Russian Constituent Assembly
The All Russian Constituent Assembly (Russian: Всероссийское учредительное собрание, romanized: Vserossiyskoye uchreditelnoye sobraniye) was a constituent assembly convened in Russia after the February Revolution of 1917. It met for 13 hours, from 4 p.m. to 5 a.m., 18–19 January [O.S. 5–6 January] 1918, whereupon it was illegally dissolved by the Bolshevik-led All-Russian Central Executive Committee, proclaiming the Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets the new governing body of Russia.
All-Russian Constituent Assembly Всероссийское Учредительное собрание | |
|---|---|
The double-headed eagle, which remained the de jure coat of arms of Russia until 10 July 1918. Never formally used prior to the dissolution of the Assembly. | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Established | 1917 |
| Disbanded | 1918 |
| Preceded by | Council of the Russian Republic |
| Succeeded by | VTsIK All-Russian Congress of Soviets Provisional All-Russian Government Both VTsIK and Congress had also governed Russia since the October Revolution |
| Leadership | |
Chairman of the Constituent Assembly | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 767 |
Political groups | Others: 64 seats |
| Elections | |
| Direct multi-party elections via the proportional representation system (D'Hondt method was used to allocate seats in 81 multi-member districts) | |
Last election | 25 November 1917 |
| Meeting place | |
| Tauride Palace | |
The 1917 Russian Constituent Assembly election did not produce a democratically-elected government, as the Bolsheviks subsequently disbanded the Constituent Assembly and proceeded to rule the country as a one-party state with all opposition parties outlawed. Some scholars have had a differing view and attributed the establishment of the one-party system in the Soviet Union to the wartime conditions imposed on the Bolshevik government and others have highlighted the initial attempts to form a coalition government with the Left Socialist Revolutionaries.