At the 19th Congress of the CPSU (b) the party was renamed into the CPSU

24.09.2019

In 1898-1991, ruling party in 1917-1991; in the pre-revolutionary period, the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDPR), since 1917, the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (Bolsheviks) - RSDLP (b). In March 1918, at the Seventh Congress, it was renamed the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) - RCP (b). The Fourteenth Party Congress (1925) renamed the RCP (b) into the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) - VKP (b). The Nineteenth Party Congress (1952) renamed the CPSU (b) into the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

The founding First Congress of the RSDLP was held in 1898 in Minsk. However, systematic work on the creation of a grassroots party network began in 1900 after the publication of V.I. Lenin of the Iskra newspaper. The Second Congress of the RSDLP (1903) contributed to the unification of the disparate Marxist organizations of Russia into a mass political party and at the same time revealed two currents in Russian social democracy: the Bolshevik and the Menshevik. V.I. became the leader of the Bolsheviks. Lenin. As a result of the October Revolution of 1917, the Bolshevik Party came to power. Since the 1920s, the CPSU (b) was the only party in the country and became the basis of the state totalitarian regime headed by I.V. Stalin. If in 1917 there were 40,000 party members in Russia, by the mid-1980s this number had grown to 19 million.
At the Twentieth Congress of the CPSU (1956), part of the party leadership headed by N.S. Khrushchev exposed Stalin's personality cult, marking the so-called thaw period. By the mid-1960s, the thaw period was over, conservative forces interrupted the process of updating the party and state apparatus, the search for ways to effectively develop the economy. In 1977 leadership The CPSU in Soviet society was enshrined in a special article of the Constitution of the USSR. Since 1985 M.S. Gorbachev initiated attempts at perestroika Soviet society and parties. The desire for reform was supported by the Soviet people, but the strategy and tactics of the leadership of the USSR led to a deep socio-economic crisis and, ultimately, to the collapse of the USSR. In 1991, by presidential decree Russian Federation B.N. Yeltsin, the activities of the CPSU on the territory of Russia were terminated and its organizational structures.

Organizational principles

The CPSU became the first Marxist party in the world to establish political dominance in its country and to realize the idea of creating a socialist state. Being the party of scientific communism, the CPSU was based on Marxism-Leninism - the scientific foundation for the revolutionary transformation of society. On each historical stage The CPSU in its activities was guided by a special document - the Program. The first Party Program was adopted in 1903 at the Second Congress of the RSDLP. It set the task of winning by the working class political power, the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat. This program was carried out during the Great October Socialist Revolution and the establishment of Soviet power. The Eighth Congress of the RCP (b) in 1919 adopted the second Party Program - the program for building socialism. The 22nd Congress of the CPSU in 1961 adopted the third Program - the program for building a communist society in the USSR. This program formulated, as a triune task, the creation of the material and technical base of communism, the formation of communist social relations and the education of the new man. The creation of the material and technical base of communism meant not only the improvement of engineering, technology and organization of social production in all sectors National economy, the development of economically efficient branches of production, the rapid pace of scientific and technological progress, the high cultural and technical level of the working people, but also superiority over the developed capitalist countries in terms of labor productivity, which was a necessary condition for the victory of the communist system.
The CPSU was created as a single party of the proletariat of multinational Russia, internationalism became the principle of the party's national program. After the formation of the USSR in all the union republics, except for the RSFSR, republican communist parties were created, which became an integral part of a single CPSU. The organizational foundations of the CPSU were embodied in the Rules of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It determined the norms of party life, methods and forms of party building, ways of leading the party in all spheres of state, economic, ideological, social activities in the USSR. According to the Charter, the guiding principle of the organizational structure of the party was democratic centralism, which means: the election of all the leading bodies of the party from top to bottom; periodic reporting of party bodies to their party organizations and to higher bodies; party discipline and the subordination of the minority to the majority; binding decisions of higher bodies for lower ones. Collectivity was declared the highest principle of the party leadership.

Program and charter

A member of the CPSU could be any citizen of the Soviet Union, who recognizes the Program and Charter of the party, participates in the construction of communism, works in one of the party organizations, fulfills the decisions of the party and pays membership dues. A party member had the right to elect and be elected to party bodies, to discuss at party meetings, conferences, congresses, at meetings of party committees and in the party press issues of policy and practical activities of the party, to make proposals, to openly express and defend his opinion before the organization makes a decision; to criticize at party meetings, conferences, congresses, plenums of the committee of any communist, regardless of his post.
Admission to the CPSU was carried out exclusively on an individual basis. Those joining the party underwent a candidate's probation for a period of one year. Persons who had reached the age of eighteen were accepted into the party; young people up to 23 years old inclusive joined the party only through the VLKSM. For non-fulfillment of statutory duties and misconduct, a member or candidate member of the party was held accountable and penalties could be imposed on him. The highest measure of party punishment was expulsion from the party.
The CPSU was built according to the territorial-production principle: the primary organizations of the party were created at the place of work of the communists and united into district, city, and district organizations according to the territory. The highest governing bodies of the party organizations were the general assembly for the primary organizations; conference for district, city, district, regional, regional organizations; congress for the communist parties of the union republics and for the CPSU. The general meeting, conference, congress elected a bureau or committee, which was the executive body and directed the current work of the party organization. Elections of party bodies were held by closed (secret) voting.
The supreme body of the CPSU was the Party Congress, which elected the Central Committee and the Central Auditing Commission. Regular party congresses were convened at least once every five years. Between congresses, the activities of the party were directed by the Central Committee of the CPSU. The Central Committee of the CPSU elected the Politburo to direct the work of the party between the Plenums of the Central Committee; to manage the current work, mainly on the selection of personnel and the organization of verification of performance, - the Secretariat. The Central Committee elected the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Under the Central Committee of the CPSU, there was a Party Control Committee.

