Perestroika and the Party

Abstract

Mikhail Gorbachev has taken up arms against the Communist Party bureaucracy. He holds the Party’s full-time, paid officials largely to blame for the economic slowdown and social malaise from which the Soviet Union is suffering. He accuses them of usurping the powers and functions of state and government bodies, stifling the initiative of ordinary people and rank-and-file Party members, and snarling up the country in red tape and corruption. In short, Gorbachev sees the Party bureaucracy as a major obstacle in his attempts to modernise and revitalise Soviet society.

Thanks are due to Philip Hanson and Peter Reddaway for comments on an early draft and to Alexander Rahr for help compiling data on personnel appointments.