Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee

The Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee was a key body within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Communist Party of the Soviet Union

The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest Communist Party in the world....
and was responsible for the central administration of the party as opposed to drafting government policy which was usually handled by the Politburo

Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee'

Start a new discussion about 'Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

The Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee was a key body within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

The Politburo , known as the Presidium from 1952 to 1966, functioned as the central policymaking and governing body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union....
. Its members were elected by the Communist Party's Central Committee, although in all but the first years of its existence the elections were a formality since decisions were made by the senior leadership before the voting. The General Secretary of the CPSU, who was also a Politburo member, was the leader of the Secretariat and the Party. Dual membership in the Secretariat and the Politburo was reserved for two or three very senior members of the Soviet leadership and in the post-Stalin

Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death in 1953....
era was a stepping stone to the ultimate power. The last 4 Soviet leaders (Leonid Brezhnev

Leonid Brezhnev

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982, serving in that position longer than anyone other than Joseph Stalin....
, Yuri Andropov

Yuri Andropov

Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was a Soviet Union politician and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 12 November 1982 until his death fifteen months later....
, Konstantin Chernenko

Konstantin Chernenko

Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko was a Soviet Union politician and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union....
and Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a Russian politician. He was the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until 1991, and also the last head of state of the USSR, serving from 1988 until its collapse in 1991....
) were all senior Secretaries before becoming General Secretaries.

The Secretariat was established by the Central Committee on August 6, 1917 and was initially composed of Felix Dzerzhinsky, Matvei Muranov

Matvei Muranov

Matvei Konstantinovich Muranov was a Dnieper Ukraine-born Bolshevik revolutionary and a Politics of the Soviet Union....
and Yakov Sverdlov

Yakov Sverdlov

Yakov Mikhaylovich Sverdlov ; known under pseudonyms "Andrei", "Mikhalych", "Max", "Smirnov", "Permyakov" – March 16 1919) was a Bolshevik party leader and an official of the RSFSR....
as full members and Adolph Joffe

Adolph Joffe

File:Adolf Abramovich Ioffe.jpgAdolph Abramovich Joffe was a Communist revolutionary, a Bolshevik politician and a Soviet diplomat of Karaite Judaism descent....
and Yelana Stasova as candidate members (or alternates). Following the October Revolution of 1917, Sverdlov and Stasova became the de facto Secretariat as other members of the body assumed other duties. At the time, the Secretariat was responsible for technical issues such as coordination of the activities of regional party organizations and handling routine administrative affairs of the Party.

By 1922, the body had been transformed from a technical committee to one of the most important components of the party and from that point on it was responsible for day to day operations of the Communist Party. Also in 1922, the position of General Secretary was created, the General Secretary became the head of the Secretariat and, in the years following Lenin's death, became the most important figure in the party and the country.

See also Organization of the Communist Party of the USSR

Organization of the Communist Party of the USSR

The organization of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was based on the principles of democratic centralism.The governing body of the CPSU was the Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union which initially met annually but whose meetings became less frequent, particularly under Stalin....

