ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews subsequent development of party leadership in the Supreme Soviet, once again through the prism of the committee system. It suggests that the Supreme Soviet never developed the internal structures that would enable it to play a real role in controlling the executive. The Supreme Soviet's operating budget provides some useful clues to the evolving role of the new institution. In addition to amending draft legislation, the Presidium and Secretariat worked together to control the committees by manipulating their schedules and the Supreme Soviet's agenda. The constitutional amendments creating the presidency were drafted by the Central Committee apparat in an old-fashioned manner closed to public scrutiny. The USSR Supreme Soviet's second and final year of existence witnessed a remarkable series of political events. Developments in the legislature were strongly conditioned by party politics, or, more to the point, the absence of strong and capable leadership by the CPSU and, simultaneously, the growth of deputy blocs.
