Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

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Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
)
Not to be confused with Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (bolsheviks).
Presidium of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Emblem of the CPSU
History
FoundedOctober 1917 (1917-10)
Disbanded26 December 1991 (1991-12-26)
Leadership
Elected by
Responsible to
Central Committee
SeatsVaried
Meeting place
Kremlin Senate, Moscow, Russian SFSR[1][2]

The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (

8th Congress of the Bolshevik Party. It was known as the Presidium from 1952 to 1966. The existence of the Politburo ended in 1991 upon the breakup of the Soviet Union.[3]

History

Background

On August 18, 1917, the top Bolshevik leader,

Grigori Sokolnikov, and Andrei Bubnov), but this precursor did not outlast the event; the Central Committee
continued with the political functions. However, due to practical reasons, usually fewer than half of the members attended the regular Central Committee meetings during this time, even though they decided all key questions.

The

Nikolai Krestinsky
.

Early years: 1919–1934

The Soviet system was based upon the system conceived by

Control Commission, the ban on factions and the power of the Central Committee to expel members they deemed unqualified.[5] These rules were implemented to strengthen party discipline. However, the party continued under Lenin and the early post-Lenin years to try to establish democratic procedures within the party.[6] For instance, by 1929, leading party members began criticizing the party apparatus, represented by the Secretariat headed by Stalin, of having too much control over personnel decisions.[6] Lenin addressed such questions in 1923, in his articles "How We Should Reorganize the Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate" and "Better Fewer but Better".[6] In these, Lenin wrote of his plan to turn the combined meetings of the Central Committee and the Control Commission into the party's "parliament".[6] The combined meetings of these two would hold the Politburo responsible, while at the same time guard the Politburo from factionalism.[6] Admitting that organizational barriers may be inadequate to safeguard the party from one-man dictatorship, Lenin recognized the importance of individuals.[6] His testament tried to solve this crisis by reducing both Stalin's and Leon Trotsky's powers.[6]

Although some of his contemporaries accused Lenin of creating a one-man dictatorship within the party, Lenin countered, stating that he, like any other, could only implement policies by persuading the party.

Grigori Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev both opposed the Central Committee resolution that initiated the October Revolution.[7]

From 1917 to the mid-1920s, congresses were held annually, the Central Committee was convened at least once a month and the Politburo met once a week.

General Secretary.[4]

Stalin defeated the Left Opposition led by Trotsky by allying himself with the rightists within the Politburo;

centralism.[11] With the defeat of the other factions, these interpretations became party law.[11] To strengthen the system of centralised decision-making, Stalin appointed his allies to high offices outside the Politburo. For instance, Vyacheslav Molotov succeeded Rykov as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars in 1930, to reduce the chance of another independent locus of centralised power forming form which could threaten Stalin and the Politburo, Secretariat, and Orgburo.[12]

During this period, the office of the General Secretary became paramount.[11] The Politburo, which was nominally responsible to the Central Committee and the Party Congress, became responsible to the General Secretary.[11] The General Secretary, the formal head of the Secretariat and the Orgburo, "came to exercise enormous weight in decision-making."[11] The Secretariat and Orgburo were responsible for personnel appointments in the whole party, and so were used as a machine by Stalin and his allies to promote like-minded individuals.[11] Molotov and Kaganovich played a key role in strengthening the role of the Secretariat and the Orgburo in Party affairs.[11]

Stalin years: 1934–1953

Excerpt of protocol of Politburo meeting of 17 January 1940 noting the decision to put 457 persons on trial and to execute 346 of them with the rest (111) being sent to the Gulags

The

Sergey Kirov, who had turned down an offer to take Stalin's place as General Secretary before the 17th Congress, opposed many of Stalin's repressive policies, and tried throughout 1934 to moderate them.[14] Several scholars have viewed Ordzhonikidze's and Kirov's outspokenness as the rise of a moderate Stalinist faction with the party.[15] On 1 December 1934, Kirov was shot dead – whether he was the victim of a lone assailant or killed on Stalin's orders remains unknown.[15] Not long after, on 21 January 1935, Valerian Kuybyshev died of natural causes, and a month later, Anastas Mikoyan and Vlas Chubar were elected Politburo full members.[15] Andrei Zhdanov, the First Secretary of the Leningrad City Committee and member of the Secretariat, and Robert Eikhe, the First Secretary of the Siberian and West-Siberian District Committee, were elected Politburo candidate members.[15]

