Organization of the Communist Party of the USSR
Encyclopedia
The organization of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was based on the principles of democratic centralism
.
The governing body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
(CPSU) was the Party Congress
which initially met annually but whose meetings became less frequent, particularly under Joseph Stalin
. Party Congresses would elect a Central Committee
which, in turn, would elect a Politburo
. Under Stalin the most powerful position in the party became the General Secretary
who was elected by the Politburo. In 1952 the title of General Secretary became First Secretary and the Politburo became the Presidium before reverting to their former names under Leonid Brezhnev
in 1966.
In theory, supreme power in the party was invested in the Party Congress. However, in practice the power structure became reversed and, particularly after the death of Lenin, supreme power became the domain of the General Secretary.
the CPSU incorporated the communist parties of the 14 constituent republics with the exception of Russian SFSR. The RSFSR did not have its own party organization, and the communist parties of its oblast
s, autonomous republic
s and some other major administrative units subordinated directly to the CPSU Central Committee.
es, etc., they were called as such, i.e., "partkoms". At higher levels the Committees were abbreviated accordingly: obkoms (обком) at oblast
(zone) levels (known earlier as gubkoms (губком) for guberniya
s), raikoms (райком) at raion
(district) levels (known earlier as ukoms (уком) for uyezd
s), gorkom (горком) at city levels, etc.
The same terminology ("raikom", etc.) was used in the organizational structure of Komsomol
.
The bottom level of the Party was the primary party organization (первичная партийная организация) or party cell (партийная ячейка). It was created within any organizational entity of any kind where there were at least three communists. The management of a cell was called party bureau/partbureau (партийное бюро, партбюро). A partbureau was headed by the elected bureau secretary (секретарь партбюро).
At smaller party cells, secretaries were regular employees of the corresponding plant/hospital/school/etc. Sufficiently large party organizations were usually headed by an exempt secretary
, who drew his salary from the Party money.
Became synonymous with leader of the party under Joseph Stalin
.
Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee
Leading body within the Central Committee. Headed by the General Secretary or First Secretary.
Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee
The political bureau of the Central Committee and the most powerful political group of the Communist Party
.
Central Committee of the Communist Party
The governing body of the Party between each Congress. Conducted the day-to-day business of the Party and the government.
Organizational Bureau of the Party Central Committee
, or Orgburo
Central Revision Committee
CPSU Party Control Committee
CPSU Central Auditing Commission
Party Conference
The oversight body of the Party in between Party Congresses. Usually gathered once a year.
Congress of the CPSU
The gathering of Party delegates every five years. It was the oversight body of the entire Party, in theory.
Democratic centralism
Democratic centralism is the name given to the principles of internal organization used by Leninist political parties, and the term is sometimes used as a synonym for any Leninist policy inside a political party...
.
The governing body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
(CPSU) was the Party Congress
Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the gathering of the delegates of the Communist Party and its predecessors. According the party statute, it was the supreme ruling body of the entire Communist Party....
which initially met annually but whose meetings became less frequent, particularly under Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
. Party Congresses would elect a Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
which, in turn, would elect a Politburo
Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Politburo , known as the Presidium from 1952 to 1966, functioned as the central policymaking and governing body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.-Duties and responsibilities:The...
. Under Stalin the most powerful position in the party became the General Secretary
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the title given to the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. With some exceptions, the office was synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union...
who was elected by the Politburo. In 1952 the title of General Secretary became First Secretary and the Politburo became the Presidium before reverting to their former names under Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in...
in 1966.
In theory, supreme power in the party was invested in the Party Congress. However, in practice the power structure became reversed and, particularly after the death of Lenin, supreme power became the domain of the General Secretary.
Higher levels
In the late Soviet UnionSoviet 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 CPSU incorporated the communist parties of the 14 constituent republics with the exception of Russian SFSR. The RSFSR did not have its own party organization, and the communist parties of its oblast
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
s, autonomous republic
Autonomous republic
An autonomous republic is a type of administrative division similar to a province. A significant number of autonomous republics can be found within the successor states of the Soviet Union, but the majority are located within Russia. Many of these republics were established during the Soviet...
s and some other major administrative units subordinated directly to the CPSU Central Committee.
Lower levels
At lower levels, the organizational hierarchy was managed by Party Committees, or partkoms (партком). A partkom was headed by the elected "partkom bureau secretary" ("partkom secretary", секретарь парткома). At enterprises, institutions, kolkhozKolkhoz
A kolkhoz , plural kolkhozy, was a form of collective farming in the Soviet Union that existed along with state farms . The word is a contraction of коллекти́вное хозя́йство, or "collective farm", while sovkhoz is a contraction of советское хозяйство...
es, etc., they were called as such, i.e., "partkoms". At higher levels the Committees were abbreviated accordingly: obkoms (обком) at oblast
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
(zone) levels (known earlier as gubkoms (губком) for guberniya
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
s), raikoms (райком) at raion
Raion
A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
(district) levels (known earlier as ukoms (уком) for uyezd
Uyezd
Uyezd or uezd was an administrative subdivision of Rus', Muscovy, Russian Empire, and the early Russian SFSR which was in use from the 13th century. Uyezds for most of the history in Russia were a secondary-level of administrative division...
s), gorkom (горком) at city levels, etc.
The same terminology ("raikom", etc.) was used in the organizational structure of Komsomol
Komsomol
The Communist Union of Youth , usually known as Komsomol , was the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban centers in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Communist Union of...
.
The bottom level of the Party was the primary party organization (первичная партийная организация) or party cell (партийная ячейка). It was created within any organizational entity of any kind where there were at least three communists. The management of a cell was called party bureau/partbureau (партийное бюро, партбюро). A partbureau was headed by the elected bureau secretary (секретарь партбюро).
At smaller party cells, secretaries were regular employees of the corresponding plant/hospital/school/etc. Sufficiently large party organizations were usually headed by an exempt secretary
Exempt secretary
Exempt secretary was a management position in some organizations of governing position in the Soviet Union....
, who drew his salary from the Party money.
Main offices
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet UnionGeneral Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the title given to the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. With some exceptions, the office was synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union...
Became synonymous with leader of the party under Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
.
Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee
Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee
The Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee was a key body within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and was responsible for the central administration of the party as opposed to drafting government policy which was usually handled by the Politburo...
Leading body within the Central Committee. Headed by the General Secretary or First Secretary.
Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee
The political bureau of the Central Committee and the most powerful political group of the Communist Party
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
.
Central Committee of the Communist Party
The governing body of the Party between each Congress. Conducted the day-to-day business of the Party and the government.
Organizational Bureau of the Party Central Committee
Orgburo
The Orgburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union existed from 1919–52, until the 19th Congress, when the Orgburo was abolished and its functions were transferred to the enlarged Secretariat....
, or Orgburo
Orgburo
The Orgburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union existed from 1919–52, until the 19th Congress, when the Orgburo was abolished and its functions were transferred to the enlarged Secretariat....
Central Revision Committee
CPSU Party Control Committee
CPSU Party Control Committee
Party Control Committee of the CPSU Central Committee was a supreme disciplinary organ within the hierarchy of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union...
CPSU Central Auditing Commission
CPSU Central Auditing Commission
Central Auditing Commission , was a supervisory organ within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union...
Party Conference
The oversight body of the Party in between Party Congresses. Usually gathered once a year.
Congress of the CPSU
The gathering of Party delegates every five years. It was the oversight body of the entire Party, in theory.