Primary organizations

The basis of the party was its primary organizations, which were created at the place of work of party members - at factories, factories, state farms, collective farms, units Soviet army, institutions, educational institutions with at least three party members. Territorial primary party organizations were also organized at the place of residence of the communists: in rural areas and at house administrations. The primary party organization admitted new members to the CPSU, fought against manifestations of bureaucracy, parochialism, and violations of state discipline. Primary party organizations government agencies management, economic enterprises, scientific and educational institutions, cultural, educational and medical institutions enjoyed the right to control the activities of the administration. The leadership of party work in the armed forces was carried out by the CPSU Central Committee through the Main Political Directorate of the Soviet Army and Navy, which worked as a department of the CPSU Central Committee. Under the leadership of the CPSU, the All-Union Leninsky communist union youth (VLKSM).
The CPSU has always paid attention to ensuring that there is a significant stratum of representatives of the proletariat in its ranks. In the 1970s, about 40% of party members were workers, 15% were collective farmers. It was much more difficult for intellectuals and employees to join the CPSU, but promotion through the ranks in the state apparatus was directly related to the presence of a party card. About a third of party members were women.
The CPSU had its own system of party education, in which both party members and non-party activists were trained. Leading party and Soviet cadres studied at the Academy of Social Sciences under the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Higher Party School under the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Correspondence Higher Party School under the Central Committee of the CPSU. In addition, a network of republican and interregional higher party schools and universities of Marxism-Leninism was created in the country. The research center of the CPSU was the Institute of Marxism-Leninism under the Central Committee of the CPSU with a network of branches in the Union republics.
The CPSU conducted publishing activities, the central organ of the Central Committee of the CPSU was the newspaper Pravda. The Central Committee of the CPSU also published the newspapers Sovetskaya Rossiya, Socialist Industry, Rural Life, Soviet Culture, the weekly Economic Newspaper, the theoretical and political magazine Kommunist, the magazines Agitator, Party Life, Political self-education. The Central Committee of the CPSU was in charge of the publishing house "Pravda", "Publishing House of Political Literature" (Political Publishing House). The Central Committee of the Communist Parties of the Union Republics had their own publishing houses.

The history of our country knows many ups and downs. They happened at the very different time at the most different circumstances. Great importance in national history has a period What kind of opinions do not exist regarding the USSR. He is loved, he is scolded, he is praised, he is misunderstood, he is treated with indulgence or disgust, he is missed. It is impossible to unequivocally determine the position of the USSR in world history - whether it was good or bad, plain language. People who lived remember a lot of positive things, but they also remember moments that brought them negative emotions and difficulties. What did the USSR remember in the international arena? One of these things was the power and party system of the Soviet Union.

What about parties?

When we talk about the Soviet Union, the Communist Party immediately comes to mind, and nothing else, collectivism and community. But in fact, throughout the existence of such a state as the Soviet Union, there were many parties of the USSR - 21. It’s just that not all of them were vigorously active, some served only to create an image of a multi-party system, they were a kind of curtain. It makes no sense to consider all the political parties of the Soviet Union, so let's focus on the key ones. The central place, of course, is occupied by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which we will discuss later, how it was organized and what its significance is.

Formation of a one-party system

Distinctive and feature political system The Soviet Union was a one-party system. The beginning of the formation was laid along with the non-cooperation of the majority political parties, after which there were disagreements in the unification of the Bolsheviks and the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries and the further ousting of the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries. The main methods of struggle were arrests and exile and exile abroad. By the 1920s, there are no political organizations left that could still exert at least some influence. Until the 1930s, there were still attempts at opposition phenomena and the creation of political parties in the USSR, but they were explained as side events of the internal party struggle for power. In the 1920s and 1930s, party committees at all levels unquestioningly carried out the given general line, not really thinking about the consequences. The main condition for the formation of a one-party system was the reliance on repressive and punitive bodies and measures. As a result, the state began to belong to a single party, which concentrated in its hands all three branches of power - legislative, executive and judicial. The experience of our country has shown that the monopoly on power in a long period of time has a negative impact on society and the state. In such a situation, space for arbitrariness is formed, the corruption of the bearers of power and the destruction of civil society.

Beginning of the End?

The year 1917 was marked by the scope of activity in our country of the main and very first parties. The USSR, of course, along with its formation, destroyed the multi-party system, but the existing political groups largely influenced the beginning of the history of the Soviet Union. The political struggle between the parties in 1917 was sharp. February Revolution brought the defeat of right-wing monarchist parties and groups. And on central location a confrontation broke out between socialism and liberalism, that is, the Socialist-Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, Bolsheviks and Cadets. There was also a confrontation between moderate socialism and radicalism, that is, between the Mensheviks, right and central SRs and the Bolsheviks, left SRs and anarchists.

Communist Party of the USSR

The CPSU has become a monumental phenomenon of the twentieth century. As the ruling party of the USSR, it functioned in a one-party system and had a monopoly on the exercise of political power, thanks to which an autocratic system was established in the country. political regime. The party operated from the early 1920s until March 1990. The status of the Communist Party of the USSR was enshrined in the Constitution: Article 126 in the Constitution of 1936 proclaimed the CPSU as the leading core inherent in state and public organizations of workers. The 1977 Constitution, in turn, proclaimed it as the leading and guiding force for Soviet society in its entirety. The year 1990 was marked by the abolition of the monopoly of the right to political power, but the Constitution of the Soviet Union, even in the new edition, especially singled out the CPSU in relation to other parties of the USSR.

The same as the CPSU?

The Communist Party of the Soviet Union has gone through several name changes in its history. The listed political parties of the USSR in their meaning and essence are one and the same party. The history of the CPSU begins with the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, which operated in 1898-1917. Then it undergoes transformation into the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (Bolsheviks), which operates in 1917-1918. Replaces the RSDLP (b) Russian and operates from 1918 to 1925. From 1925 to 1952, the RCP (b) becomes the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). And in the end, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union is formed, it is also the CPSU, it is also the party that has become a household name.

