p riv ate persons possess81

ing lib raries outside th e boundaries of the city of Smolensk and

of the Governm ent of Smolensk m ust p resen t the inform ation
indicated above, w ithin a week from th e d ate of the publication
of th is order, to the proper section of local Soviets of W ork
m ens, Soldiers, and P e a sa n ts D eputies. T he la tte r, upon re
ceipt of th e data, m ust fu rn ish copies of the same to the Com
m issar of Public Education of the w estern provinces and fro n t.
V.
Those who fa il to comply w ith th is order will be turned
over to the M ilitary R evolutionary T ribunal.
No. 6
I t is the duty of all ow ners of m oving-picture houses in the
city of Smolensk, from the date of the publication of th is order
in the new spaper Sovietskaya Pravda, to presen t fo r approval
to th e provincial C om m issariat of Public E ducation th e program m es and librettos of the pietures proposed to be exhibited
by them.
I t is forbidden to show pietures not approved by th e Com
m issariat.
In those cases in which the C om m issariat shall find it neces
sa ry th e pietures, before being shown to the public, m ust be
shown fo r exam ination to persons specially designated by the
C om m issariat.
M oving-pieture enterprises not complying w ith this order will
be a t once confiscated.
The Com m issar of Public E ducation of the W estern
Provinces and F ro n t:

PlKEL

Abolition of Inheritance
I. Inheritance, w hether by law or by will, is abolished. A fter
the death of an owner, th e pro p erty w hich belonged to him,
w hether movable or immovable, becomes the property of the
G overnment of the R ussian Socialist F ederated Soviet Republic.
N ote: The discontinuance and tra n s fe r of rig h ts of u tiliza
r o n of farm lands is determ ined by th e rules provided in the
fundam ental law of the socialization of the land.
II. U ntil the issuance of a decree dealing w ith general social
arran g em ents, relatives who are in need (i. e., those who do not
possess a mnimum m aintenance), and who are incapable of
w orksuch relatives being in a directly ascending or descending
line, full or half-brothers or sisters, or spouse, of the deceased
receive support from the pro p erty le ft by the deceased.
82

N ote 1: No distinction is made between the relationship th a t

arises w ithin wedlock and th a t which arises outside of wedlock.
Note 2: Adopted relatives or children and th e ir descendants
a re p u t upon the same footing as relatives by descent w hether
as to those who adopted them or as to those who have been
adopted.
III. I f th ere is not enough of th e p ro p erty rem aining to supp o rt a spouse and all surviving relatives, as enum erated above,
then the m ost needy of them m ust be provided fo r first.
IV. The am ount of allow ance to be given a spouse and s u r
viving relatives from the p ro p erty of the deceased is determ ined
by the in stitu tio n conducting the affairs of social security in the
G overnments, and in Moscow and P etro g ra d by the m unicipal
Soviets of W orkm ens and P e a sa n ts D eputies, in agreem ent
w ith the persons who have the rig h t to receive the allowance,
and, in case of dispute between them , by the local court, accord
ing to th e usual legal procedure. Cases of th is so rt are u n d er
the ju risd iction of th e Soviets of W orkm ens and P e a sa n ts
D eputies and the local courts of the la st place of residence of
the deceased.
V. All p ro p erty of the deceased, other th a n th a t enum erated
in A rticle IX of this decree, comes under th e jurisdiction of the
local Soviet, which tu rn s it over to the bureaus or institu tio n s
h aving control in those localities of sim ilar p ro p erty of the
Russian Republic, according to the la st place of residence of the
deceased or according to the place w here the pro p erty is situated.
VI. The local Soviet publishes, fo r th e purpose of general
notification, the death of th e pro p erty owner, and calis upon the
persons who have a rig h t to receive support from the said prop
erty to ap p e ar w ithin a year from the date of th e publication.
VII. Those who do not declare th e ir claim s before th e expiration of the y ear follow ing the publication, as provided in the above
article, lose th e ir rig h t to receive support from the pro p erty
of the deceased.
V III. From the property of the deceased are paid, first, the
expenses of the adm inistration of the property. The relatives
and spouse of th e deceased receive th e ir allow ances before the
creditors a re paid. The creditors of the deceased, if th e ir claims
are recognized as proper to be paid, are satisfied from the prop
erty a fte r the deductions indicated above, on condition, in case
the p ro p erty is insufficient to cover all dem ands of the creditors,
th a t th e g eneral principies of the m eeting of creditors be
applied.
.
83

