On the 4th of July, the Fifth All-Russian Congress of Soviets opened in Moscow.  This would be a fateful gathering, as the following exhibit will show.  The Congress had over 1,000 registered delegates, with an approximate 70%-30% divide between the Bolsheviks and the Left Socialist Revolutionaries; a few other parties had minor representation.

The drama of the Congress would start on the 6th of July.  Before then, delegates heard reports from commissars and discussed the current and turbulent state of affairs across the former Russian Empire.  They also discussed the first constitution of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (RSFSR); following the Congress’ approval, the constitution would become law later that month.  The image on display here comes from the beautifully illustrated book Thirty years of the Soviet state, produced to celebrate the 1917-1947 period in facts and figures, and shows the emblem of the RSFSR.  The delicate border design is by Dmitrii Butorin in a traditional Palekh style.

Thirty years of the Soviet state / designed by Yakov Yegorov (1947)  S586.b.94.8