With the death of Stalin - the “father of nations” and the “architect of communism” - in 1953, a struggle for power began, because the one he established assumed that at the helm of the USSR there would be the same autocratic leader who would take the reins of government into his own hands.
The only difference was that the main contenders for power all unanimously advocated the abolition of this very cult and the liberalization of the country’s political course.
Who ruled after Stalin?
A serious struggle unfolded between the three main contenders, who initially represented a triumvirate - Georgy Malenkov (Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR), Lavrentiy Beria (Minister of the United Ministry of Internal Affairs) and Nikita Khrushchev (Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee). Each of them wanted to take a place in the seat, but victory could only go to the candidate whose candidacy was supported by the party, whose members enjoyed great authority and had necessary connections. In addition, they were all united by the desire to achieve stability, end the era of repression and gain more freedom in their actions. That is why the question of who ruled after Stalin’s death does not always have a clear answer - after all, there were three people fighting for power at once.
The triumvirate in power: the beginning of a split
The triumvirate created under Stalin divided power. Most of it was concentrated in the hands of Malenkov and Beria. Khrushchev was assigned the role of secretary, which was not so significant in the eyes of his rivals. However, they underestimated the ambitious and assertive party member, who stood out for his extraordinary thinking and intuition.
For those who ruled the country after Stalin, it was important to understand who first of all needed to be eliminated from the competition. The first target was Lavrenty Beria. Khrushchev and Malenkov were aware of the dossier on each of them that the Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who was in charge of the entire system of repressive bodies, had. In this regard, in July 1953, Beria was arrested, accusing him of espionage and some other crimes, thereby eliminating such a dangerous enemy.
Malenkov and his politics
Khrushchev's authority as the organizer of this conspiracy increased significantly, and his influence over other party members increased. However, while Malenkov was the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, key decisions and policy directions depended on him. At the first meeting of the Presidium, a course was set for de-Stalinization and the establishment of collective governance of the country: it was planned to abolish the cult of personality, but to do this in such a way as not to diminish the merits of the “father of nations.” The main task set by Malenkov was to develop the economy taking into account the interests of the population. He proposed a fairly extensive program of changes, which was not adopted at the meeting of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee. Then Malenkov put forward these same proposals at a session of the Supreme Council, where they were approved. For the first time after Stalin’s autocratic rule, the decision was made not by the party, but by an official government body. The CPSU Central Committee and the Politburo were forced to agree to this.
Further history will show that among those who ruled after Stalin, Malenkov would be the most “effective” in his decisions. The set of measures he adopted to combat bureaucracy in the state and party apparatus, to develop the food and light industry, to expand the independence of collective farms bore fruit: 1954-1956, for the first time since the end of the war, showed an increase in the rural population and an increase in agricultural production, which long years decline and stagnation became profitable. The effect of these measures lasted until 1958. It is this five-year plan that is considered the most productive and effective after the death of Stalin.
It was clear to those who ruled after Stalin that such successes would not be achieved in light industry, since Malenkov’s proposals for its development contradicted the tasks of the next five-year plan, which emphasized the promotion
I tried to approach problem solving from a rational point of view, using economic rather than ideological considerations. However, this order did not suit the party nomenklatura (led by Khrushchev), which practically lost its predominant role in the life of the state. This was a weighty argument against Malenkov, who, under pressure from the party, submitted his resignation in February 1955. His place was taken by Khrushchev's comrade-in-arms, Malenkov became one of his deputies, but after the 1957 dispersal of the anti-party group (of which he was a member), together with his supporters, he was expelled from the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee. Khrushchev took advantage of this situation and in 1958 removed Malenkov from the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers, taking his place and becoming the one who ruled after Stalin in the USSR.
Thus, he concentrated almost complete power in his hands. He got rid of the two most powerful competitors and led the country.
Who ruled the country after the death of Stalin and the removal of Malenkov?
Those 11 years that Khrushchev ruled the USSR were rich in various events and reforms. The agenda included many problems that the state faced after industrialization, war and attempts to restore the economy. The main milestones that will remember the era of Khrushchev’s reign are as follows:
- The policy of virgin land development (not supported by scientific study) increased the number of sown areas, but did not take into account climatic features that hampered development Agriculture in the developed territories.
