Organization of Local Self Government
People's Commissariat of the Interior, January 5, 1918.
Original Source: Gazeta vremennogo raboche-krest'ianskogo pravitel'stva, No. 21, 6 January 1918.
The Central Executive power -- the Provisional Workers and Peasants' Government (the Soviet of People's Commissars) -- was instituted by the Central organ of the Soviets -- by the 2nd All-Russian Congress of Soviets. In localities the administrative power belongs to the Soviets, in whose jurisdiction must be all the institutions of administrative, economic, financial and educational characters. Such an organization of central power and of power in localities is not more than a confirmation of that political factor that the power of the country has been transferred to the proletarian and semi- proletarian elements.
Having established this fundamental law and endeavoring to enforce it consistently, we approach the period of the following organization scheme.
All previous orders of local self -governments, such as: regional, provincial and county commissars, committee of public organization, rural administration, etc., must be replaced by respective (regional, provincial, and county) Soviets of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies. The whole country must be covered with a network of Soviet organizations, which must be in close relation to one another. Each one of these organizations, including the smallest, is absolutely autonomous in questions of local character, but their decrees must be of a character corresponding with the decrees and laws of the larger Soviet organizations and the decrees of the Central power, of which they are a part. Thus is being organized a united uniform state -- the Republic of Soviets.
Under such circumstances the regional, provincial and county Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies have a tremendous responsibility in solving the organization problem. In view of the fact that the peasants' organization is weaker than any other democratic organization, the Deputies must give special attention to the organization of the Soviets of Peasants' Deputies and their closest cooperation with the Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. In the organization of the Soviets of Peasants' Deputies it must be borne in mind that they should really unite all the democratic, proletarian and semi- proletarian elements of the village.
People's Commissariat of the Interior
Source: United States Congress, Committee on the Judiciary, Bolshevik Propaganda (Washington: Govt. Print. Off., 1919), p. 1179.