The Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union was the highest governing body in the Soviet Union in the interim of the sessions of the Congress of Soviets, existed from 1922 until 1938, when it was replaced by the Supreme Soviet of first convocation.

Structure

It was made up of two chambers according to the 1924 Soviet Constitution: the Soviet of the Union

Soviet of the Union

Soviet of the Union , was one of the two chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, elected on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot in accordance with the principles of Soviet democracy, and with the rule that there be one deputy for...

 and the Soviet of Nationalities

Soviet of Nationalities

The Soviet of Nationalities , was one of the two chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, elected on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot in accordance with the principles of Soviet democracy...

. Beside it there were Central Executive Committees in federal republics, such as the All-Russian Central Executive Committee

All-Russian Central Executive Committee

All-Russian Central Executive Committee , was the highest legislative, administrative, and revising body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Although the All-Russian Congress of Soviets had supreme authority, in periods between its sessions its powers were passed to VTsIK...

 (in Russia), Belorussian Central Executive Committee (in Belorussia) and the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee (in Ukraine).

Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR

This position was held by four people at once.

• Mikhail Kalinin
  Mikhail Kalinin
  Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin , known familiarly by Soviet citizens as "Kalinych," was a Bolshevik revolutionary and the nominal head of state of Russia and later of the Soviet Union, from 1919 to 1946...
  
   (December 30, 1922 - January 12, 1938) (concurrently Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR)
• Grigory Petrovsky
  Grigory Petrovsky
  Grigory Ivanovich Petrovsky was one of the most prominent Russian revolutionaries of Ukrainian origin, who was the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR from December 30, 1922, to January 12, 1938....
  
   (December 30, 1922 - January 12, 1938) (concurrently Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Ukrainian SSR
  Central Executive Committee of Ukraine
  Central Executive Committee of Ukraine was a representative body of the All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets. It was the supreme legislative, administrative, executive controlling state power of the Soviet Ukraine between the sessions of the Congress of Soviets that acted between 1917 until 1938...
  
  )
• Aleksandr Chervyakov
  Aleksandr Chervyakov
  Aleksandr Grigoryevich Chervyakov was one of the founders and eventually became the leader of the Communist Party of Belorussia.He joined the Bolshevik Party in May 1917, and began to gain power quickly...
  
   (December 30, 1922 - June 16, 1937) (concurrently Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Belorussian SSR)
• Nariman Narimanov
  Nariman Narimanov
  Narimanov Nariman Karbalayi Najaf oglu was an Azerbaijani revolutionary, writer, publicist, politician and statesman. In 1920, Narimanov headed the Soviet government of Azerbaijan, the Provisional Military-Revolutionary Committee , replacing Mirza Davud Huseynov, then he was the Chairman of the...
  
   (December 30, 1922 - March 19, 1925)
• Gazanfar Musabekov
  Gazanfar Musabekov
  Gazanfar Mahmud oglu Musabekov or Musabeyov was an Azerbaijani Bolshevik revolutionary and Soviet statesman. He was Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of Azerbaijan SSR from 1929 to 1931 and he headed the government of the Transcaucasian SFSR from 1931 to 1936...
  
   (May 21, 1925 - June 1937)
• Nedirbay Aytakov (May 21, 1925 - 21 July 1937) (concurrently Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Turkmen SSR)
• Fayzulla Khodzhayev (May 21, 1925 - June 17, 1937)
• Nusratullo Maksum (or Nusratullo Lutfullayev) (March 18, 1931 - January 4, 1934) (concurrently Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Tajik SSR)
• Abdullo Rakhimbayev (4 January 1934 - September 1937)

Powers

The 1924 Soviet Constitution

1924 Soviet Constitution

The 1924 Soviet Constitution legitimated the December 1922 union of the Russian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the Belarusian SSR, and the Transcaucasian SFSR to form the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics....

 defined the powers of the CEC as:

• Calling of the Congresses of Soviets
  Congress of Soviets of the Soviet Union
  The All-Union Congress of Soviets, officially known as Congress of Soviets of the Soviet Union was the supreme governing body in the Soviet Union since the formation of the USSR and until adoption of the 1936 Soviet Constitution....
  
  
• Election of the USSR Council of the People's Commissars (Sovnarkom)
• Adoption of Soviet decrees
  Soviet Decrees
  Decrees were legislative acts of the highest Soviet institutions, primarily of the Council of People's Commissars and of the Supreme Soviet or VTsIK , issued between 1917 and 1924...
  
  and legislative acts.
• Work on legislation and management.