On 10 February 1946, elections

Elections in the Soviet Union

The electoral system of the Soviet Union was based upon Chapter XI of the Constitution of the Soviet Union and by the Electoral Laws enacted in conformity with it. The Constitution and laws applied to elections in all Soviets, from the Supreme Soviets of the USSR, the Union republics and ...

 were held to the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

.

The Supreme Soviet was made up of two chambers, each of 750 deputies

Deputy (legislator)

A deputy is a legislator in many countries, particularly those with legislatures styled as a 'Chamber of Deputies' or 'National Assembly'.-List of countries:This is an list of countries using the term 'deputy' or one of its cognates....

: the Soviet of the Union

Soviet of the Union

Soviet of the Union , was one of the two chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, elected on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot in accordance with the principles of Soviet democracy, and with the rule that there be one deputy for...

 (one deputy per 300,000 citizens) and the Soviet of Nationalities

Soviet of Nationalities

The Soviet of Nationalities , was one of the two chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, elected on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot in accordance with the principles of Soviet democracy...

 (32 deputies from each union republic

Republics of the Soviet Union

The Republics of the Soviet Union or the Union Republics of the Soviet Union were ethnically-based administrative units that were subordinated directly to the Government of the Soviet Union...

, 11 from each autonomous republic

Autonomous republics of the Soviet Union

Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union were administrative units created for certain nations. The ASSRs had a status lower than the union republics of the Soviet Union, but higher than the autonomous oblasts and the autonomous okrugs....

, 5 from each autonomous oblast, and 1 from each autonomous okrug

Autonomous okrugs of Russia

Autonomous okrug is a type of federal subject of Russia and simultaneously a type of administrative division of some federal subjects. As of 2008, the Russian Federation is divided into 83 federal subjects, of which four are avtonomnyye okruga Autonomous okrug (district, area, region) is a...

).

According to Soviet law, 325,000 out of an eligible adult population of 101,718,000 were disenfranchised for various reasons. This election was the first in which a 1945 decree allowed members of the Red Army

Red Army

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

 stationed outside the Soviet Union to vote for both chambers of the Supreme Soviet in special 100,000-member districts, a practice which would continue for decades with the Red Army presence in the Eastern bloc

Eastern bloc

The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...

.