ABSTRACT
Analyses of the new Supreme Soviet by its deputies, not surprisingly, were contradictory. Committees performed three functions during the Supreme Soviet's first month of operation: they conducted confirmation hearings for nominees to government posts; they discussed and recommended legislation to the Supreme Soviet and worked on ideas for future laws; they monitored the implementation of public policy. Confirmation hearings were a significant symbolic element of the first session because they demonstrated the new Supreme Soviet's right to monitor the executive's activities. The confirmation process demonstrated that the committee's role was auxiliary to the Supreme Soviet. The committees began the monitoring process when grilling ministerial candidates during confirmation hearings. Legislative practice in the first few weeks of the Supreme Soviet's operation demonstrated that the influence of executive institutions or the party apparat were not the only ways that politics impinged on 'specialist' committees.
