3rd All Russian Congress of Soviets

Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets January 10-18, 1918

All-Russian III Congress of Soviets, held on January 10-18 (January 23-31) 1918 in Petrograd. The congress approved the Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People, and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) was created. The task was set to develop the main provisions of the Constitution of the RSFSR.

On January 18 (31), 1918, the Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies finished its work in the Tauride Palace in Petrograd. The main result of the work of the congress was the approval of the Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People - a document that created the legal basis for the development of the first Soviet Constitution.

On January 10 (23), the work of the Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies began, which was attended by 942 delegates with a casting vote and 104 with an advisory vote. On the agenda were: the report of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars; approval of the Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People; reports “On federal institutions of the Russian Republic”, “On war and peace”; approval of the law on the socialization of the land; elections to the Central Executive Committee.

After hearing on January 11 (24) the reports of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) and the Council of People's Commissars (SNK), the delegates approved the policy of the Soviet government and expressed their full confidence in it.

On January 13 (26), the congress merged with the Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Peasant Deputies and became known as the Third All-Russian Congress of Workers', Soldiers’, and Peasants' Deputies. This amalgamation completed the process of creating a single supreme body of Soviet power and accelerated the merger of workers', soldiers’, and peasants' Soviets in the localities. By the end of the congress there were 1,647 delegates with a deciding vote and 219 with an advisory vote.

In the resolution of the congress "On the federal institutions of the Russian Republic" the basic principles of the organization of the Soviet multinational state were fixed. The congress instructed the All-Russian Central Executive Committee to develop the basic provisions of the Constitution of the RSFSR. On January 18 (31), the foundations of the law on the socialization of the land were approved. The congress approved the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly and approved the new name of the Soviet government - the Workers 'and Peasants' Government of the Russian Soviet Republic. The delegates by a majority vote approved the Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People, which became the prototype of the first Constitution of Soviet Russia.

Thus, the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets was an important historical milestone on the initial path of building the world's first socialist state. The newspaper Izvestia wrote in those days: “The Great Constituent Congress of the Russian Socialist Revolution adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People, which from now on will serve as an immortal charter of labor ... The working people, the oppressed and exploited all over the world will greeted with delight this solemn proclamation of labor rights and international workers' solidarity.”