1936 signaled the beginning of the

Stanislav Kosior and Grigory Petrovsky, opposed such a measure, proposing instead of handing them over to the courts.[16] Molotov and Kliment Voroshilov, supported a compromise brokered by Stalin, which handed over Bukharin and Rykov to the NKVD.[16] Despite this opposition, Stalin and his closest associates began purging officials nationwide.[17] In May 1937, Jānis Rudzutaks became the first Politburo member to be purged.[17] In 1938, four other Politburo members were purged; Chubar, who personally telephoned Stalin crying trying to assure his innocence, Kosior, who confessed for anti-socialist crimes after his daughter was raped in front of him, Postyshev and Eikhe.[17] Petrovsky in contrast, was rather lucky, instead of being purged he was not reelected to the Politburo at the 18th Congress.[17] The purging of Rudzutaks, Eikhe, and Kosior testified to Stalin's growing power; the Politburo were not even notified of the decision.[17] Postyshev was purged because "of too much zeal in persecuting people."[17]

Khrushchev: 1953–1964

Brezhnev Era: 1964–1982

Gorbachev: 1985–1991

Duties and responsibilities

Further information: Organization of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Status

The Politburo was the highest organ of the party when the party Congress and the Central Committee were not in session.[18] The Politburo, along with the Secretariat and the Organizational Bureau (Orgburo) until 1952, was one of three permanent bodies of the party.[19] The General Secretary, the party leader, served as ex officio chairman of the Politburo (however, no formal rule stipulated such activity).[18] 28 politburos were elected throughout the existence of the USSR.[18]

While nominally subordinate to the Central Committee and the Party Congress, in practice the Politburo was the true center of power in the CPSU, and its decisions de facto had the force of law.

Decision-making process

Kuznetsov, Kornienko, and [Vasily] Makarov, behind Gromyko at the long table in the Kremlin. Brezhnev asked whether all members of the Politburo had received the draft U.S.-Soviet documents in time and if they had studied them. Most of the members nodded silent assent. 'Can I assume that the draft is approved?' Brezhnev asked. No one spoke. 'The draft is approved,' said Brezhnev after a few more moments of silence. Makarov put his hand on my shoulder, whispering, 'Okay, Arkady, that's it. You can go.'"[20]

Nevertheless, there were times where the General Secretary would override all the other members by making his opinion clear and implying that dissent would not be tolerated. Mikhail Smirtyukov, recalled one such Politburo meeting. While Brezhnev was on vacation, Mikhail Suslov, who hated the idea that in front of the Lenin Mausoleum in Red Square there was a department store (GUM), attempted to turn GUM into an exhibition hall and museum showcasing Soviet and Communist history.

After the decision was drawn up, Brezhnev was immediately reported. When he returned from vacation, before the first meeting of the Politburo he said: "Some idiot here invented a plan to close GUM and open some kind of cabinet of curiosities there." After everyone sat down, he asks: "Well, has the GUM issue been resolved?" Everyone, including Suslov, nodded their heads. The problem was closed once and for all without discussion.[21]

Relation to the Secretariat

Further information: Secretariat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Members

See also: Lists of members of the Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Portraits of Soviet Politburo members at a demonstration in honour of the October Revolution anniversary, November 7, 1976, Leningrad

Election

To be elected to the Politburo, a member had to serve on the Central Committee.[22] The Central Committee formally elected the Politburo in the aftermath of a party Congress.[22] Members of the Central Committee were given a predetermined list of candidates for the Politburo (having only one candidate for each seat); for this reason, the election of the Politburo was usually passed unanimously.[22] The more power the CPSU General Secretary had, the stronger the chance was that the Politburo membership were passed without serious dissent.[22]

Article 25 of the party Charter, said little to nothing on the actual relationship between the Politburo and the Central Committee.

primary party organization to the Central Committee of the CPSU, the principle of systematic replacement of personnel and the continuity of leadership is to be observed."[23] The Brezhnev period saw, in complete contrast to Khrushchev's amendment, the greatest continuity in the Politburo in its history.[24] Article 25 of the Charter remained unchanged under the successive leadership of Yuri Andropov, Konstantin Chernenko and Mikhail Gorbachev.[24]

