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the
one-party dictatorship gradually forged a distinctive political
system. in the pre-october period lenin had repeatedly expressed his
system. in the pre-october period lenin had repeatedly expressed his
conviction in the ability of the masses to run the state directly
through soviets. this, in his opinion, would make redundant the
civil service, parliamentary institutions, the separation of
legislative, executive, and judicial powers, and many other
structures of a democratic system of government. in real life,
however, the mass of the working population was immediately
restricted in its right to participate in democratic politics.
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just the 搉atural enemies?of the new regime梩he bourgeoisie,
landowners, former tsarist civil servants, and the clergy梬ere
denied political rights. the bolsheviks were suspicious of the
overwhelming majority of the country抯 population梩he peasantry梐nd
introduced legal restrictions on their voting rights. from the
start, the idea of 搑ule by the people?through soviets was
compromised, and the soviets themselves were gradually transformed
compromised, and the soviets themselves were gradually transformed
into a decorative facade masking the party抯 power monopoly. in real
life, the notions 揝oviet power?and 揃olshevik power?converged.
nevertheless, officially the power was divided between the soviets
and the communist party. the soviets were, ostensibly, the
representative organs of the popular masses, whereas the party
揼uided?the soviets. in theory, the soviets embodied all state
power in the soviet union. the voters of every village, town,
province, and republic elected representatives, called deputies, to
the soviets to serve as representative bodies for each territory.
deputies served on a part-time, voluntary basis and usually met two
to four times a year, for a day or two at a time, to hear reports
and approve the proposed budget and plan. the large size of the
soviets and their infrequent sessions pointed to the ceremonious
character of these bodies.
voting for deputies to soviets was another indication of their
ritual and formal function. the 揺lection?was uncontested, as
generally only one candidate ran for a given seat. all candidates
were vetted and approved by a party committee. the regime went to
great lengths to ensure that everyone cast a ballot with a single,
preprinted name at a polling station. the massive turnout and near
unanimous endorsement of the candidate were treated as signs of the
unshakable unity of regime and people. for the authorities, such
ceremonies were of great importance, serving to showcase the
democratic character of the state, whereas for much of the
population, voting in elections was regarded as part of the harmless
pageantry of everyday life.
