Constitution of the USSR

At the first special session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the fourth Soviet Constitution, a modified version of the 1977 constitution, was adopted. The official name of the Constitution was "Constitution (Basic Law) of the Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics".

Article 1 defined the USSR as a socialist state, as did all previous constitutions:

The Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics is a Federal, Socialist, Law-Governed, Democratic, and Secular State with a Republican Form of Government.

The difference is that, according to the new Constitution, the CPSU held no power, the economy was a free market, and the government no longer represented the workers and peasants. Later chapters established principles for economic management and cultural relations.

The 2015 Constitution was long and detailed. It explicitly defined the division of responsibilities between the central and republic governments. For example, like the 1977 Constitution, the 2015 Constitution placed the regulation of boundaries and administrative divisions within the jurisdiction of the republics.