Russia at the Polls
The elections to the Supremt: Soviet which took place in Russia last Sunday are the first that have been held for eight years. The Government has devoted enormous resources to its electoral cam- paign, and the electorate has responded with an overwhelming verdict in its favour. In Soviet Azerbaijan 99.83 of the electorate voted ; in Moscow, M. Stalin was elected by zoo per cent, of his con- stituents. To Western eyes the elections, and their results, look somewhat strange ; nevertheless, it would be foolish to dismiss them as a mere facade. The electors have no choice but to approve the Government's policies ; but those policies themselves are the result of a prolonged process of discussion at every level of a com- plicated hierarchy of representative bodies, culminating in the Politburo, which is the final policy-making authority. Again, there is only one candidate for each constituency ; but he is chosen from among the many candidates nominated after a process of debate which gives the electors a genuine choice. The election itself for- mally registers the result of this process. It also performs another useful function in the Soviet system, as it gives the Government an opportunity for holding a public inquest on its past actions and for expounding its future policies. Soviet leaders, including Stalin, Molotov and Berya, have made some notable speeches in the pre-election campaign, in which three trends are noticeable. Firstly, renewed emphasis has been given to the role of the Com- munist party as the political leaders of the nation, and to the pure milk of Communist doctrine as opposed to the traditional themes of nationalism and patriotism, which were given such prominence during the war. Secondly, there is keen recognition of the people's need of rest and recuperation and their demand for some lighten- ing of the oppressive burden of existence during the war years. And, lastly, there is the proud and justified claim that the Soviet system has proved its worth by triumphantly surviving the most terrible ordeal that any nation has ever had to face.
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