Party at the formation of the USSR

The significance of the formation of the USSR for the ruling party became significant. For all peoples, it has become a historical and cultural association, and for the party an opportunity to strengthen its position. In addition, the country was strengthening in the geopolitical world space. Initially, the Bolsheviks adhered to the ideas of unitarism, which adversely affected the development of multinationalism. But at the end of the 1930s, in the end, there was still a transition to a unitary model in the version of Joseph Stalin.

Will there be socialism?

The Socialist Party of the USSR is a political party formed in 1990 that defended the ideas of democratic socialism. It was formed at the founding congress held in Moscow on June 23-24. The leaders of the party were Kagarlitsky, Komarov, Kondratov, Abramovich (not Roman), Baranov, Lepekhin and Kolpakidi. In its program, like other parties of the USSR, socialist party proclaimed the goal of protecting the interests of employees, but as that part of society that is most alienated from the means of production, power and products of labor. The SP of the USSR sought to create a society of self-governing socialism. But this party did not achieve much success, and in fact, in January-February 1992, its activities ceased, but the official dissolution of the party has not yet taken place.

Congresses of the CPSU

Officially, there are 28 congresses of the parties of the USSR. According to the charter of the Communist Party, the Congress of the CPSU is supreme body leadership of the party, which was a meeting of its delegates convened on a regular basis. As already mentioned, there were 28 congresses in total. They start counting from the first congress of the RSDLP in 1898 in Minsk. The first seven congresses are characterized by holding not only in different cities but also countries. The first, which is also the founding congress, was held in Minsk. The second congress was accepted by Brussels and London. The third was also held in London. Participants of the fourth visited Stockholm, and the fifth was again held in London. The sixth and seventh congresses were held in Petrograd. From the Eighth Congress to the end, they were all held in Moscow. The October Revolution led to the decision to hold congresses annually, but after 1925 they became less frequent. The biggest break in the history of the party was the interval between the 18th and 19th congresses - it amounted to 13 years. In 1961-1986, congresses are held every five years. Historians attribute fluctuations in how often the party was convened to fluctuations in its own position. When Stalin came to power, there was a sharp decrease in frequency, and, for example, when Khrushchev came to power, congresses began to be held more often. USSR passed in 1990.

Great period of history. Before the USSR

The role of the party in the USSR even before its formation was enormous and ambiguous. The CPSU went through many events in the Soviet Union. Let's recall the main ones.

The October Revolution of 1917 is one of the largest political events of the 20th century and in a big way influenced the course of world history. The revolution led to the Russian Civil War, the overthrow of the Provisional Government and the rise to power of a new Bolshevik-dominated government.

War communism of 1918-1921 was the name given to Russia's domestic policy under conditions civil war. It was characterized by the economy, the nationalization of industry, surplus appropriation, a ban on private trade, curtailment of commodity-money relations, equalization in the distribution of material wealth, orientation towards the militarization of labor. The basis for war communism was the ideology of communism, which involved the transformation of the country into a single factory, working for the common good.

Great period of history. USSR

The following events took place in the life of the USSR party already with its formation.

New economic policy 1921-1928 is the policy of Soviet Russia in the field of economy, which replaced war communism, which led to economic decline. The goals of the NEP were to introduce private enterprise and revive market relations for the restoration of the national economy. The NEP was largely forced and had an improvisational character. But, despite this, it has become one of the most successful projects of the economy for the whole Soviet period. The CPSU faced the most important problems, such as financial stabilization, lowering inflation, and achieving a balance in the state budget. The NEP made it possible to quickly restore the national economy, destroyed during the First World War and the Civil War.

Lenin's appeal in 1924. The full name of this historical event is "Lenin's call to the party" - the period that began after the death of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin on January 24, 1924. At this time, there was a massive influx of people into the Bolshevik Party. Most of all, workers and the poorest peasants (poor and middle peasants) were recruited into the party.

The inner-party struggle of 1926-1933 is a historical process during which the redistribution of power in the CPSU (b) took place after V. I. Lenin left politics. The leaders of the Communist Party waged a fierce struggle over who would become his successor. As a result, I. V. Stalin pulled the blanket over himself, pushing back such rivals as Trotsky and Zinoviev.

Stalinism of 1933-1954 got its name from the name of the main exponent of ideology and practice, Joseph Stalin. These years became the period of such a political system, when the power of the party in the USSR became not only a monopoly, but even given to a single person. The dominance of authoritarianism, the strengthening of state punitive functions, strict ideological control of all parties public life- all this characterized Stalinism. Some researchers call it totalitarianism - one of its extreme forms.

Khrushchev thaw of 1953-1964. This period received its unofficial name after the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Nikita Khrushchev. It continued for 10 years after Stalin's death. The main features: the condemnation of the personality cult of Stalin and the ongoing repressions of the 30s, the release of political prisoners, the liquidation of the Gulag, the weakening of totalitarianism, the appearance of the first hints of freedom of speech, the relative liberalization of politics and public life. Open cooperation with the Western world began, free creative activity appeared.

The period of stagnation 1964-1985, aka This is the name of the period covering two decades of "developed socialism". Stagnation begins with the coming to power of Brezhnev.

The perestroika of 1985-1991 was a huge and large-scale change of an ideological, economic and political nature. The purpose of the reforms is to comprehensively democratize the system that has developed in the USSR. Plans for the development of measures began in the 80s on behalf of Yu. V. Andropov. In 1987, perestroika was announced as a new state ideology, cardinal changes began in the life of the country.

secretary leaders

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU - abolished public office. She was the highest in the Communist Party. After the death of V. I. Lenin, the position becomes the highest in the USSR. Stalin became the first general secretary. Other secretaries of the USSR party were N. S. Khrushchev, L. I. Brezhnev, Yu. V. Andropov, K. U. Chernenko, M. S. Gorbachev. In 1953, instead of the position of general secretary, the post of first secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU was introduced, which in 1966 was again renamed the general secretary. It is officially fixed in the charter of the Communist Party. Unlike other positions in the leadership of the party, the position of general secretary was the only non-collegiate one.

