supervise the state departments with which they were concerned, their instructions having the force of law within the area of their jurisdiction. Like ministries, they could be either all-Union, with plenipotentiaries in the republics, or union-republic, functioning through parallel apparatuses in the republics.
The State Committee of the USSR on Defence Technology (GKOT or Gosudarstvenny komitet SSSR po oboronu tekhnike) was created in 1957 but incorporated into a newly created Ministry of General Machine Building in 1965. The committee was responsible for all strategic ballistic missiles, spacecraft, and satellites developed in the USSR. By 1973 the following state committees existed: State Planning Committee (Gosplan or Gosudarstvenny planovy komitet). State Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR for Construction (Gosstroi or Gosudarstvenny komitet soveta ministrov SSR po delam stroitelstva). Formed in 1950 to secure increased efficiency in construction. State Committee on Labor and Wages (Gosudarstvenny komitet po voprosam truda i zarabotnoi platy). Formed in 1955 to oversee wages and working conditions. Committee for State Security (KGB or Komitet Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti.) Formed in 1954 when the police apparatus was reorganized. The much feared secret police acted with more autonomy than most other government bodies and with a large degree of independence from the Council of Mnisters. State Committee on Foreign Economic Relations (Gosudarstvenny komitet po vneshnim ekonomicheskim svyazam). Formed in 1957 to develop economic cooperation with foreign countries and ensure the fulfilment of obligations. It was also responsible for overseeing organizations responsible for exporting equipment to socialist and developing countries. State Committee of the Council of Mnisters of the USSR for the Supervision of Work Safety in Industry and for Mning Supervision (Gosgortekhnadzor or Gosudarstvenny komitet po nadzoru za bezopasnym vedeniem raboty promyshlennosti i gor-nomu nadzoru). Established in 1958. State Committee for Vocational and Technical Education (Gosudarstvenny komitet po professionalno-tekhnicheskomu obraziva-niyu). Formed in 1959 to implement and
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supervize policy for training skilled workers both in vocational and technical institutions and in the workplace, to develop a system of educational institutions in this area, and to watch over students in these institutions. State Committee for Science and Technology (Gosudarstvenny komitet po nauke i tekhnike). Formed in 1965 to coordinate policy to maximize the development and utilization of science and technology for economic purposes. State Committee for Material and Technical Supply (Gossnab or Gosudarstvenny komitet po materialno-tekhnicheskomu snab-zheniyu). Formed in 1965 to supervise distribution to consumers, coordinate cooperation in delivery, and ensure fulfilment of plans for supply of output. State Price Committee (Gosudarstvenny komitet tsen). Formed in 1965 as a subcommittee of Gosplan, it became a full state committee in 1969. Its tasks included price regulation, pricing policy, and the use of prices to stimulate production. State Forestry Committee (Gosudarstvenny komitet lesnogo khozyaistva). Formed in 1966 to manage state forests and coordinate the activities of forest agencies. State Committee for Television and Radio (Gosudarstvenny komitet po televideniyu i ra-dioveshchaniyu). Formed in 1970. State Committee on Standards (Gossstandart or Gosudarstvenny komitet standartov). Established in 1970 to encourage standardization and ensure standards in the quality of output. State Committee of the USSR Council of Ministers on Cinematography (Gosudarstvenny komitet po kinematografii). Created in 1972, its main task was to supervise the activities of film studios in the USSR. State Committee of the USSR Council of Ministers on Publishing, Printing, and the Book Trade (Gosudarstvenny komitet po pe-chati). Established in 1972 to supervise publishing and the content of literature in the USSR. State Committee for Inventions and Discoveries (Gosudarstvenny komitet po delam izo-breteny i otkryty). Established in 1973.
A law of 1978 granted membership in the Council of Ministers to all chairpersons of state committees.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RUSSIAN HISTORY
After the fall of the USSR, the RSFSR continued the use of state committees, forming the State Committee of the Russian Federation on Communications and Informatization (Goskomsvyaz or Gosudarstvenny Komitet Rossisskoi Federatsii po Svyazi i Informatizatsii) in 1997 from its Ministry of Communications. It was responsible for state management of communications and the development of many forms of telecommunications and postal services, including space communication in conjunction with the Federal Space Program of Russia. See also: CONSTITUTION OF 1936; GOSPLAN; POLITBURO; SOVNARKOM; STALIN, JOSEF VISSARIONOVICH
Prokhorev, A. M., ed. (1975). Great Soviet Encyclopedia.: A Translation of the Third Edition, vol. 7. New York: Macmillan. Unger, Aryeh. (1981). Constitutional Development in the USSR: A Guide to the Soviet Constitutions. London: Methuen. Watson, Derek. (1996). Molotov and Soviet Government: Sovnarkom, 1930-41. Basingstoke, UK: CREES-Macmillan.
STATE COUNCIL
The State Council was founded by Alexander I in 1810. It was the highest consultative institution of the Russian Empire. The tsar appointed its membership that consisted of ministers and other high dignitaries. While no legislative project could be presented to the tsar without its approval, it had no prerogatives to initiate legislation. Ministers sent bills to the State Council on the tsar’s command, reflecting the Council’s ultimate dependence on the tsar for its institutional standing and activity. Since the right of legislation belonged to the autocratic tsar, the State Council could only make recommendations on bills sent to it that the tsar could accept or reject. Additionally the State Council examined administrative disputes between the different governmental organs.
After the Revolution of 1905 and the October Manifesto the State Council’s role changed: It became the upper house of Russia’s new parliamentary system. Every legislative bill needed the
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Council’s approval before becoming law. It also had the right to review internal policy of the Council of Ministers, the state’s budget, declarations of war and making of peace, and ministerial reports. Several departments under the State Council’s jurisdiction prepared briefs and more importantly analyzed legislation proposed by the Council of Ministers.
The State Council, like all upper houses in Europe at the time, served as a check on the lower house, the Duma. The tsar appointed half of the Council’s members, while the other half were elected on a restricted franchise from the zemstvos, noble societies, and various other sections of the elite, making it by nature more conservative. In the period 1906-1914 the State Council, with the support of Nicholas II, played a large role in checking the authority and activities of the Duma, which led to general discontent with the post-1905 system.
Following the failed coup of August 1991, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev created a State Council consisting of himself and the leaders of the remaining Union Republics. Gorbachev hoped the State Council could craft a reconfigured USSR, but republic representatives increasingly failed to attend Council meetings. By the end of 1991, the State Council-and the USSR-had petered out.
Russian President Vladimir Putin created his own State Council in 2000, consisting of the leaders of Russia’s eighty-nine administrative components. See also: ALEXANDER I; DUMA; FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF 1906; PUTIN, VLADIMIR VLADIMIROVICH
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Seton-Watson, Hugh. (1991). The Russian Empire 1801-1917. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Yaney, George. (1973). The Systemization of Russian Government. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
With the intent of more effectively coordinating decision-making for the war effort, on June 30, 1941, Josef Stalin created the State Defense Council (also known as State Defense Committee or GKO). According to his speech in which he announced this
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