- The “Corn Campaign,” the goal of which was to catch up and overtake the United States, which received good harvests this culture. The area under corn has doubled, to the detriment of rye and wheat. But the result was sad - climatic conditions did not allow obtaining high yield, and the reduction in areas for other crops provoked low rates of their collection. The campaign failed miserably in 1962, and its result was an increase in the price of butter and meat, which caused discontent among the population.
- The beginning of perestroika was the massive construction of houses, which allowed many families to move from dormitories and communal apartments to apartments (the so-called “Khrushchev buildings”).
Results of Khrushchev's reign
Among those who ruled after Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev stood out for his unconventional and not always thoughtful approach to reform within the state. Despite the numerous projects that were implemented, their inconsistency led to Khrushchev's removal from office in 1964.
Story Soviet Union- This is the most difficult topic in history. It covers only 70 years of history, but the material in it needs to be studied many times more than in all previous time! In this article we will look at what the general secretaries of the USSR were like in chronological order, we will characterize each one and provide links to the relevant site materials on them!
Position of Secretary General
The position of General Secretary is the highest position in the party apparatus of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), and then in the CPSU. The person who occupied it was not only the leader of the party, but de facto the entire country. How is this possible, let’s figure it out now! The title of the position was constantly changing: from 1922 to 1925 - General Secretary of the Central Committee of the RCP (b); from 1925 to 1953 she was called the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks; from 1953 to 1966 - First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee; from 1966 to 1989 - General Secretary of the CPSU.
The position itself arose in April 1922. Before this, the position was called party chairman and was headed by V.I. Lenin.
Why was the head of the party the de facto head of the country? In 1922, this position was headed by Stalin. The influence of the position was such that he could form the congress at will, which ensured full support for himself in the party. By the way, such support was extremely important. Therefore, the struggle for power in the 20s of the last century resulted precisely in the form of discussions in which victory meant life, and loss meant death, if not now, then in the future for sure.
I.V. Stalin understood this perfectly. That’s why he insisted on creating such a position, which, in fact, he headed. But the main thing was something else: in the 20s and 30s, a historical process of merging the party apparatus with the state apparatus took place. This meant, for example, that the district party committee (the head of the district party committee) is in fact the head of the district, the city party committee is the head of the city, and the regional party committee is the head of the region. And the councils played a subordinate role.
Here it is important to remember that the power in the country was Soviet - that is, real government agencies the authorities should have had councils. And they were, but only de jure (legally), formally, on paper, if you like. It was the party that determined all aspects of the development of the state.
So let's look at the main secretaries general.
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (Dzhugashvili)
He was the first General Secretary of the party, permanent until 1953 - until his death. The fact of the merging of the party and state apparatus was reflected in the fact that from 1941 to 1953 he was also the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, and then the Council of Ministers of the USSR. If you don’t know, the Council of People’s Commissars and then the Council of Ministers are the Government of the USSR. If you are not in the subject at all, then .
Stalin stood at the origins of both the great victories of the Soviet Union and the great troubles in the history of our country. He was the author of the articles “The Year of the Great Turnaround.” He stood at the origins of super-industrialization and collectivization. It is with him that such concepts as the “cult of personality” are associated (see more about it and), the Holodomor of the 30s, the repressions of the 30s. In principle, under Khrushchev, Stalin was blamed for the failures in the first months of the Great Patriotic War.
However, the unrivaled growth of industrial construction in the 1930s is also associated with the name of Stalin. The USSR received its own heavy industry, which we still use today.
Stalin himself said this about the future of his name: “I know that after my death a heap of rubbish will be placed on my grave, but the wind of history will mercilessly scatter it!” Well, we'll see how it goes!
Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev
N.S. Khrushchev served as General (or First) Secretary of the Party from 1953 to 1964. His name is associated with many events both from world history and from the history of Russia: Events in Poland, the Suez Crisis, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the slogan “Catch up and surpass America in meat and milk production per capita!”, the execution in Novocherkassk, and much more other.