In 1992, a court case was initiated - the "Case of the CPSU". During the consideration of this case, attention was paid to such an issue as the constitutionality of the decrees of President B. N. Yeltsin to stop the activities of the Communist Party, the seizure of property and the dissolution. A petition to open a case was filed by 37 people's deputies of Russia.

After the collapse of the USSR, some organizational structures of the CPSU did not recognize the ban and continued to operate illegally. One of the largest successor organizations is the Union of Communist Parties. The first congress of this party was held in Moscow. In 2001, it broke up into two parts, one of which was headed by G. A. Zyuganov.

On October 5, 1952, the 19th Congress of the CPSU opened in Moscow. It was the first congress after 1939. It was decided to rename the CPSU (b) into the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), in connection with which changes were made to the Party Charter. In addition, the Directives on the five-year plan for the development of the USSR for 1951-1955 were approved at the congress, and guests from other countries for the first time demonstrated the entire socialist system that had developed.

The Commission of the Central Committee on Foreign Policy, consisting of 7 members, as well as the Organizing Bureau and the Secretariat of the Central Committee, played an important role in the day-to-day leadership of the country. At the XIX Congress, the Politburo was replaced by a more numerous Presidium of the Central Committee, however, the Bureau of the Presidium immediately stood out in it, consisting of only a few people.

Concentrating in his hands all the key positions of power in the country, he gradually lost his former activity, age and illness affected. In 1949, his 70th birthday was magnificently celebrated, which was attended by many foreign guests, incl. Leader of the People's Republic of China Mao Zedong. At the 19th Party Congress, Stalin did not make a report, limiting himself to short speech on international affairs. By that time, he had ceased to trust his old associates L. Beria, K. Voroshilov, A. Mikoyan, V. Molotov, opposing them to younger ones: A. Zhdanov, G. Malenkov, N. Khrushchev, who advanced in power structures only in 1930 years were, according to Stalin, more devoted to him and the party line. At the congress, Stalin sharply criticized the work of Molotov and Mikoyan, who were not included in the Bureau of the Presidium of the Central Committee. However, already in March 1953, literally at the time of his death, these politicians were returned back, and the composition of the Presidium was reduced to the size of the former Politburo, easily ignoring the decision of the XIX Congress.

And behind the scenes of the congress between the "old" and "new" associates of the leader, as well as within these groups, an increasingly fierce struggle for influence over Stalin, and then for the role of his successors, gradually flared up. Until the death of Zhdanov in August 1948, on whose side Voznesensky was, Malenkov, supported by Beria and Kaganovich, waged a behind-the-scenes fight against him. After the death of Zhdanov, Voznesensky was removed from office and sentenced to death. Molotov, then Zhdanov, and, finally, Malenkov could claim the role of a potential successor to Stalin (although the latter, obviously, was not going to die or transfer his power functions to anyone). However, Beria, Khrushchev and other leaders had their own ambitions.

It was at the 19th Party Congress that L.I. Brezhnev. They say that when Stalin saw him at the congress, he said: "What a handsome Moldavian!" It is obvious that the leader at that time was looking for support from young leaders, opposing them to the "old" guard. After the death of Stalin, Brezhnev initially occupied a not so high position as deputy head of the Main Political Directorate of the Soviet Army and Navy, but soon his career went up again. He is sent to Kazakhstan to develop virgin lands. Memories of the years of the war, post-war reconstruction, development of virgin lands were left by Brezhnev in the trilogy "Small Land", "Renaissance", "Virgin Land", written with the help of professional writers. Khrushchev's support in the fight against the "anti-party" group turned into Brezhnev's appointment in 1957 as chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

IMPACT Brigade

From the speech of I.V. Stalin onXIX Congress of the CPSU

“After the seizure of power by our party in 1917 and after the party took real measures to eliminate capitalist and landowner oppression, representatives of the fraternal parties, admiring the courage and successes of our party, awarded it the title of “Shock Brigade” of the world revolutionary and workers' movement. By this they expressed the hope that the successes of the Shock Brigade would ease the situation for the peoples languishing under the yoke of capitalism. I think that our Party justified these hopes, especially during the Second World War, when the Soviet Union, having defeated the German and Japanese fascist tyranny, delivered the peoples of Europe and Asia from the threat of fascist slavery. (Stormy applause.)

Of course, it was very difficult to fulfill this honorary role while the “Shock Brigade” was the only one and so far it had to fulfill this advanced role almost alone. But it was. Now it's a completely different matter. Now that from China and Korea to Czechoslovakia and Hungary new “shock brigades” have appeared in the person of the people's democratic countries, now it has become easier for our party to fight, and the work has gone more cheerfully.

K. SIMONOV. THROUGH THE EYES OF A MAN OF MY GENERATION

“At the 19th Party Congress, I was among the guests with a ticket to all meetings, with the exception, of course, of the closed one, at which a new composition of the Central Committee was elected. On the evening of that day, the writer Babaevsky called me at home and, completely unexpectedly for me, congratulated me on the fact that I was chosen as a candidate member of the Central Committee. If someone else called me, I might not have believed it at all, I would have considered it a joke and would have scolded the speaker, but Babaevsky was a delegate to the congress, a person with whom we were very far away, and I had no reason don't believe him. I thanked him for the congratulations, called one of my acquaintances, the congress delegates, and also checked with him whether this was really so, and, making sure that it was so, I thought that, obviously, I was among the candidates for members of the Central Committee as Chief Editor"Literary Gazette". The guess was correct, and so it later turned out. Simultaneously with me, also for the first time in my life, Tvardovsky, at that time the editor of Novy Mir, and Surkov, at that time the editor of Ogonyok, were elected to the revision commission of the Central Committee. For some reason it seems to me that in all three cases it was Stalin's initiative, although maybe I'm wrong.