Members of the Secretariat 1917-1991

Date	Comments
August 6, 1917	Felix Dzerzhinsky, Matvei Muranov Matvei Muranov Matvei Konstantinovich Muranov was a Dnieper Ukraine-born Bolshevik revolutionary and a Politics of the Soviet Union.... and Yakov Sverdlov Yakov Sverdlov Yakov Mikhaylovich Sverdlov ; known under pseudonyms "Andrei", "Mikhalych", "Max", "Smirnov", "Permyakov" – March 16 1919) was a Bolshevik party leader and an official of the RSFSR.... (full members); Adolph Joffe Adolph Joffe File:Adolf Abramovich Ioffe.jpgAdolph Abramovich Joffe was a Communist revolutionary, a Bolshevik politician and a Soviet diplomat of Karaite Judaism descent.... and Yelena Stasova (candidate members)
March 16, 1919	Sverdlov dies
March 25, 1919	Stasova elected Chief Secretary by the Central Committee
Nov 1919	Nikolai Krestinsky Nikolai Krestinsky Nikolai Nikolaevich Krestinsky was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and Soviet politician.... added; becomes Chief Secretary
April 5, 1920	Krestinsky, Yevgeny Preobrazhensky, Leonid Serebryakov
March 16, 1921	V. Mikhaylov, Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov , Soviet Union politician and diplomacy, was a leading figure in the Government of the Soviet Union from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a prot?g? of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev.... , Yemelyan Yaroslavsky
April 3, 1922	Valerian Kuibyshev and Molotov with Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death in 1953.... as General Secretary
April 26, 1923	Molotov, Yan Rudzutak Yan Rudzutak Janis Rudzutaks was a Latvian people Bolshevik revolutionary and Soviet politician.Rudzutaks was born in the Kuldiga district of the Courland Governorate , into the family of a farm worker.... , Stalin
Feb 1924	Rudzutak replaced by Andrei Andreyev Andrei Andreyev File:Andreev Andrey Andreevich.jpgAndrei Andreevich Andreyev was a Soviet politician.He was the son of a peasant who became a munitions worker....
June 2, 1924	Andreyev, Zelensky, Lazar Kaganovich Lazar Kaganovich Lazar Moiseyevich Kaganovich was a Soviet Union politician and administrator and a close associate of Joseph Stalin.... , Molotov, Stalin
Aug 1924	Zelensky replaced by Nikolai Uglanov Nikolai Uglanov Nikolai Aleksandrovich Uglanov was a Russian people Bolshevik politician, who played an important role in the government of the Soviet Union....
April 30, 1925	Kaganovich replaced by Andrei Bubnov Andrei Bubnov Andrei Sergeyevich Bubnov was a Bolshevik revolutionary leader in Russia, and member of the Left Opposition.Andrei Bubnov was born in Ivanovo-Voznesensk on 23 March 1883....
January 1, 1926	Yevdokimov, Kosior, Molotov, Stalin, Uglanov with Artukhina Artukhina Alexandra Vasilevna Artyukhina was an early Russian Bolshevist and revolutionary who rose to the sit on the Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee, but was brought down by Joseph Stalin's purges in the late 1930s.... and Bubnov as candidate members
April 9, 1926	Yevdokimov replaced by Shvernik
April 16, 1927	Shvernik replaced by Kubyak
December 19, 1927	Kosior Kosior Kosior may refer to one of three brothers, Poland-born Soviet Union politicians :Stanislav Kosior Vladislav Kosior Iosif Kosior Two other less notable brothers were Kazimierz Kosior and Michal Kosior.... , Kubyak, Molotov, Stalin, Uglanov with Artukhina Artukhina Alexandra Vasilevna Artyukhina was an early Russian Bolshevist and revolutionary who rose to the sit on the Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee, but was brought down by Joseph Stalin's purges in the late 1930s.... , Bubnov and Moskvin as candidate members
April 11, 1928	Kubyak replaced by Smirnov; Bauman elected candidate member
July 12, 1928	Kosior replaced by Kaganovich
April 30, 1929	Uglanov replaced by Bauman
July 13, 1930	Bauman, Kaganovich, Molotov, Postyshev, Stalin with Moskvin and Shvernik as candidate members.
December 21, 1930	Molotov removed
October 2, 1932	Bauman and Moskvin removed
February 10, 1934	Andrei Zhdanov Andrei Zhdanov Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov was a Soviet Union politician. He was of Russians ethnicity.... , Kaganovich, Sergei Kirov, Stalin
December 1, 1934	Kirov assassinated
