[0xDEF]

>Did the Soviet government actually follow the Constitution of The USSR

The Soviet Union did allow some internal dissent and freedom of speech from 1985 to 1991. That might have accelerated its downfall.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasnost

[sidewndr46]

I seem to remember a similar thing happening under Mao for a brief period of time, followed by a near total crackdown on anyone who had decided to speak up.