Third Congress of Soviets of the Ussr

a congress held on May 13–20, 1925, in Moscow. It was attended by 1,580 delegates with voting rights and 696 with consultative rights; 80 percent of the delegates were members or candidate members of the ACP(B); 40.5 percent of the delegates were workers and 29 percent were peasants.

The following items were on the agenda of the congress: (1) admission of the Turkmen SSR and Uzbek SSR as member republics of the USSR—G. I. Petrovskii, reporter; (2) a report on the government of the USSR—A. I. Rykov; (3) the state of industry in the USSR—F. E. Dzerzhinskii; (4) the questions of Soviet construction—M. I. Kalinin; (5) measures to promote and strengthen peasant farming—L. B. Kamenev; (6) a report of the People’s Commissariat of Finance of the USSR—G. Ia. Sokol’ni-kov; (7) a report on the Red Army—M. V. Frunze; and (8) formation of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR—A. S. Enukidze.

The congress unanimously agreed to admit the Turkmen SSR and the Uzbek SSR as members of the USSR, and made appropriate emendations to the Constitution of the USSR. The delegates gave their approval to the activity of the government and directed the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR to continue the struggle for peace and for the development of international economic relations. The report on the state of industry took note of the rapid growth of the Soviet economy since mid-1924. The congress outlined a set of measures for the further development of industry, with special emphasis on heavy industry. In its resolution on Soviet construction, the congress directed the Soviets to devote greater effort to construction in the economic and cultural fields, to improve Soviet operations, and to consolidate the power of revolutionary law.

The congress adopted a special resolution proclaiming cooperation as the only means to raise the level of peasant farming and encourage the peasants’ participation in building socialism. In a resolution on the report of the People’s Commissariat of Finance, the congress noted the success achieved by the working people of the USSR in building a firm financial order without foreign help. The congress approved the ongoing reorganization of the armed forces and emphasized the need for continued reinforcement of the country’s defense.

The newly formed 833-person Central Executive Committee of the USSR consisted of 581 members and 252 candidates; it had two constituent bodies—the Soviet of the Union, with 450 members and 199 candidates, and the Soviet of Nationalities, with 131 members and 53 candidates.