Khrushchev, in general, was not a very smart politician, but he was very intuitive. He understood perfectly well how he would rise, because after Stalin’s death the struggle for power became fierce again. Many people saw the future of the USSR not in Khrushchev, but in Malenkov, who then held the position of Chairman of the Council of Ministers. But Khrushchev took a strategically correct position.
Details about the USSR under him.
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev
L.I. Brezhnev held the main position in the party from 1964 to 1982. His time is otherwise called the period of “stagnation”. The USSR began to turn into a “banana republic”, the shadow economy grew, the shortage of consumer goods grew, and the Soviet nomenclature expanded. All these processes then led to a systemic crisis during the years of Perestroika, and ultimately.
Leonid Ilyich himself was very fond of cars. The authorities blocked one of the rings around the Kremlin so that the secretary general could test the new model given to him. There is also an interesting historical anecdote associated with the name of his daughter. They say one day my daughter went to museums to look for some kind of necklace. Yes, yes, to museums, not shopping. As a result, in one of the museums she pointed to the necklace and asked for it. The director of the museum called Leonid Ilyich and explained the situation. To which I received a clear answer: “Don’t give!” Something like this.
And more about the USSR and Brezhnev.
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev
M.S. Gorbachev held the party position in question from March 11, 1984 to August 24, 1991. His name is associated with such things as: Perestroika, ending Cold War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the attempt to create the JIT, the Putsch in August 1991. He was the first and last President of the USSR.
Read more about all this.
We have not named two more general secretaries. See them in this table with photos:
Post Scriptum: many rely on texts - textbooks, manuals, even monographs. But you can beat all your competitors on the Unified State Exam if you use video lessons. They are all there. Studying video lessons is at least five times more effective than simply reading a textbook!
Best regards, Andrey Puchkov
Authorities in the USSR from 1924 to 1991
Good afternoon dear friends!
In this post we will talk about one of the most difficult topics in the history of Russia - authorities in the USSR from 1924 to 1991. This topic causes not only difficulties for applicants, but sometimes stupor, since if the structure of government bodies Tsarist Russia Although somehow understandable, some kind of confusion is coming from the USSR.
It's understandable soviet history in itself is many times more difficult for applicants than the entire previous history of Russia taken together. However, with this article about authorities in the USSR you can understand this topic once and for all!
Let's start with the basics. There are three branches of government: legislative, executive and judicial. Legislative branch - passes laws that regulate life in the state. The executive branch executes these same laws. Judicial branch - judges people and oversees the legal system as a whole. See my article for more details.
So, we will now look at the authorities that were in the USSR - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which was formed, as you remember, in 1922. But first !
Authorities in the USSR according to the Constitution of 1924.
So, the first Constitution of the USSR was adopted in 1924. According to it, these were the authorities in the USSR:
All legislative power belonged to the Congress of Soviets of the USSR; it was this body of power that adopted all the laws binding on all union republics, of which there were initially 4 - the Ukrainian SSR, the Western SSR, the BSSR and the RSFSR. However, the Congress met only once a year! That's why between conventions performed his functions Central Executive Committee (CEC). He also announced the convening of the Congress of Soviets of the USSR.
However, the sessions of the Central Executive Committee were also interrupted (there were only 3 sessions a year!) - you need to rest! Therefore, between sessions of the Central Executive Committee, the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee acted. According to the Constitution of 1924, the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee is the highest legislative, executive and administrative authority of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. However, he was responsible for his actions to the Central Election Commission. The Presidium of the Central Executive Committee sent all bills submitted for its consideration to two chambers of the Central Executive Committee: the Union Council and the Council of Nationalities.
However, not all executive power belonged exclusively to the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee! The Central Executive Committee approved the Council of People's Commissars - the Council of People's Commissars. In a different way, he appears in the Unified State Examination tests as Sovnarkom! The Council of People's Commissars consisted of people's commissariats. They were led by people's commissars, of whom there were initially ten:
people's commissar for foreign affairs; People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs; People's Commissar for Foreign Trade; People's Commissar of Railways; People's Commissar of Posts and Telegraphs; People's Commissar of the Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate; Chairman of the Supreme Council of the National Economy; People's Commissar of Labor; People's Commissar for Food; People's Commissar of Finance.
