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Introduction. The electoral legislation of the Russian state at various stages of its development enshrines the open or secret ballot in elections to bodies of state authority and local self-government. Purpose. The main purpose is to analyze the development of the electoral legislation of the secret ballot in pre-revolutionary Russia and throughout the Soviet period. Results. Legal consolidation of the principle of the secret ballot took place in pre-revolutionary Russia. During the first decade of the Soviet power voting was conducted openly, even in the case of an alternate consolidation of the secret ballot in the legal acts which regulated the conduct of elections to the councils. Further development of the secret ballot in the Soviet Russia is characterized by progressive democratic legislation and politicized practice of its implementation. Implementation of the secret ballot in the election practice of the USSR began in the last years of perestroika. Conclusion. The author suggests a periodization of the main stages of the development of electoral legislation on secret ballot in pre-revolutionary Russia and throughout the Soviet period.