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Soviet Union [USSR] PARTY MEMBERSHIP
The CPSU placed stringent requirements on its membership. Party
members had to work indefatigably on the party's behalf, actively
participate in the political life of the country, and set a moral
and political example for those who were not members of the party.
Despite these obligations, the benefits of membership compelled
many to join the party. Membership in the CPSU was a requirement
for career advancement. In addition, a career in the party could
also serve as a means for upward mobility from the working class or
peasantry into white-collar positions. Moreover, for those
interested in political activities, the party was a vehicle for
political participation.
Party members had a duty to increase their political knowledge
and qualifications. Such efforts indicated a willingness to make a
career of party work. The CPSU has set up a series of party schools
whose courses range in difficulty from the elementary to the
advanced. These schools were located at the local, intermediate,
and all-union levels of the political system. Training in party
schools strengthened the ideological, political, and administrative
abilities of party members, especially officials of the CPSU
apparatus. Although the stated purpose of party training was to
better equip party members to perform their jobs, it acted as one
additional means to promote a common outlook and ideological
perspective among members of the party apparatus.
Data as of May 1989
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