Who exactly held all these positions is at the end of the article! In fact, the Council of People's Commissars is the Government of the USSR, which was also supposed to implement the laws adopted by the Central Executive Committee and the Congress of Soviets of the USSR. Under the Council of People's Commissars, the OGPU was formed - the United State Political Directorate, which replaced the Cheka - the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ("chekists").
Judicial power was exercised Supreme Court USSR, which also formed the Congress of Soviets of the USSR.
As you can see, nothing complicated. However, it is worth adding that each of these authorities had its own Chairman, who supervised (headed) it, and had its own deputies. Moreover, the Union Council and the Council of Nationalities had their own Presidiums, which functioned between their sessions. Of course, there was also the Chairman of the Presidium of the Union Council and the Chairman of the Presidium of the Council of Nationalities!
Authorities in the USSR according to the Constitution of 1936.
As can be seen from the diagram, the structure of government bodies in the USSR has become much simpler. However, there is one remark: until 1946, the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom) continued to exist together with the People's Commissariats. In addition, the NKVD was formed - the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs, which included the OGPU and the GUGB - the state department of state security.
It is clear that the functions of the authorities were the same. The structure simply changed: the Central Executive Committee no longer existed, and the Council of the Union and the Council of Nationalities became part of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR is the renamed Congress of Soviets of the USSR; it was now convened 2 times a year. Between congresses of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, its functions were performed by the Presidium.
The Supreme Soviet of the USSR approved the Council of Ministers of the USSR (until 1946 there was the Council of People's Commissars) - the government of the USSR, and the Supreme Court of the USSR.
And you may have a natural question: “Who was the head of state of the USSR?” Formally, the USSR was governed collectively by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and its Presidium. In fact, during this period, the one who held the post of Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars and was the head of the party of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) was the head of the USSR. By the way, there were only three such people: V.I. Lenin, I.V. Stalin and N.S. Khrushchev. At all other times, the post of head of the party and head of government (Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR) were divided. More detailed information about the Chairmen of the Council of People's Commissars (and since 1946 - the Council of Ministers), you can find at the end of this article :)
Authorities in the USSR since 1957.
In 1957, the 1936 Constitution was in force. However, Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev carried out a public administration reform, during which sectoral Ministries were eliminated and replaced with territorial Economic Councils in order to decentralize industrial management:
By the way, more detailed information about Khrushchev’s activities can be found.
Authorities in the USSR from 1988 to 1991.
I think there is nothing difficult in understanding this scheme. In connection with the reform of public administration under M.S. Gorbachev, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was liquidated, and in its place was created elected by the people Advice people's deputies !
This is how the structure of government bodies in the USSR changed from 1922 to 1991. I hope you understand that the USSR was a federal state and all the considered authorities were duplicated at the republican level. If so, ask questions in the comments! So as not to miss new materials, !
To people who bought my video course "Russian history. Preparation for the Unified State Exam for 100 points" , on April 28, 2014 I will send 3 additional video lessons on this topic, plus a table of all positions in the USSR and heroes of the Great Patriotic War, front commanders and other useful things.