Between 1919 and 1990, 42 members who served as candidate members were not promoted to full member status of the Politburo.[25] Similarly, 32 full members of the Politburo never served as candidate members.[25] Six members who had served as full members were demoted to candidate status during the Politburo's existence.[26]

Posts

Serving in the Politburo was a part-time function, and members served concurrently in either the party, state, trade union, security or military administrations (or all of them concurrently).[27] Until the 1950s, most members served in state positions, but this changed at the 20th Congress (held in 1956) when 47% percent of Politburo members served in the central party apparatus while another 47% served in the state administration. From the 20th Congress until the 28th Congress, the share of Politburo members serving in the central party apparatus increased, while those serving in the state administration declined.[28] The majority of Politburo members had leading central posts; the highest share of republican officials serving in the Politburo came at the 22nd Congress (held in 1961) when 50 percent of members held offices at the republican-level.[29]

Security officials had historically had a low-profile on the Politburo.

8th Politburo (in 1919).[30] Defense ministers who had served in the Politburo are Leon Trotsky, Mikhail Frunze, Kliment Voroshilov, Nikolai Bulganin, Georgy Zhukov and Dmitry Ustinov among others.[30] Similarly, several leading Politburo officials had participated in either the Russian Revolution, the Russian Civil War or World War II.[31]

Ethnicity, age and sex

Ethnic

28th Politburo that every republic had a representative at the Politburo.[34] The Politburo never tried to fix the ethnic imbalance within the Politburo. Instead, the Soviet Union at the central level was mostly ruled by Russians.[35]

Despite the ideological rhetoric about equality between the sexes, the Politburo came to be composed largely of men.

Alexandra Biryukova and Galina Semenova.[37] Furtseva, Biryukova and Semenova reached the Politburo under the leadership of reformist party leaders; Nikita Khrushchev and Mikhail Gorbachev.[38]

The average age of the Politburo was 39 in 1919, and the Politburo continued to age more-or-less consistently until 1985.

Brezhnev's death in 1982, the median age of the politburo was 70.[39] This age development was finally put to a halt under Gorbachev.[38] From 1985 onwards, the age of Politburo members steadily declined.[39]

Origin and education

Fifty-nine percent of Politburo members (both candidate and full) were of rural origins, while 41 percent were urban.

technical engineering.[43]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Сенатский дворец - место работы президента и вручения наград". Putidorogi-nn.ru. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  2. ^ "ГЛАВНЫЙ КОРПУС КРЕМЛЯ". The VVM Library. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Politburo". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Rees 2004, p. 3.
  5. ^ a b c Rees 2004, p. 4.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Rees 2004, p. 5.
  7. ^ Rees 2004, p. 6.
  8. ^ a b c Wheatcroft 2004, p. 85.
  9. ^ a b c Rees 2004, p. 2.
  10. ^ Rees 2004, pp. 6–7.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rees 2004, p. 7.
  12. ^ Rees 2004, p. 8.
  13. ^ a b Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 30.
  14. ^ Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, pp. 30–31.
  15. ^ a b c d Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 31.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 32.
  17. ^ a b c d e f Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 33.
  18. ^ a b c Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 85.
  19. ^ Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, pp. 85–87.
  20. ^ a b c Shevchenko 1985, pp. 207–208.
  21. ^ Thelman, Joseph (December 2012). "The Man in Galoshes". Jew Observer. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 87.
  23. ^ Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, pp. 87–88.
  24. ^ a b Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 88.
  25. ^ a b Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 140.
  26. ^ Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 141.
  27. ^ Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 152.
  28. ^ Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 153.
  29. ^ Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 154.
  30. ^ a b c d e f g h Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 155.
  31. ^ Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, pp. 155–156.
  32. ^ a b c d e Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 136.
  33. ^ Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 139.
  34. ^ Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 167.
  35. ^ Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, pp. 139–140.
  36. ^ Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 128.
  37. ^ Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, pp. 129 & 161.
  38. ^ a b c d e Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 129.
  39. ^ a b c d Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 131.
  40. ^ Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 143.
  41. ^ a b Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 145.
  42. ^ a b c d e Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 147.
  43. ^ Lowenhardt, van Ree & Ozinga 1992, p. 149.

Bibliography

Further reading

See also:
Bibliography of the Post Stalinist Soviet Union

External links
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