IX. I f the pro p erty of th e deceased does not exceed 10,000

rubes, or in p a rtic u la r consists of a fa rm house, domestic fu rn itu re, and m eans fo r economic production by work, in eith er
city o r village, it comes under th e im m ediate control of the
spouse and relatives enum erated in A rticle II of the present
decree, who a re present. The method of control and m anage
m ent of the pro p erty is arran g e d by agreem ent between the
spouse and relatives, and, in case of th e ir disagreem ent, by the
local tribunal.
X. The p resent decree is retroactive as reg ard s all inheritances discovered before it w as issued, if they have not yet been
acquired by the heirs, or, if acquired, if they have not yet been
taken possession of by the heirs.
XI. All suits now pending respecting inheritances, the pro
bate of wills, the confirm ation of the rig h ts of inheritance, etc.,
are deemed to be discontinued, and th e respective h ered itary
p ro p erty is to be a t once turned over fo r adm inistratio n to the
local Soviets or institutions indicated in A rticle V of th e present
decree.
N ote: Concerning h ere d itary properties discovered before the
p resen t decree is issuedproperties enum erated in A rticle IX
of th e present decreea special regulation will be issued.
X II. The Peoples Com missar of Ju stice is empowered, in
agreem ent w ith the Com m issariat of Social S ecurity and Work,
to issue a detailed instruction concerning the enforcem ent of the
present decree.
The p resent decree is of forc from the date of its signature,
and is to be p u t into operation by telegraph.
P resident of the C entral E xecutive Committee:
S verdlov
.
S ecretary of the C entral Executive Committee:
>
A v a n eso v
.
.
A p ril 27, 1918

Grain Control
H E disastrous underm ining of the countrys food supply,
the serious h eritag e of the four y e a rs w ar, contines to
extend more and more, and to be more and more acute. While
th e consuming provincial Governments a re starving, in the producing G overnments there are a t the p resent moment, as be
fore, larg e reserves of g rain of the h arvests of 1916 and 1917

84

not yet even threshed. This g ra in is in the hands of tight-fisted

village dealers and profiteers, of the village bourgeoisie. Well
fed and well provided for, having accum ulated enormous sums
of money obtained during the years of w ar, the village bour
geoisie rem ains stubbornly deaf and indifferent to the w ailings
of sta rv in g w orkm en and p easan t poverty, and does not b rin g
the g ra in to the collecting points. The g ra in is held w ith the
hope of compelling the G overnment to raise repeatedly th e prices
of g rain , a t the same tim e th a t th e holders sell th e ir g rain a t
home a t fabulous prices to g ra in speculators.
An end m u st be pu t to this obstinacy of the greedy village
g ra in profiteers. The food experience of form er years showed
th a t th e breaking of fixed prices and the denial of g ra in monopoly, while lessening the possibility of fea stin g fo r our group of
capitalists, would m ake bread completely inaccessible to our
m any millions of workm en and would subject them to inevitable
death from starvation.
The answ er to the violence of g rain ow ners tow ard the sta rv
ing poor m ust be violence tow ard the bourgeoisie.
N ot a pood should rem ain in the hands of those holding the
g rain , except the q u an tity needed fo r sowing the fields and provisioning th e ir fam ilies u n til the new harvest.
This policy m ust be p u t into forc a t once, especially since
the G erm n occupation of the U kraine compels us to g et along
w ith g ra in resources which w ill h ard ly suffic fo r sowing and
cu rtailed use.
H aving considered the situation thus created, and tak in g into
account th a t only w ith the m ost rigid calculation and equal dis
trib u tio n of all g ra in reserves can R ussia pass through the
food crisis, th e C entral E xecutive Committee of all R ussia has
d ecreed:
1. Confirming the fixity of the g ra in monopoly and fixed
prices, and also the necessity of a m erciless stru g g le w ith g ra in
speculators, to compel each g rain owner to declare th e surplus
above w h at is needed to sow the fields and fo r personal use,
according to established norm al quantities, u n til the new h a r
vest, and to surren d er the same w ithin a week a fte r th e publi
cation of th is decisin in each village. The order of these declarations is to be determ ined by the Peoples Food Commissar
through the local food organizations.
2. To cali upon workm en and poor p easants to unite a t once
fo r a m erciless struggle w ith g rain hoarders.
85

