ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that many of the citizens of the Kirov region, especially the collective farmers, participated in the public discussion and used the opportunity to express their concerns and their pride. It suggests that local or regional studies are essential if we are to understand local concerns, especially those of the collective farm system and collective farmers. The onset of mass repression in 1937, followed by the massive destruction of Soviet society during World War II, meant that some of the aspirations enunciated in the Constitution remained unfulfilled. The Soviet Constitution was a roadmap to a socialist society and a specific type of democracy—Soviet democracy. Citizens of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics focused on securing rights and privileges, often related to improving their daily lives, from the central government, but also made known their support of and opposition to aspects of the draft Constitution.