Well, as promised - table of all heads of the chairmen of the Council of People's Commissars:
| № | Head of the government | In the position | The consignment | ||
| Chairmen of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR | |||||
| 1 | Vladimir Ilyich Lenin | July 6, 1923 | January 21, 1924 | RKP(b) | |
| 2 | Alexey Ivanovich Rykov | February 2, 1924 | December 19, 1930 | RKP(b) / VKP(b) | |
| 3 | Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov | December 19, 1930 | May 6, 1941 | CPSU(b) | |
| 4 | Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin | May 6, 1941 | March 15, 1946 | CPSU(b) | |
| Chairmen of the Council of Ministers of the USSR | |||||
| 4 | Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin | March 15, 1946 | March 5, 1953 | VKP(b) / CPSU |
|
| 5 | Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov | March 5, 1953 | February 8, 1955 | CPSU | |
| 6 | Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin | February 8, 1955 | March 27, 1958 | CPSU | |
| 7 | Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev | March 27, 1958 | October 14, 1964 | CPSU | |
| 8 | Alexey Nikolaevich Kosygin | October 15, 1964 | October 23, 1980 | CPSU | |
| 9 | Nikolai Alexandrovich Tikhonov | October 23, 1980 | September 27, 1985 | CPSU | |
| 10 | Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov | September 27, 1985 | January 19, 1991 | CPSU | |
| Prime Ministers of the USSR (Heads of the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR) | |||||
| 11 | Valentin Sergeevich Pavlov | January 19, 1991 | August 22, 1991 | CPSU | |
| Heads of the Committee for Operational Management of the National Economy of the USSR | |||||
| 12 | Ivan Stepanovich Silaev | September 6, 1991 | September 20, 1991 | CPSU | |
| Chairmen of the Interrepublican Economic Committee of the USSR | |||||
| 12 | Ivan Stepanovich Silaev | September 20, 1991 | November 14, 1991 | CPSU | |
| Chairmen of the Interstate Economic Committee of the USSR - Prime Ministers of the Economic Community | |||||
| 12 | Ivan Stepanovich Silaev | November 14, 1991 | December 26, 1991 | no party |
|
Sincerely, Andrey (Dreammanhist) Puchkov
I've been wanting to write for a long time. The attitude towards Stalin in our country is largely polar. Some hate him, others praise him. I always liked to look at things soberly and try to understand their essence.
So Stalin was never a dictator. Moreover, he was never the leader of the USSR. Do not rush to hem skeptically. Let's do it simpler though. I will now ask you two questions. If you know the answers to them, you can close this page. What follows will seem uninteresting to you.
1. Who was the leader of the Soviet state after Lenin’s death?
2. When exactly did Stalin become a dictator, at least for a year?
Let's start from afar. In every country there is a position, holding which a person becomes the leader of that state. This is not true everywhere, but exceptions only prove the rule. And in general, it doesn’t matter what this position is called, president, prime minister, chairman of the Great Khural, or just a leader and beloved leader, the main thing is that it always exists. Due to certain changes in the political formation of a given country, it may also change its name. But one thing remains unchanged: after the person occupying it leaves his place (for one reason or another), another always takes his place, who automatically becomes the next first person of the state.
So now the next question is - what was the name of this position in the USSR? Secretary General? Are you sure?
Well, let's take a look. This means Stalin became the General Secretary of the CPSU (b) in 1922. Lenin was still alive then and even tried to work. But Lenin was never General Secretary. He held only the position of chairman of the Council of People's Commissars. After him, Rykov took this place. Those. what happens that Rykov became the leader of the Soviet state after Lenin? I'm sure some of you haven't even heard of this name. At the same time, Stalin did not yet have any special powers. Moreover, from a purely legal standpoint, the CPSU(b) was at that time just one of the departments in the Comintern, along with parties in other countries. It is clear that the Bolsheviks still gave money for all this, but formally everything was exactly like that. The Comintern was then led by Zinoviev. Maybe he was the first person of the state at that time? It is unlikely that in terms of his influence on the party he was far inferior to, for example, Trotsky.
Then who was the first person and leader then? What follows is even funnier. Do you think Stalin was already a dictator in 1934? I think you will now answer in the affirmative. So this year the post of General Secretary was completely abolished. Why? Well, like this. Formally, Stalin remained a simple secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. By the way, that’s how he signed all the documents later. And in the party charter there was no position of general secretary at all.
In 1938, the so-called “Stalinist” constitution was adopted. According to it, the highest executive body of our country was called the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Which was headed by Kalinin. Foreigners called him the "president" of the USSR. You all know very well what power he actually had.
Well, think about it, you say. In Germany, too, there is a decorative president, and the Chancellor rules everything. Yes it's true. But this was the only way it was before and after Hitler. In the summer of 1934, Hitler was elected Fuhrer (leader) of the nation in a referendum. By the way, he received 84.6% of the votes. And only then did he become, in essence, a dictator, i.e. a person with unlimited power. As you yourself understand, Stalin legally did not have such powers at all. And this greatly limits power opportunities.