3.
To declare all those who have a surplus of g rain and who
do not b rin g it to th e collecting points, and likewise those who
w aste g ra in reserves on illicit distillation of alcohol and do not
b rin g them to the collecting points, enemies of the people; to
tu r n them over to th e Revolutionary T ribunal, im prison them
fo r not less th a n ten years, confscate th e ir entire property, and
drive them out forever from the com munes; while the distillers
are, besides, to be condemned to com pulsory com munal work.
In case an excess of g ra in w hich w as not declared fo r surrender, in compliance w ith A rticle 1, is found in th e possession
of an y one, the g rain is to be taken aw ay from him w ithout pay,
w hile th e sum, according to fixed prices, due fo r the undeclared
surpluses, is to be paid, one-half to th e person who points out
th e concealed surpluses, a fte r they have been placed a t th e col
lecting points, and the o ther h alf to th e village commune. Decla ra tio n s concerning th e concealed surpluses a re made by the
local food organizations.
. F u rth e r, ta k in g into consideration th a t the struggle w ith the
food crisis dem ands the application of quick and decisive measures, th a t the more fru itfu l realization of these m easures de
m ands in its tu rn the centralization of all orders dealing w ith
th e food question in one organization, and th a t this organization
a p p ears to be the Peoples Food Com m issar, the C entral E x
ecutive Committee of all R ussia hereby orders, fo r the more
successful struggle w ith the food crisis, th a t the Peoples Food
Com m issar be given th e following pow ers:
1. To publish obligatory regulations reg a rd in g the food situation, exceeding the usual lim its of the Peoples Food Commiss a r s competence.
2. To abrgate the orders of local food bodies and other or
ganizations contravening the plans and actions of the Peoples
Commissar.
3. To dem and from institutions and organizations of all dep artm en ts the carry in g out of the regulations of the Peoples
Food Com m issar in connection w ith the food situation' w ith
out evasions and a t once.
4. To use th e arm ed forces in case resistance is shown to the
rem oval of food g rain s or other food products.
5. To dissolve or reorganize the food agencies in places w here
they
m ight resist the orders of the Peoples Commissar.
6. To discharge, tra n sfe r, tu rn over to th e Revolutionary
86

T ribunal, or subject to a r re s t officials and employees of all de

p artm en ts and public organizations in case of in terference w ith
th e orders of the Peoples Com missar.
7. To tr a n s f e r the presen t powers, in addition to the rig h t to
subject to a rre st, above, to other persons and institu tio n s in
various places, w ith th e approval of th e Council of th e Peoples
Com missars.
8. All regulations of the Peoples Com missar, related in ch a r
ac te r to the D epartm ent of W ays of Com m unciation and the
Suprem e Council of N ational Economy, a re to be carried through
upon consultation w ith the corresponding departm ents.
9. T he regulations and orders of the Peoples Com missar,
issued in accordance w ith the present powers, a re verified by
his collegium, which has th e rig h t, w ithout suspending th e ir
oporation, of re fe rrin g them to th e Council of Public Commissars.
10. The p resent decree becomes effective from the date r>f its
sig n atu re and is to be p u t into operation by telegraph.
P resid en t of the C entral E xecutive Committee of
All R ussia:
V a . S verdlov
P resident of the Council of Peoples Com m issars:
V . O u l ia n o v (L e n i n )
S ecretary of the C entral E xecutive Committee of
All R ussia:
A v a n eso v
M ay Ib, 1918