At a dinner given by the Central Committee in honor of the delegations of the Communist Parties, which took place almost on the same evening as the congress closed, I found myself sitting next to Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, who, like me, had been chosen as a candidate member of the Central Committee. There was no doubt that this happened at the initiative of Stalin - there could be no other reasons at that time. This change in Zhukov's fate pleased and surprised many at the same time. I was surprised, probably less than others, because I remembered what Stalin said about Zhukov two years ago in connection with the discussion of Kazakevich's novel Spring on the Oder. Now, during this dinner, sitting next to Zhukov, I not only remembered that conversation about him that took place at the Politburo, but also considered myself entitled to tell Georgy Konstantinovich about him. I sensed through the restraint that never betrayed him that he was in a very good mood that evening. I think that the election to the Central Committee was a surprise for him. The stronger, perhaps, was the impression that this made on him. However, his self-respect did not allow him even once, not a word, to touch on this topic, which undoubtedly worried him most of all during the few hours that we sat next to him. Voroshilov led dinner and toasted it. And Stalin, who was sitting at the head of the table, but a little further from its center, spent almost the entire dinner talking with those sitting - one very close to him, and the other close to him - (inaudible) and Torez. His attention to both of them was even felt as emphasized, and, obviously, this was not accidental - so, in any case, it seemed to me.

FROM THE MEMORIES OF KHRUSHCHEV

The year 1951 was ending, or, it seems, 1952 began, I don’t remember exactly what month, Stalin gathered us at his place and expressed the idea that it was time to convene a congress of the CPSU (b). We didn't need to be persuaded. We all considered it an incredible event that the Party Congress had not been convened for 12-13 years. Plenums of the Central Committee of the party, party activists on an allied scale, and other large meetings of party workers were also not convened. The Central Committee did not take any part in the collective management of the affairs of the USSR, everything was decided solely by Stalin, in addition to the Central Committee. The Politburo of the Central Committee signed the documents sent to it, and Stalin often did not even ask the opinion of its members, but simply made a decision and ordered it to be published.<…>When Stalin finally set the agenda, he said that we would entrust the reporting report to Malenkov, about the charter - to Khrushchev, and about the five-year plan - to the chairman of the State Planning Committee of the USSR Saburov. This is how the agenda of the congress was adopted. As Stalin told us, they wrote it down, no comments arose.<…>The question is why Stalin did not instruct Molotov or Mikoyan to make a report, who historically occupied a higher position in the CPSU (b) than Malenkov and were well-known figures? Here's why. If we, the people of the pre-war period, used to consider Molotov as that future leader of the country who would replace Stalin when Stalin passed away, now this could not be discussed. At each regular meeting, Stalin attacked Molotov, Mikoyan, “bited” them. These two men were in disgrace, and their very lives were already in danger.<…>The 19th Congress ended. It was necessary to hold elections for the leading bodies of the party. All the preparatory work has already been done by the apparatus of the Central Committee.<…>They chose a new Central Committee. The congress is over. They sang "The Internationale". Stalin spoke, held a speech at the end for several minutes. Then everyone admired him, rejoiced at how brilliantly everything was said to him, and the like. He finished his speech, left the podium, the congress was closed, and the members of the Politburo went to the room of the Presidium of the Central Committee. Stalin tells us: “Look, I can still do it!” He stayed on the podium for about seven minutes and considered it his victory. And we all concluded how physically weak he already was, if it was an incredible difficulty for him to give a speech for seven minutes. And he believed that he was still strong and could well work.<…>

We were even more struck by the following fact, which is also quite revealing. The governing bodies of the party were formed: the Presidium of the Central Committee, its Secretariat, the Party Control Committee under the Central Committee. This was the most crucial moment: to create the governing bodies from the elected members of the Central Committee. We look, a plenum of the Central Committee is being convened, but Stalin did not raise any preliminary conversation about the Politburo. What will be the composition of the Presidium? He does not report either the number or the personnel - nothing is known! And at the plenum, Stalin, speaking, butchered Molotov and Mikoyan “under the nut”, calling into question their decency. His speech directly showed political distrust of them, suspicion of some kind of political dishonesty. Well well!

The elections have begun. We look back. I look at Malenkov: if anyone was supposed to prepare candidates, it was Malenkov. Stalin did not know people personally, with the exception of the top in which he rotated. Therefore, he had to inevitably resort to the help of the apparatus. We asked Malenkov about new people. He told us: “I don’t know anything, no instructions were given to me, and I didn’t take any part in this.” We were surprised: “How so? Who then prepared the candidates? Stalin himself opened the plenum and immediately made a proposal on the composition of the Presidium of the Central Committee, pulled out some papers from his pocket and read them out. He proposed 25 people, and it was accepted without conversation or discussion. We are already accustomed to: since Stalin proposes, then there are no questions, this is a God-given proposal; everything that God gives is not discussed, but thanked for it.

When he read the composition of the Presidium, we all looked down without raising our eyes. 25 people, it is difficult to work with such a large team, solving operational issues. After all, the Presidium is an operational body and should not be very large. When the meeting closed, we looked at each other: how did it happen, who made such a list? Stalin did not know the people he named and could not have compiled this list himself. Frankly, I suspected that Malenkov did it, only he hides and does not tell us. Then I interrogated him in a friendly way: “Listen, I think that you put your hand in, although this is not only a product of your mind, but there were also amendments from Stalin.” He: “I assure you that I did not take any part at all. Stalin did not involve me in this and did not give me any instructions, I did not prepare any proposals. Both of us were even more surprised. I did not allow Beria's participation, because there were persons whom Beria could not have named to Stalin. And yet I asked him: "Lavrenty, did you have a hand?" “No, I myself attacked Malenkov, I thought about him. But he swears and swears that he also did not take part.