Well, that's not the main thing, you say. On the contrary, this position was very profitable. He seemed to stand above the fray, was not formally responsible for anything and was an arbiter. Okay, let's move on. On May 6, 1941, he suddenly became Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars. On the one hand, this is generally understandable. War is coming soon and we need to have real levers of power. But the point is that during war, military power comes to the fore. And the civilian one becomes just a part of the military structure, simply put, the rear. And just during the war, the military was led by the same Stalin as Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Well, that's okay. What follows is even funnier. On July 19, 1941, Stalin also became People's Commissar of Defense. This already goes beyond any idea of the dictatorship of one specific person. To make it clearer to you, it is as if CEO(and owner) of the enterprise also became Commercial Director and Head of the Supply Department. Nonsense.
People's Commissar of Defense during war is a very minor position. During this period, the main power is taken by the General Staff and, in our case, by the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, headed by the same Stalin. And the People's Commissar of Defense becomes something like a company foreman, who is responsible for supplies, weapons and other everyday issues of the unit. A very minor position.
This can be somehow understood during the period of hostilities, but Stalin remained People's Commissar until February 1947.
Okay, let's move on. In 1953, Stalin dies. Who became the leader of the USSR after him? What are you saying Khrushchev? Since when has a simple secretary of the Central Committee ruled our entire country?
Formally, it turns out that Malenko. It was he who became the next, after Stalin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers. I saw somewhere here on the net where this was clearly hinted at. But for some reason, no one in our country later considered him to be the leader of the country.
In 1953, the position of party leader was revived. They called her First Secretary. And Khrushchev became one in September 1953. But somehow it’s very unclear. At the very end of what seemed to be a plenum, Malenkov stood up and asked how those gathered thought about electing the First Secretary. The audience answered in the affirmative (by the way characteristic all the transcripts of those years, remarks, comments and other reactions to certain speeches on the presidium are constantly coming from the audience. Even negative ones. People will sleep with their eyes open at such events under Brezhnev. Malenkov proposed voting for Khrushchev. Which is what they did. Somehow this bears little resemblance to the election of the country's first person.
So when did Khrushchev become the de facto leader of the USSR? Well, probably in 1958, when he threw out all the old people and also became Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Those. Can one assume that by essentially holding this position and leading the party, the person began to lead the country?
But here's the problem. Brezhnev, after Khrushev was removed from all posts, became only the First Secretary. Then, in 1966, the position of General Secretary was revived. It seems that it was then that it actually began to mean complete guide country. But again there are rough edges. Brezhnev became the leader of the party after the post of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Which. as we all know very well, it was generally quite decorative. Why then, in 1977, Leonid Ilyich returned to it again and became both General Secretary and Chairman? Did he lack power?
But Andropov had enough. He became only General Secretary.
And that's actually not all. I took all these facts from Wikipedia. If you go deeper, the devil will break his leg in all these ranks, positions and powers of the highest echelon of power in the years 20-50.
Well, now the most important thing. In the USSR, the highest power was collective. And all the major decisions on certain significant issues were made by the Politburo (under Stalin this was a little different, but essentially correct). In fact, there was no single leader. There were people (like Stalin) who, for various reasons, were considered first among equals. But not more. We cannot talk about any dictatorship. It never existed in the USSR and could never exist. Stalin simply did not have the legal leverage to make serious decisions on his own. Everything was always accepted collectively. There are many documents on this.
If you think that I came up with all this myself, then you are mistaken. This is the official position of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union represented by the Politburo and the Central Committee of the CPSU.
Don't believe me? Well, let's move on to the documents.
Transcript of the July 1953 plenum of the CPSU Central Committee. Just after Beria's arrest.
From Malenkov's speech:
First of all, we must openly admit, and we propose to write this down in the decision of the Plenum of the Central Committee, that in our propaganda for last years there was a retreat from the Marxist-Leninist understanding of the question of the role of the individual in history. It is no secret that party propaganda, instead of correctly explaining the role of the Communist Party as a leading force in the construction of communism in our country, was confused by the cult of personality.
But, comrades, this is not just a matter of propaganda. The question of the cult of personality is directly and directly related to the question of collective leadership.
We have no right to hide from you that such an ugly cult of personality has led to peremptory nature of individual decisions and in recent years began to cause serious damage to the leadership of the party and the country.
This must be said in order to resolutely correct the mistakes made in this regard, draw the necessary lessons and in the future ensure in practice collectivity of leadership on the principled basis of Lenin-Stalin teachings.
