.19 The constitution entrusted executive and administrative authority to the Council of Peoples Commissars. The Supreme Court headed a judicial system including supreme courts in the republics, regional courts, and peoples courts. Lower courts were elected and higher ones were chosen by the corresponding soviet. Judges were subject to party policies, and the NKVD tried many important cases in secret. The constitution promised the Soviets freedom of speech, conscious, press, assembly, and demonstrations in conformity with the interest of the working people and in order to strengthen the socialist system.20 In fact the Soviet people never saw any of these rights. The Constitutional rights could only be used to support the regime, not to criticize it. In conclusion, many soviets citizens appeared to believe that Stalins positive contributions to the U.S.S.R. far outweigh his monstrous acts. These crimes have been down played by many of Stalins successors as they stress his achievements as collectivizer, industrializer, and war leader. Among those citizens who harbor feelings of nostalgia, Stalins strength, authority , and achievement contrast sharply with the pain and suffering of post-revolutionary Russia....