Feb 1935	Nikolai Yezhov Nikolai Yezhov Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov was a senior figure in the NKVD during the period of the Great Purge. His reign is sometimes known as the "Yezhovschina" .... and Andreyev join
March 22, 1939	Andreyev, Zhdanov, Georgy Malenkov Georgy Malenkov Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov was a Soviet Union politician, Communist Party of the Soviet Union leader and close collaborator of Joseph Stalin of Macedonians descent.... , Stalin
May 4, 1941	Alexander Shcherbakov joins
May 10, 1945	Shcherbakov dies
March 18, 1946	Zhdanov, Kuznetsov, Malenkov, Popov, Stalin
May 6, 1946	Malenkov replaced by Patolichev
May 24, 1947	Patolichev replaced by Mikhail Suslov Mikhail Suslov Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov was a Soviet Union statesman, communism theoretician and ideologist, and a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union....
July 1, 1948	Malenkov and Panteleimon Ponomarenko Panteleimon Ponomarenko Panteleimon Kondrat'evich Ponomarenko; 9 August 1902 18 January 1984) was a general in the Red Army before becoming a Soviet Union administrator in Belarus and then Kazakhstan.... join
August 31, 1948	Zhdanov dies
January 28, 1949	Kuznetsov Kuznetsov Kuznetsov or Kuznetsoff or Kuznetsova is the third most common Russian name, an equivalent of the English "Smith" .Kuznetsov may refer to:... removed
December 16, 1949	Popov replaced by Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, following the death of Joseph Stalin, and Premier of the Soviet Union from 1958 to 1964....
October 16, 1952	Aristov, Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982, serving in that position longer than anyone other than Joseph Stalin.... , Ignatov, Malenkov, N. Mikhaylov, Pegov, Ponomarenko, Stalin, Suslov, Khrushchev The term General Secretary is no longer used; Stalin remains the de facto leader
March 5, 1953	Stalin dies
March 5, 1953	Brezhnev, Ignatov, Pegov and Ponomarenko Panteleimon Ponomarenko Panteleimon Kondrat'evich Ponomarenko; 9 August 1902 18 January 1984) was a general in the Red Army before becoming a Soviet Union administrator in Belarus and then Kazakhstan.... replaced by Ignatyev, Pospelov and Shatalin. Note: Malenkov becomes the de facto senior secretary by virtue of the fact that he is also Prime Minister
March 14, 1953	Malenkov removed
March 14, 1953	Ignatyev, Pospelov, Suslov, Khrushchev, Shatalin
April 5, 1953	Ignatyev removed
September 7, 1953	Khrushchev elected First Secretary by the Central Committee
March 8, 1955	Shatalin removed
July 12, 1955	Aristov, Belyaev, Dmitri Shepilov Dmitri Shepilov Dmitri Trofimovich Shepilov was a Politics of the Soviet Union and Foreign Minister of Russia who joined the abortive plot to oust Nikita Khruschev from power in 1957.... join
February 27, 1956	Aristov, Belyaev, Brezhnev, Pospelov, Suslov, Furtseva, Khrushchev, Shepilov
December 24, 1956	Shepilov removed
February 14, 1957	Shepilov rejoins
June 18, 1957	Presidium of the Central Committee votes to dismiss Khrushchev as First Secretary (7 in favor, 4 against), but the decision is revoked on the same day and the issue is postponed until the June 1957 Central Committee Plenum which reaffirms Khrushchev
June 29, 1957	Shepilov replaced by Otto Kuusinen
December 17, 1957	Ignatov, Kirichenko, Mukhitdinov join
November 12, 1958	Belyaev removed
May 4, 1960	Aristov, Ignatov, Kirichenko, Pospelov and Furtseva removed; Kozlov joins
July 16, 1960	Brezhnev removed
October 31, 1961	Demichev, Ilyichev, Kozlov, Kuusinen, Boris Ponomarev Boris Ponomarev Boris Nikolayevich Ponomarev was a Soviet politician, ideologist and historian, and a member of the Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.... , Spiridonov, Suslov, Khrushchev, Shelepin
April 23, 1962	Spiridonov removed
November 23, 1962	Andropov, Polyakov, Rudakov and Titov added
June 21, 1963	Brezhnev and Podgorny Nikolai Podgorny Nikolai Viktorovich Podgorny was the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from 1965 to 1977.An engineer, trained at the Technological Institute of the Food Industry in Kiev, he became deputy commissar of the Ukraine food industry before becoming a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1950.... added