We must say this so as not to repeat the mistakes associated with lack of collective leadership and with an incorrect understanding of the issue of the cult of personality, for these mistakes, in the absence of Comrade Stalin, will be three times dangerous. (Voices. Correct).
No one dares, cannot, should or wants to claim the role of successor. (Voices. Correct. Applause).
The successor of the great Stalin is a tightly knit, monolithic team of party leaders....
Those. in essence, the question of the cult of personality is not connected with the fact that someone made mistakes there (in in this case Beria, the plenum was dedicated to his arrest), but with the fact that making serious decisions alone is a deviation from the very basis of party democracy as a principle of governing the country.
By the way, from my pioneer childhood I remember such words as Democratic centralism, election from bottom to top. Purely legally, this was the case in the Party. Everyone was always chosen, from the minor secretary of the party cell to the general secretary. Another thing is that under Brezhnev this became largely a fiction. But under Stalin it was exactly like that.
And of course the most important document is ".
At the beginning, Khrushchev says what the report will actually be about:
Due to the fact that not everyone still understands what the cult of personality led to in practice, what enormous damage was caused violation of the principle of collective leadership in the party and the concentration of immense, unlimited power in the hands of one person, the Central Committee of the party considers it necessary to report materials on this issue to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union .
Then he scolds Stalin for a long time for deviations from the principles of collective leadership and attempts to crush everything under his own control.
And at the end he concludes with a programmatic statement:
Secondly, to consistently and persistently continue the work carried out in recent years by the Central Committee of the Party to strictly observe in all Party organizations, from top to bottom, Leninist principles of party leadership and above all the highest principle - collectivity of leadership, to comply with the norms of party life, enshrined in the Charter of our party, to develop criticism and self-criticism.
Third, completely restore Lenin's principles Soviet socialist democracy, expressed in the Constitution of the Soviet Union, to fight against the arbitrariness of persons who abuse power. It is necessary to completely correct the violations of revolutionary socialist legality that have accumulated over a long period as a result of the negative consequences of the cult of personality.
And you say dictatorship. The dictatorship of a party, yes, but not of one person. And these are two big differences.
General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee - the highest position in the hierarchy communist party and by by and large leader of the Soviet Union. In the history of the party there were four more positions of the head of its central apparatus: Technical Secretary (1917-1918), Chairman of the Secretariat (1918-1919), Executive Secretary (1919-1922) and First Secretary (1953-1966).
The people who filled the first two positions were mainly engaged in paper secretarial work. The position of Executive Secretary was introduced in 1919 to perform administrative activities. The post of General Secretary, established in 1922, was also created purely for administrative and personnel internal party work. However, the first Secretary General Joseph Stalin, using the principles of democratic centralism, managed to become not only the leader of the party, but the entire Soviet Union.
At the 17th Party Congress, Stalin was not formally re-elected to the post of General Secretary. However, his influence was already enough to maintain leadership in the party and the country as a whole. After Stalin's death in 1953, Georgy Malenkov was considered the most influential member of the Secretariat. After his appointment to the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers, he left the Secretariat and Nikita Khrushchev, who was soon elected First Secretary of the Central Committee, took the leading positions in the party.
Not limitless rulers
In 1964, the opposition within the Politburo and the Central Committee removed Nikita Khrushchev from the post of First Secretary, electing Leonid Brezhnev in his place. Since 1966, the position of the party leader was again called the General Secretary. In Brezhnev's times, the power of the General Secretary was not unlimited, since members of the Politburo could limit his powers. The leadership of the country was carried out collectively.
Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko ruled the country according to the same principle as the late Brezhnev. Both were elected to the party's top post while their health was failing and served only a short time as secretary general. Until 1990, when the Communist Party's monopoly on power was eliminated, Mikhail Gorbachev led the state as General Secretary of the CPSU. Especially for him, in order to maintain leadership in the country, the post of President of the Soviet Union was established in the same year.
After the August 1991 putsch, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary. He was replaced by his deputy, Vladimir Ivashko, who served as Acting Secretary General for only five years. calendar days, until that moment, Russian President Boris Yeltsin suspended the activities of the CPSU.