Molotov was excluded, Mikoyan too. And Bulganin knew nothing. Thoughts ran through our minds, but to no avail. We searched, who is the author? Of course, Stalin. But who helped him? We didn't participate. Poskrebyshev was still in charge of Stalin's secretariat at that time, but even he himself could not draw up such a list without the help of the apparatus. Maybe Stalin bypassed Malenkov and himself attracted someone from the apparatus. However, we did not allow this, because Malenkov would certainly have found out: in the apparatus for many years people worked next to it and under it. Therefore, at least secretly, in secret, they would have told Malenkov if they had such an order from Stalin. So we couldn't solve the mystery.

<…>When he read the composition of the Presidium, I, listening, thought: will Molotov, Mikoyan and Voroshilov be included there? I doubted. These were people on whom Stalin had “waved his hand”, and the danger was already looming over their heads of falling into the newly appeared enemies of the people. But no, they are included. I was happy, it was already good. When he read out the composition of the bureau, it did not contain the names of Molotov and Mikoyan, but there was Voroshilov. Again I did not understand anything: how is it that Molotov is not there, Mikoyan is not, but Voroshilov is? Stalin began to suspect Voroshilov much earlier than Molotov and Mikoyan.

After the end of World War II, communist ideology became one of the most widespread in the world, influencing the lives and destinies of millions of people. The Soviet Union, having won a bloody confrontation with imperialism, confirmed the viability of the socialist path of development of civil society. Education in October 1949 of the Chinese People's Republic, where the Chinese Communists became at the helm of a country of many millions, only confirmed the correctness of the Marxist-Leninist ideology in the context of managing a large civil society. New historical realities have created fertile ground for the ceremonial procession of communism around the planet, led by the CPSU.

What is the CPSU and its place in history

In no country in the world, in any part of the world, either before or after, there was, and still is not, a powerful party organization that can be compared in its influence on economic and social life with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The history of the CPSU is a prime example political management of the state system at all stages of the development of civil society. For 70 years, a huge country was led by a party, controlling all spheres of life Soviet man and influencing the global political structure. Decrees of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Presidium and the Politburo, decisions of plenums, party congresses and party conferences determined the economic development of the country, the directions of the foreign policy of the Soviet state. The Party of Communists did not achieve such power all at once. The Communists (they are also Bolsheviks) were forced to go through a long and thorny path, often zigzag and bloody, in order to finally establish themselves as the only leading political force of the world's first socialist state.

If the history of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union has almost a century, then the abbreviation CPSU - the Communist Party of the Soviet Union arose relatively recently, in 1952. Until that moment, the leading party in the USSR was called the All-Union Communist Party. The history of the CPSU dates back to the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, founded in Russian Empire in 1898. The first Russian political party of a socialist orientation became the basic platform for the revolutionary movement in Russia. Later, during historical events In 1917, a split occurred in the ranks of the RSDLP into the Bolsheviks - supporters of an armed uprising and the forcible seizure of power in the country - and the Mensheviks - a wing of the party that adhered to liberal views. The left wing that formed in the party, more reactionary and militarized, tried to take the revolutionary situation in Russia under its control, taking Active participation in the October armed uprising. It was the RSDLP of the Bolsheviks under the leadership of Ulyanov-Lenin that played the key to the victory of the socialist revolution, taking full power in the country. At the XII Congress of the RSDLP, a decision was made to form the Russian Communist Party of the Bolsheviks, which received the abbreviation RCP (b).

The inclusion of the adjective “communist” in the name of the party, according to V.I. Lenin, should indicate the ultimate goal of the party, for the sake of which all socialist transformations are started in the country.

Having come to power, the former Russian Social Democrats, headed by V.I. Lenin proclaimed their program to build the world's first socialist state of workers and peasants. The basic platform for the state structure was used by the party program, the main focus of which was the Marxist ideology. Having survived the difficult period of the Civil War, the Bolsheviks set about building statehood, making the party apparatus the main political and administrative structure in the country. The party leadership relied on a powerful ideology, seeking to gain a dominant role in the state structure. Along with the soviets, which formally performed representative functions, the Bolsheviks organize their leading party bodies, which eventually begin to fulfill the tasks of the executive branch. The Soviets and the CPSU, which later became known as the Bolshevik Party, maintained close ties in the leadership of the country, formally demonstrating the presence of representative power.

The USSR managed to skillfully disguise the leading role of the party in the electoral process. There were village and city councils on the ground. people's deputies who were elected as a result of a popular vote, but in fact, almost every people's choice is a member of the CPSU. The Soviets were completely absorbed by the party structures of the Communist Party, performing two functions on the ground at once, the representation of the party and the functions of the executive branch. The decisions of the top party leadership were first submitted to the Presidium of the Central Committee, after which it was required to be approved at the Plenum of the Central Committee. In practice, the resolutions of the CPSU Central Committee were often a prerequisite for subsequent legislative acts submitted to meetings of the Supreme Council and Resolutions adopted by the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

We can safely say that the Bolsheviks succeeded in realizing their efforts to achieve the hegemony of political power in Soviet Russia. The entire vertical of power, starting with the People's Commissariats and ending with the Soviet authorities, becomes completely under the control of the Bolsheviks. The Central Committee of the Party determines the external and internal politics countries during that period. The weight of the party leadership at all levels, which relies on a powerful repressive apparatus, is growing. The Red Army and the Cheka are becoming instruments of the party's power influence on social and public sentiments in civil society. The competence of the communist leadership includes the military industry, the country's economy, education, culture and foreign policy, which was under the jurisdiction of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee.

Communist ideas to create a workers' and peasants' state were realized in 1922, when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed in place of Soviet Russia. The next step in the transformation of the Communist Party was the XIV Party Congress, which decided to rename the organization into the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. The name of the VKP(b) party lasted 27 years, after which the new name of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was approved as the final version.