May 17, 1964	Kuusinen dies
October 14, 1964	Khrushchev removed, Brezhnev elected First secretary at the Central Committee plenum
November 16, 1964	Kozlov Kozlov Kozlov , or Kozlova is a common Russian last name. It is derived the sobriquet "" . The name may refer to several people or geographic locations:... and Polyakov Polyakov Polyakov , or Polyakova is a Russian last name and may refer to:PeopleAleksei Polyakov, Russian/Uzbek goalkeeperAlexander Polyakov, a Russian/American physicist... removed
March 26, 1965	Ilyichev replaced by Ustinov
September 29, 1965	Titov replaced by Kulakov
December 6, 1965	Podgorny Nikolai Podgorny Nikolai Viktorovich Podgorny was the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from 1965 to 1977.An engineer, trained at the Technological Institute of the Food Industry in Kiev, he became deputy commissar of the Ukraine food industry before becoming a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1950.... replaced by Kapitonov
April 8, 1966	Yuri Andropov Yuri Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was a Soviet Union politician and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 12 November 1982 until his death fifteen months later.... , Brezhnev, Demichev, Kapitonov, Kirilenko Andrei Kirilenko (politician) Andrei Pavlovich Kirilenko was a leading official of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the 1970s and early 1980s.... , Kulakov, Ponomarev, Rudakov, Suslov, Ustinov Dmitriy Ustinov Dmitriy Fyodorovich Ustinov was Minister of Defence of Soviet Union from 1976 until his death.... , Shelepin; Brezhnev's title changes from First Secretary to General Secretary
July 10, 1966	Rudakov dies
December 13, 1966	Solomentsev joins
June 21, 1967	Andropov removed
September 26, 1967	Shelepin removed
April 10, 1968	Katushev joins
April 9, 1971	Brezhnev, Demichev, Kapitonov, Katushev, Kirilenko Andrei Kirilenko (politician) Andrei Pavlovich Kirilenko was a leading official of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the 1970s and early 1980s.... , Kulakov, Ponomarev, Solomentsev, Suslov, Ustinov
November 23, 1971	Solomentsev removed
December 18, 1972	Dolgikh joins
December 16, 1974	Demichev relieved of duties at the Central Committee plenum
March 5, 1976	Brezhnev, Dolgikh, Zimyanin, Kapitonov, Katushev, Kirilenko Andrei Kirilenko (politician) Andrei Pavlovich Kirilenko was a leading official of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the 1970s and early 1980s.... , Kulakov, Ponomarev, Suslov, Ustinov Dmitriy Ustinov Dmitriy Fyodorovich Ustinov was Minister of Defence of Soviet Union from 1976 until his death.... , Konstantin Chernenko Konstantin Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko was a Soviet Union politician and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.... elected secretaries at the Central Committee plenum
Oct 1976	Ustinov replaced by Ryabov
May 24, 1977	Katushev replaced by Rusakov
July 17, 1978	Kulakov dies
November 27, 1978	Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a Russian politician. He was the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until 1991, and also the last head of state of the USSR, serving from 1988 until its collapse in 1991.... joins
April 17, 1979	Ryabov removed
March 3, 1981	Brezhnev, Gorbachev Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a Russian politician. He was the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until 1991, and also the last head of state of the USSR, serving from 1988 until its collapse in 1991.... , Dolgikh, Zimyanin, Kapitonov, Kirilenko Kirilenko Kirilenko is a surname, and may refer to:Maria Kirilenko , tennis playerAndrei Kirilenko Andrei Kirilenko Vitaliy Kirilenko , Ukrainian long jumper... , Ponomarev, Rusakov, Suslov, Chernenko
January 25, 1982	Suslov dies
May 24, 1982	Andropov Yuri Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was a Soviet Union politician and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 12 November 1982 until his death fifteen months later.... joins
November 10, 1982	Brezhnev dies
November 12, 1982	Andropov elected General secretary at a Central Committee extraordinary plenum
November 22, 1982	Kirilenko replaced by Ryzhkov
May 29, 1983	Pelshe dies
