Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic

Not to be confused with Verkhovna Rada.

The Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR (Ukrainian: Верховна Рада Української РСР, romanized: Verkhovna Rada Ukrainskoi RSR; Russian: Верховный Совет Украинской ССР, romanized: Verkhovny Sovet Ukrainskoy SSR) was the supreme soviet (main legislative institution) and the highest organ of state power of Ukraine when it was known as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Ukrainian SSR), one of the union republics of the Soviet Union. The Supreme Soviet was Ukraine's sole branch of government and, per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it. It was established in 1937 replacing the All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets.^[2]

Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR Ukrainian: Верховна Рада Української РСР Russian: Верховный Совет Украинской ССР Verkhovna Rada Ukrains'koi RSR Verkhovnyy Sovet Ukrainskoy SSR
Ukrainian SSR (1937–1941), (1944–1991)
Emblem of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
Type
Type	Supreme Soviet[1]
History
Established	1937 1947 (re-establishment)
Disbanded	1941 (German occupation) 1991
Preceded by	All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets
Succeeded by	Verkhovna Rada
Leadership
Chairman	Mykhailo Burmystenko (first) Leonid Kravchuk (last)
Elections
Last election	1990
Meeting place
Verkhovna Rada building, Soviet Square, Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union

Before demokratizatsiya, the Supreme Soviet had been characterized as a rubber stamp for the Soviet Ukrainian regime or as only being able to affect issues of low sensitivity and salience to the regime by the Ukrainian Communist Party, similar to all other supreme soviets in the union republics. The 1990 election in Ukraine was the first in the Ukrainian SSR where opposition parties were permitted to run.^[3]

History

The first elections for the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR were held on 25–28 July 1938. A total of 304 deputies were elected and Mykhailo Burmystenko was elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR.^[4]

List of chairmen

After Burmystenko's death in 1941, the position of Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR was vacant until 1947. The longest-serving Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR was Oleksandr Korniychuk.

Portrait	Chairman	From	To
	Mykhailo Burmystenko	25 July 1938	9 September 1941
	Oleksandr Korniychuk	1947	1953
	Pavlo Tychyna	1953	1959
	Oleksandr Korniychuk	1959	1972
	Mykhailo Bilyi	1972	1980
	Kostiantyn Sytnyk	1980	1985
	Platon Kostiuk	1985	4 June 1990
	Vladimir Ivashko	4 June 1990	9 July 1990
	Leonid Kravchuk	23 July 1990	5 December 1991

See also

• Declaration of Independence of Ukraine
• Verkhovna Rada

References

1. Toy parliament until March 1990
2. "75 лет со дня образования Донецкой области". dn.archives.gov.ua. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
3. Whitmore, Sarah (2004). State-building in Ukraine: The Ukrainian Parliament, 1990–2003. Routledge. ISBN 9781134321483.
4. Военный вестник (in Russian). Изд-во "Красная звезда". 1938.