Government Publications
T aking into consideration on the one hand the idleness which
for various reasons exists am ong p rin te rs, and on the other the
scarcity of books, the Peoples C om m issariat of E ducation
through its lite ra ry publishing d epartm ent and in coperation
w ith the d epartm ents of education outside the schools, school
departm ents, and departm ents of Science and a rt, and w ith the
assistance of representatives of the p rin te rs unin and otber
interested societies, as the C om m issariat shall see fit, and of experts specially invited by it, shall im m ediately undertake extensive publication.
F irs t in order m ust come a cheap popular edition of the Rus87

sian classics. Those w orks fo r w hich the period of authors*

rig h ts h as ended m u st be republished.
The w orks of all auth o rs thus tra n sfe rre d from p riv ate to
public ow nership m ay, by a special order of the N ational Com
m issar of E ducation reg a rd in g each au th o r, be declared a
Governm ent monopoly, fo r a period, however, not exceeding five
years. The C om m issariat is to make use of th is rig h t w ith re
g a r to those lite ra ry celebrities whose w orks, in accordance
w ith th is law, become the property of th e people.
The publication of these w orks m ay be arra n g e d in two se rie s:
1. A complete scientific edition, the editorship of which should
be en tru sted to the departm en t of R ussian language and le tte rs
of the Academy of Sciences (a fte r its dem ocratization and
ad ap tatio n to the new governm ental and public life of R u ssia).
2. A n abbreviated edition of selected w orks. E ach selection is
to co n stitute a single, com pact volume. In th e selection the
editor is to be guided, am ong other considerations, by the suitability of th e w orks to the w orking people, fo r whose benefit these
popular editions a re intended. Both th e en tire collection and
sep arate, more im p o rtan t w orks are to be accompanied by
prefaces by au th o ritativ e critics, h isto rian s of lite ra tu re , etc.
To edit these popular publications a special collegium should be
created of prom inent representatives of educational, literary ,
and scientific societies, specially invited experts, and delegates
of w orkm ens organizations. E ditors, confirmed by th is Com
m issaria t of P ublication Control, m u st p resen t to th a t body th e ir
plans of publication together w ith th e ir com m entaries of every
description.
The popular edition of classics is to be sold a t cost, and, if
means shall perm it, even below cost, and m ay even be given
free through the libraries which serve the w orking democracy.
The Governm ent P ublishing House should fu rth e r see to the
publication of all sorts of text-books. The b rin g in g up to date
and correction of od m anuals should be carried on thro u g h a
special commission on m anuals, consisting of delegates from
educational, scientific, and dem ocratic organizations and spe
cially invited experts.
The Government P ublishing House is likewise g ran ted the
rig h t to subsidize publications, both periodicals and books, undertak en by societies and individuis and acknowledged to be
useful to the general public, w ith the proviso th a t these sub
88

sidies, if the publication proves to be profitable, shall be refunded to th e Governm ent as a first lien.
In order to undertake im m ediately this im p o rta n t public busi
ness of th e Soviet of Peoples Com m issars, it is proposed to
ap p ro p riate and place a t the disposal of the Governm ent Com
m issaria t of E ducation the sum of a million and a h a lf rubes.
All p rin tin g orders should be given exclusively a t the direc
tion of the p rin te rs unin, which regulates its distribution
throu g h the autonomous com m issariats of th e various p rin tin g
offices.
The Peoples Com m issar:
A. V. L u n a c h a r s k y
S e c re ta ry :
D. I . L e s h t s h e n k o

T h e N a ti o n P r e s s , I n c .
0^0 ^ 0 8 3

20 V e s e y S t r e e t , N e w Y o r k