June 15, 1983	Romanov joins
December 26, 1983	Ligachev joins
February 9, 1984	Andropov dies
February 13, 1984	Chernenko Chernenko Chernenko is a surname of Ukrainian origin. It can refer to the following people:* Albert Chernenko , Russian philosopher* Elena Chernenko, the Minister of Finance of the Pridestrovian Moldavian Republic... elected General secretary at a Central Committee extraordinary plenum
March 10, 1985	Chernenko Chernenko Chernenko is a surname of Ukrainian origin. It can refer to the following people:* Albert Chernenko , Russian philosopher* Elena Chernenko, the Minister of Finance of the Pridestrovian Moldavian Republic... dies
March 11, 1985	Gorbachev Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a Russian politician. He was the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until 1991, and also the last head of state of the USSR, serving from 1988 until its collapse in 1991.... , elected General secretary at a Central Committee extraordinary plenum
April 23, 1985	Nikonov joins
July 1, 1985	Romanov replaced by Boris Yeltsin Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Yeltsin came to power with a wave of high expectations.... and Zaikov
October 15, 1985	Ryzhkov removed
February 18, 1986	Yeltsin and Rusakov removed
March 6, 1986	Biryukova, Gorbachev Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a Russian politician. He was the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until 1991, and also the last head of state of the USSR, serving from 1988 until its collapse in 1991.... , Anatoly Dobrynin Anatoly Dobrynin Anatoly Fyodorovich Dobrynin is a Russian statesman and a former Soviet Union diplomat and politician. He was Soviet Ambassador to the United States, serving from 1962 to 1986 and most notably during the Cuban Missile Crisis.... , Dolgikh, Zaikov, Zimyanin, Yegor Ligachev Yegor Ligachev Yegor Kuzmich Ligachev is a Russian politician, who was a high-ranking official in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union of the Soviet Union .... , Medvedev, Nikonov, Razumovsky, Alexander Yakovlev Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev, ????????? ?????????? ??????? was a Russian economist who was a Soviet Union governmental official in the 1980s and a member of the CPSU Politburo and Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union....
January 28, 1987	Zimyanin replaced by Lukyanov and Slyunkov
February 18, 1988	Baklanov joins
September 30, 1988	Biryukova, Dobrynin, Dolgikh and Lukyanov removed; Viktor Chebrikov Viktor Chebrikov Viktor Mikhailovich Chebrikov was a Soviet Union spy and head of the KGB from 1982 to 1988. Born in Dnepropetrovsk, in eastern Ukraine, he served in World War II after Germany invaded.... joins
September 20, 1989	Nikonov and Chebrikov removed; Girenko, Manayenkov, Stroyev and Usmanov join
December 9, 1989	Frolov joins
July 10, 1990	Gorbachev Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a Russian politician. He was the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until 1991, and also the last head of state of the USSR, serving from 1988 until its collapse in 1991.... , re-elected General Secretary, Ivashko Deputy general secretary at the 28th party Congress by secret ballot
July 14, 1990	Baklanov, Gidaspov, Girenko, Dzasokhov, Kuptsov, Manayenkov, Semyonova, Stroyev, Falin, Shenin, Gennady Yanayev Gennady Yanayev Gennady Ivanovich Yanayev , Russian politician and statesman. He was also the only Vice President of the Soviet Union .Yanayev had worked with Komsomol since 1963.... , Aniskin, Gayvoronsky, Melnikov, Teplenichev and Turgunova join
January 31, 1991	Yanayev replaced by Luchinsky
April 25, 1991	Gorbachev Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a Russian politician. He was the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until 1991, and also the last head of state of the USSR, serving from 1988 until its collapse in 1991.... , tendered his resignation to the joint plenum of the Central Committee and the Central Control Commission, but it was declined; Baklanov removed
July 26, 1991	Kalashnikov Melnikov and Maltsev join
August 24, 1991	After failure of the August coup Gorbachev resigns as General Secretary, CPSU banned by Yeltsin.