The main reason for changing the name of the Communist Party was the growing weight of the Soviet Union in the political arena. Victory in the Great Patriotic war, economic achievements made the USSR a leading world power. The main governing force of the country needed a more respectable and sonorous name. Besides, she disappeared political necessity in division communist movement to the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. The entire party structure and political lines were geared towards the main idea, the building of a communist society in the USSR.

The political structure of the CPSU

First in postwar period was the XIX Party Congress, convened after a long 13-year break. Stalin, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, delivered a speech at the forum. It was his last appearance on the general public. It was at this congress that the main directions for the future political and economic structure of the country in the post-war period were adopted, and a course was outlined in the domestic and foreign policy of the Communist Party. The Communists, represented by all sections of Soviet society, gathered at the 19th Party Congress, unanimously supported the proposal of the party leadership to amend the party Charter. The idea of changing the name of the party to the CPSU was met with the approval of the congress participants. The Party Charter again fixed the position of the first person of the party - the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

Note: It should be noted that apart from the party card, indicating membership in the party, there were no other insignia among the communists. Unofficially, it was customary to wear a badge - the banner of the CPSU, on which, together with the abbreviation of the CPSU and the face of V.I. Lenin depicted the main symbols of the Soviet state, the red banner and the crossed hammer and sickle. Over time, the badge of a participant in the next party congress and a participant in the CPSU conference becomes the official symbolism of the communist movement in the USSR.

The role of the Communist Party in the early 1950s for the USSR can hardly be overestimated. In addition to the fact that the party elite carries out the development of internal and foreign policy of the Soviet state throughout its existence, the organs of party power are present in all spheres of the life of the Soviet people. The party structure is built in such a way that in every body and organization, in production and in the cultural and public sphere, not a single decision is made without the participation and control of the party. The main tool for carrying out the party line in civil society is a member of the CPSU - a person who has unquestioned authority, high moral and strong-willed qualities. From several members, on the basis of industrial or professional identity, a primary party cell, the lowest party organ, is formed. Everything above is already profile and regional organizations that unite ordinary citizens on the ground according to an ideological principle.

The class composition was also reflected in the replenishment of the ranks of the party. Representing interests ruling class, The Communist Party of the Soviet Union for 55-60% consisted of representatives of the proletarian environment and the Soviet peasantry. Moreover, the proportion of communists who left the working environment was always two or three times higher than the number of collective farmers. These quotas were tacitly approved back in the 20-30s. The remaining 40% accounted for representatives of the intelligentsia. Moreover, this quota has been preserved in modern times, when the urban population has rapidly increased in the country.

Party vertical

What is the CPSU in the new, post-war period? This is already a major Marxist party, whose political will and subsequent actions are aimed at creating the dominant position of the proletariat in the country. The General Secretaries of the Central Committee of the CPSU, as before, perform the functions of the top leadership of the country. Main governing body party, the Central Committee was practically a government body in the USSR.

The congress was the highest party body of the party. Throughout history, 28 party congresses have taken place. The first 7 events were legal and semi-legal. From 1917 to 1925 party congresses were held annually. Further, the CPSU (b) gathered for congresses every two years. Since 1961, CPSU congresses have been held every 5 years. At a new stage, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union held 10 of its largest forums:

XIX Congress of the CPSU in 1952;
XX - 1956;
XXI - 1959;
XXII Congress - 1961;
XXIII - 1966;
XXIV -1971;
XXV Congress - 1976;
XXVI -1981;
XXVII Congress - 1986;
last XXVIII congress - 1990

Decisions and resolutions adopted at the congresses were fundamental for subsequent decisions of the Central Committee, the Soviet government and other legislative and executive authorities. The composition of the Central Committee of the Central Committee was determined at the congress. In the period between congresses, the main work in the line of party administration was carried out by the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU. At the plenums, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU was elected from among the members of the Presidium of the Central Committee. The plenums were attended not only by members of the highest Party bodies, but also by candidates for membership in the Central Committee. The authority to make decisions in the intervals between plenums lay entirely with the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, which consisted of members of the Central Committee. The newly created collegial body was entrusted with the administrative functions of managing the party and the country, which were previously assigned to another governing body - the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

A unique situation developed in the USSR, when the decisions of the party played the main role in the administration of the state. Neither the Council of Ministers, nor the relevant ministries, nor the Supreme Council adopted a single law without the approval of the party elite. All decisions, orders and resolutions of the Central Committee of the CPSU, decisions of the Plenum of the Central Committee tacitly had the force of legislative acts, on the basis of which the Council of Ministers had already acted. In modern times, this trend has not only been preserved, but also intensified. However, despite the total dominance of the Communist Party in the political and public life of the country, it was necessary to make some changes to the structure of the party organization caused by new political trends and motives. The Central Committee and the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU in the period between plenums and congresses played the role of a shadow government.

After joining the Soviet state of the Baltic countries on the rights of the union republics, it was required to change the structure of the party along national and regional lines. Organizationally, the CPSU consisted of the communist parties of the union republics that were part of the Soviet Union, 14 instead of 15. The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic did not have its own party organization. The secretaries of the republican parties were members of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, which was a collegiate and advisory body.

The highest party position in the Central Committee of the CPSU

The structure of the top party leadership has always maintained a collective and collegial management style, however, the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee remained the most significant and iconic figure in the party Olympus.

It was the only non-collegiate position in the structure of the Communist Party. In terms of powers and rights, the first person in the party was the nominal Head of the Soviet state. Neither the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, nor the Chairman of the Council of Ministers had such powers as the general secretaries had in the Soviet Union. Total political history the Soviet state knew 6 General Secretaries. IN AND. Lenin, although he occupied the highest level in the party hierarchy, remained the nominal head of the Soviet government, holding the post of Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars.

