The first constitutional law of a generalizing nature for Soviet Russia was the Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People, elaborated by Lenin . Her project was adopted by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on January 3, 1918.

On January 10, the Third All-Russian Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies' Councils began its work in the Tauride Palace. And two days later, the delegates of the Third All-Russian Congress of Peasant Deputies who had previously met in Smolny joined him in full membership. A joint meeting of workers, soldiers and peasants' deputies, which opened in the evening of January 13, 1918 under the chairmanship of Ya. M. Sverdlov, consolidated the confluence of all the Soviets of Russia.

On January 18, on the final day of the joint congress of the Soviets, the Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People was approved. It consisted of four sections. Russia was proclaimed by the Republic of Soviets, which should have owned all local authority.

The main tasks of the Soviet government proclaimed the destruction of all exploitation of man by man, the elimination of the division of society into classes, the suppression of the resistance of the exploiters. The abolition of private ownership of land, decrees on workers' control and the Supreme Economic Council, on the nationalization of banks were confirmed. General labor service was introduced in the country.

 To defend the revolution, the arming of the workers, the formation of the Red Army and the complete disarmament of the propertied classes were decreed. The basic principles of Soviet Russia’s foreign policy proclaimed the struggle for peace between peoples, the abolition of secret treaties, and respect for the national sovereignty of peoples. In addition, the Declaration announced the elimination of the exploiting classes from participation in the management of the state. The power in the country was to belong exclusively to the working masses and their plenipotentiary representation — the Soviets.

In January 1918, at the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets, the formation of the first Soviet Federation, the RSFSR, was proclaimed and legally strengthened. The first results of the state construction were summed up by the V All-Russian Congress of Soviets in July 1918. In the spring of 1918 a commission was created to draft the Constitution, which included Ya. M. Sverdlov (chairman), M. N. Pokrovsky, N. I. Bukharin , M.I. Latsis, G.S. Gurvich, M.A. Reisner and others. In parallel with this commission, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee worked on the draft Constitution by the People's Commissariat of Justice.

The final text of the draft was entrusted to prepare the commissions of the Central Committee of the RCP (B.), Created on June 26 under the chairmanship of V. I. Lenin. July 10, 1918 V All-Russian Congress of Soviets approved the Constitution of the RSFSR, whose main task was to establish the dictatorship of the proletariat and the poorest peasantry in order to completely suppress the bourgeoisie, the destruction of the exploitation of man by man. She openly proclaimed the class principle of the organization of power and democratic rights. The text of the Constitution fully included the Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People.

In accordance with the decrees of the II Congress of Soviets and the Basic Law of the State, the All-Russian Congress of Soviets was the highest organ of state power in the country, and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTSIK) was in the period between congresses. L. V. Kamenev was elected the first chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (October 27 - November 8, 1917), then this post was held by Ya. M. Sverdlov.

After his death in March 1919, MI Kalinin became the chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. At first, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee was multiparty in its composition. In addition to the Bolsheviks, there were representatives of all party factions of the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets: Left Social Revolutionaries, Social Democrats, Internationalists, Ukrainian Socialists, Socialist Maximalists.

Executive power in the country was concentrated in the hands of the Council of People's Commissars. After the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly in January 1918 by the decision of the Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets, the word "temporary" was excluded from the name of the government.

Already in the first days after the Bolsheviks took power, changes took place in the composition of the CPC. I. I. Skvortsov-Stepanov and G. I. Lomov, overworked by party and Soviet work in Moscow, did not take up the posts of commissar in Moscow; V.R. Menzhinsky and P. I. Stuchka were appointed instead of them, M. T. Elizarov; instead of V. A. Antonov-Ovseenko and N. V. Krylenko, who received new appointments, N. I. Podvoisky was appointed Commissar for Military Affairs. In connection with the creation of the State People's Commissariat of State charity, the only woman was included in the government - A. M. Kollontai.

From October 1917, before the adoption of the Constitution of the RSFSR, the CPC issued about 600 decrees, resolutions and other acts, not counting the decisions on the assignment of financial allocations. Over the same time, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and its Presidency issued over 100 decrees.

However, the role of constitutional regulation was sharply reduced by the inflaming civil war, which had a tremendous deforming effect on Soviet statehood, sharply accelerating the winding up of democratic processes, leading to the domination of emergency measures, to the desaturation of the Soviets, which began to rapidly lose their influence.