The First Generation of Stalinist ‘Party Generals’

Abstract

Stalin, addressing the Central Committee plenum in February-March 1937, described the top 3,000-4,000 leaders of the country as ‘the general staff of the party (generalitetom partii)’.¹ The apex of this hierarchy of ‘generals’ comprised the secretaries of the republic, oblast and krai party organisations. On 1 January 1934 in the USSR there were eight Central Committees of national communist parties, 12 krai committees (kraikoms) and 15 oblast committees (obkoms), which were subordinated directly to the Central Committee of the CPSU. In addition there were 14 obkoms included in the republics and subordinated to the Central Committees of the national communist parties, and 29 obkoms included in the krais and subordinated to the kraikoms of the CPSU. This structure underwent significant changes in the following years. On 1 December 1938 there were 10 Central Committees of the national communist parties (with 44 republican obkoms subordinated to them), 6 kraikoms (with 13 obkoms subordinated to them) and 47 obkoms which were subordinated directly to the Central Committee of the CPSU.² The leadership of these party committees, above all the secretaries of the national communist parties, the kraikoms and obkoms, which were subordinated to the all-union Central Committee, will be the subject of this study.