The People's Commissariat is the highest state administrative body. It was intended for the distribution of the management of individual sectors of the national economy among the people's commissars (now ministers) and other public servants.
History of education
Initially, the people's commissariats were created in 1917 at the All-Russian Congress of Soviets. All newly created organizations were part of the Soviet government, which at that time was headed by Lenin V.I.
In 1918, the system of People's Commissariats was enshrined in the Constitution of the RSFSR, which also explained what a "people's commissariat" was, deciphering abbreviations, goals, functionality, etc. Then there were 18 people's commissariats in all sectors of the state.
Already in 1922, with the formation of the USSR , many changes were made to this system. The number of commissariats was reduced to ten, but they covered the entire Soviet Union completely. Half of them became union-wide, and the other half-united. In 1923, the Regulation on the People’s Commissariats was published, where moments were recorded regarding the order of interaction of the people's commissariats of all Union republics. The People’s Commissariat, the definition of which implied full control of its industry, was henceforth vested with the authority to issue decrees, orders and instructions.
In 1936, the next changes in the constitutional system also affected the People's Commissariat - this is the transformation of the united commissariats into union-republican ones. Thus formed ten Union-Republican and eight All-Union Commissariats. The developing national economy in the next ten years is subjecting the People’s Commissariats to another reshuffle. And in 1946, the name of the commissariats was changed by a new law, now the People’s Commissariat is a ministry.
The structure of the commissariats
The People’s Commissariat was the main body in state administration of each separately taken spheres of the USSR’s life. At the head of the commissariat was the people's commissar. All commissars of various people's commissariats were additionally united in the Council of Commissars.
Each Union Republic had its own Commissariats and Councils of Commissars.
Each people's commissariat consisted of departments:
- on business management;
- on the training of employees;
- on the legislative side;
- on financial matters;
- encryption of classified information;
- on the management of educational institutions;
- on legal issues.
The number of staff reached 150-170 people in each People’s Commissariat.
Directions
The decree of 1917 defined the following areas of work of the people's commissariats:
- internal affairs (or NKVD);
- agriculture;
- labor education;
- military and naval affairs;
- education;
- finance;
- relations with foreign states;
- advocacy;
- food;
- mail and telegraph;
- railway affairs.
In 1932, 3 more commissariats joined them: heavy, light and forest industries.
Salaries of People's Commissars
The People’s Commissariat is a part of the state administration system, therefore, the wages of the senior staff should have been high in modern terms. However, at that time things were different: in November 1917, Lenin signed a decree on the remuneration of the work of people's commissars and other public servants.
According to this decision, each Commissar received 500 rubles a month. If his family included disabled citizens (children, pensioners or disabled people), then for each such person the drug addicted was paid 100 rubles each month as well. According to all estimates, the income of the people's commissar's family was equal to the income of the average worker.
The People's Commissariat is the definition of the "ancestors" of the existing and functioning ministries, the structure and work of which has been preserved for a century and undergoes only minor changes.