The combination of the highest party position and the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars was continued by I.V. Stalin, who became head of the Soviet government in 1941. Further, after the death of the leader, the tradition of combining the highest party post with the highest executive power was continued by N. S. Khrushchev, who was the Head of the Soviet government. After the removal of Khrushchev from all posts, it was decided to formally separate the posts of General Secretary and Head of the Soviet government. The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU performs representative functions, while all executive power is vested in the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

The post of General Secretary after the death of Stalin was held by the following persons:

N.S. Khrushchev - 1953-1964;
L. I. Brezhnev - 1964-1982;
Yu.V. Andropov - 1982-1984;
K. U. Chernenko - 1984-1985;
M.S. Gorbachev - 1985-1991

The last general secretary was M. S. Gorbachev, who, in parallel with the post of head of the party, held the post of Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and then became the first President of the USSR. The resolutions of the Central Committee of the CPSU from that moment are advisory in nature. The main emphasis in the leadership of the country is on the representation of power. The powers of the party leadership in governing the country in the domestic and foreign arena become limited.

Collegiate governing bodies of the CPSU

The main feature of the activities of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union is the collegiality of the management structure. Starting with V.I. Lenin, in the party leadership, the quorum plays an important role in decision-making. However, despite the apparent collectivity and collegiality in the management of the party, with the advent of J.S. Stalin to the highest party posts, a transition to an authoritarian style of management is planned. Only upon arrival General Secretary N. S. Khrushchev again there is a return to the collegial style of management. The Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU again becomes the highest party body, making decisions and responsible for the implementation of the program points adopted at the plenums and congresses.

The role of this body in the field of governance state affairs is gradually growing. Considering that all leading positions in the Soviet state were occupied only by members of the CPSU, it can be said that the entire party elite is represented in the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, possessing full power. In addition to the General Secretary, the Bureau included the secretaries of the republican Central Committee of the party, the first secretaries of the Moscow and Leningrad regional committees, the Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Council and the Supreme Soviet of the RSFRS. As representatives of the executive power, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU necessarily included the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, the Minister of Defense of the USSR, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Head of the State Security Committee.

This trend in the management system continued until the very last days the existence of the Soviet Union. After the last 28th Party Congress, a split appeared in the Communist Party. With the introduction in 1990 of the post of President of the USSR, the role of the Politburo in the management of state affairs has declined sharply. Already in March 1990, Article 6 was excluded from the Constitution of the USSR, which fixed the leading role of the CPSU in managing state affairs. At the last congress, the hegemony of the Communist Party in the life of the country was put to an end. There was a split within the party at the highest level. Several factions appeared at once, each of which preached its own point of view regarding the subsequent fate of the party, its place in the country's leadership.

The resolutions of the Central Committee of the CPSU are already in the form of intra-party circulars, which indirectly reflect the main directions of the work of the Soviet government. Since 1990, the party has been losing control over the country's governance system. The activity of the President of the USSR, the functions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR become defining and decisive in the life of the state. The collapse of the USSR as a single state put an end to the existence of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union as a major organizational political force.

Today, only party banners, surviving party tickets and badges of party congresses remind us of the former greatness of the Communist Party, which remained at the helm of the state for 72 years. According to statistics, as of January 1, 1991, there were 16.5 million members and candidates in the ranks of the CPSU. This is the largest figure for political parties in the world, except for the numerical strength of the Communist Party of China.

If you have any questions - leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them.

To the question History of the USSR and the CPSU. Why was the CPSU(b) renamed the CPSU? given by the author suck the best answer is 1) In March 1918, at the 7th Congress, it was renamed the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) - RCP (b); motivating the renaming of the party to the Communist Party, V. I. Lenin in his report at the congress pointed out: “... Starting socialist transformations, we must clearly set ourselves the goal towards which these transformations are ultimately aimed, namely the goal of creating a communist society. .. "(Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 36, p. 44). In connection with the formation of the USSR, the 14th Party Congress (1925) renamed the RCP (b) into the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) - VKP (b). The 19th Party Congress (1952) renamed the CPSU(b) the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU).
2) The congress decided: the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks - VKP (b) will henceforth be called Communist Party Soviet Union - CPSU. In the resolution of the congress, it was noted that the double name of the party "communist" - "Bolshevik" was historically formed as a result of the struggle against the Mensheviks and had as its goal to isolate itself from them. Since the Menshevik Party has not existed in the USSR for a long time, the double name of the party has lost its meaning, especially since the concept "communist" most accurately expresses the content of the tasks of the party.
* And Jensen Ackles is my favorite actor * (I'm talking about the avatar)
Source:

Answer from 22 answers[guru]

Hello! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: History of the USSR and the CPSU. Why was the CPSU(b) renamed the CPSU?

Answer from 2 [guru]
Because the country began to be called the Soviet Union

Answer from Tenant[guru]
not for what, but WHY
because the name of the party and the name of the country have changed

Answer from Ivan[newbie]
Wrong! The country began to be called the USSR in 1922, on December 30, and the CPSU (b) - in the CPSU, only in 1952, at the 19th Party Congress.

Answer from Caucasian[guru]
The great Russian thinker, historian and intelligence officer Viktor Suvorov writes:
"The congress changed the name of the party. The communist brethren announced: we are no longer Bolsheviks!"
"The 19th Party Congress was convened in October 1952 against the will of Stalin. This congress was nothing more than a revolt of the highest nomenklatura against the aging leader. It was a criminal showdown on highest level. Authoritative urks drove the chief godfather under the gilded Kremlin bunks to the whistle and cries of the nomenklatura sixes. The congress changed the name of the party. The communist brethren have declared: we are no longer Bolsheviks! The Politburo was abolished. Instead, the Presidium of the Central Committee was created. The congress adopted a new (anti-Stalinist) party charter. Almost everything that Stalin proposed was rejected by the congress. What was accepted was what Stalin opposed. Cadres decide everything. This was once again confirmed by the 19th Party Congress. Stalinist cadres revolted against Stalin. And they solved everything. In my own way. And they introduced into the leadership of the one who was pleasing to them, and not to the defeated Stalin "
" I take my words back "