|
Soviet Union [USSR] Central Committee
The Central Committee met at least once every six months in
plenary session. Between party congresses, the Party Rules
required that the Central Committee "direct all the activities of
the party and the local party organs, carry out the recruitment and
the assignment of leading cadres, direct the work of the central
governmental and social organizations of the workers, create
various organs, institutions, and enterprises of the party and
supervise their activities, name the editorial staff of central
newspapers and journals working under its auspices, disburse funds
of the party budget and verify their accounting." In fact, the
Central Committee, which in 1989 numbered more than 300 members,
was too large and cumbersome to perform these duties; therefore, it
delegated its authority in these matters to the Politburo and
Secretariat.
The history of the Central Committee dates to 1898, when the
First Party Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party
elected a three-person body to run its affairs. In May 1989, the
Central Committee had 251 full members and 109 candidate members.
(Candidate members do not have the right to vote.)
Western scholars know little about the selection processes for
membership on the Central Committee. British Sovietologists Ronald
J. Hill and Peter Frank have suggested that the party leadership
drew up a list of candidates before the party congress. Party
leaders then discussed the list and presented it to the congress
for ratification. Both personal merit and institutional affiliation
determined selection, with the majority of members selected because
of the positions they held. Such positions included republic party
first and second secretaries; obkom secretaries; chairmen of
republic, provincial, and large urban governmental bodies; military
leaders; important writers and artists; and academics.
During periods of policy change, turnover in the Central
Committee occurred at a rapid rate. A new leadership, seeking to
carry out new policies, attempted to replace officials who might
attempt to block reform efforts with its own supporters. Thus, at
the Twenty-Seventh Party Congress, the first for Gorbachev as
general secretary, the rate of turnover for full members was 41
percent, as compared with 25 percent at the Twenty-Sixth Party
Congress in 1981. In addition, of the 170 candidate members elected
by the Twenty-Seventh Party Congress, 116 (or 68 percent) were new.
Gorbachev effected further changes at the April 25, 1989,
Central Committee plenum. As a result of personnel turnover because
of death, retirement, or loss of position since the Twenty-Seventh
Party Congress, a significant percentage of the Central Committee
had come to be classified as "dead souls," that is, people who no
longer occupied the position that had originally gained them either
full or candidate status in the Central Committee. At the April 25
plenum, seventy-four full members resigned their Central Committee
positions. Twenty-four members received promotion to full-member
status. (The Party Rules dictate that only the party
congress can name new candidate members and that a plenum can only
promote new full members from among the pool of candidate members.)
The changes signified a reduction of influence for both the
party apparatus and the military. Party
apparatchiks (see Glossary)
declined from 44.5 percent to 33.9 percent of the full members. The
military's representation fell from 8.5 percent to 4.4 percent
among the full members.
Worker and peasant representation rose from 8.5 percent to 14.3
percent. But because members of these groups lacked an independent
political base, they usually supported the general secretary. Thus,
the changes indicated a victory for Gorbachev. He eliminated many
Central Committee members who lost power under his rule and were
therefore considered opponents of reform. Gorbachev also increased
the number of his own supporters in the Central Committee.
The Central Committee served significant functions for the
party. The committee brought together the leaders of the most
important institutions in Soviet society, individuals who had the
same rank in the institutional-territorial hierarchy. The Central
Committee thus provided a setting for these organizational and
territorial interests to communicate with one another, articulate
their concerns, and reconcile their positions on various issues.
Membership in the Central Committee defined the political elite and
reinforced their high status. This status lent the committee
members the authority necessary to carry out policies in their
respective institutions. Members also possessed a great deal of
expertise in their respective fields and could be consulted by the
Central Committee apparatus in preparing policy recommendations and
resolutions for plenums, party conferences, and party congresses.
Data as of May 1989
|
