After their victorious coup in Nov 1917, the Bolsheviks, formerly a small conspiratorial organization, found the need for a more established structure to run the country. Among other changes, the Eighth Party Congress created in March 1919 a "Politburo" of senior members, to be selected from the larger Central Committee, to act on matters too urgent for the full Central Committee. Lars T. Lih et al. analogize it to a parliamentary system: The Party Congresses, meeting every two years until well into the 1920s, were the "electorate." They chose the Central Committee (a "parliament"), which in turn chose the Politburo (the Prime Minister and his cabinet).
Sources
also:
Leonard Shapiro, "The Communist Party of the Soviet Union," Random House, New York, 1960; especially Appendix 3, pp. 606-609.
View same table, but with small photos of some Politburo members, at this site:
Richard Pipes, "Russia Under the Bolshevik Regime," Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1993; p. 439.
Lars T. Lih, Oleg V. Naumov, and Oleg V. Khlevniuk, editors, "Stalin's Letters to Molotov, 1925-1936," Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1995; p.65.
Jean Bronskaya and Vladimir Chuguev, "Kto Est' Kto v Rossii i Byvshem SSSR," Terra, Moskva, 1994.
Robert Conquest, "The Great Terror: A Reassessment," Oxford University Press, 1990.
polit-hi-ph.html.
Caution:
This list may contain an occasional clerical error.
| name | Factional loyalty: (a)- ally, (p)- protege, (i)- somewhat independent. Distinctive power base, background |
occasion of accession to Politburo date of accession (c)- candidate member (f)- full member |
Reason for departure from Politburo Date of departure |
dates of birth and death | reason for death, if before Stalin's (1953) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vladimir Ilich Lenin (Ulyanov) |
founder and leader of party | 8th Congress (f) Mar 1919 |
death(1924) | 22 Apr 1870- 21 Jan 1924 |
natural |
| Lev Davydovich Trotsky [Trockij] (Bronshtejn) |
Leader in 1917 coup, founder of Red Army |
8th Congress (f) Mar 1919 |
Defeat of "United Opposition" CC Plenary Session expelled 23 Oct 1926 |
7 Nov 1879- 20 Aug 1940 |
assassinated in Mexico by NKVD |
| Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin (Dzhugashvili) |
8th Congress (f) Mar 1919 |
death (1953) | 20 Dec 1879- 5 Mar 1953 | natural | |
| Lev Borisovich Kamenev (Rozenfel'd) |
Zinov'ev (a). Moscow party organization |
8th Congress (f) Mar 1919 |
Defeat of "United Opposition" 14th Congress demoted to candidate, 1 Jan 1926; CC Plenary Session expelled 23 Oct 1926 |
6 Jul 1883- 25 Aug 1936 |
tried (1936) and shot |
| Nikolaj N. Krestinskij |
Trotsky. Party Secretariat |
8th Congress (f) Mar 1919. |
Opposed Lenin's moderate N.E.P. 10th Congress 22 Mar 1921 |
? - 1938 | tried (1938) and shot |
| Grigorij Evseevich Zinov'ev (Apfel'baum) |
Orator, Chairman of Comintern, party boss of Peterburg |
8th Congress (c) Mar 1919; 10th Congress (f) 22 Mar 1921. |
Defeat of "United Opposition" CC Plenary Session expelled Jul 1926 |
8 Sep 1883- 25 Aug 1936 | tried (1936) and shot |
| Nikolaj Ivanovich Bukharin |
8th Congress (c) Mar 1919; 13th Congress (f) 2 Jun 1924. |
Opposed Collectivization CC Plenary Session expelled Nov 1929 |
9 Oct 1888- 13 Mar 1938 | tried (1938) and shot | |
| Vyacheslav Mixajlovich Molotov (Skryabin) |
Stalin (p). | 10th Congress (c) 22 Mar 1921; 14th Congress (f) 1 Jan 1926. |
Failed ouster of Khrushchov CC Plenary Session expelled Jun 1957 |
9 Mar 1890- 8 Nov 1986 | |
| Mixail Ivanovich Kalinin |
Stalin (p). innocuous figurehead, of peasant origin |
10th Congress (c) 22 Mar 1921; 13th Congress (c) 2 Jun 1924; 14th Congress (f) 1 Jan 1926. |
dropped in 1923, but restored in 1924; death (1946) |
19 Nov 1875- 3 Jun 1946 | natural |
| Aleksej Ivanovich Rykov |
Bukharin (a). | 11th Congress (f) 3 Apr 1922; |
Opposed Collectivization CC and CCC Plenary session expelled Dec 1930. |
25 Feb 1881- 14 Mar 1938 | tried (1938) and shot |
| Mixail Pavlovich Tomskij (Efremov) |
Bukharin (a). Trade unions |
11th Congress (f) 3 April 1922. |
Opposed Collectivization Jul 1930 |
31 Oct 1880- 22 Aug 1936 | forced suicide |
| Valerian Vladimirovich Kuibyshev [Kujbyshev] |
Stalin (p)(i). | 11th Congress (c) 3 Apr 1922 15th Congress (f) 19 Dec 1927 |
dropped in 1926, but restored in 1927. death (1935) |
6 Jun 1888- 25 Jan 1935 | Natural? Accusations of Trotskyism withdrawn after death; canonized. |
| Feliks E^dmundovich Dzerzhinskij |
Ch.K. -- G.P.U. | 13th Congress (c) 2 Jun 1924 |
death (1926) | 11 Sep 1877- 20 Jul 1926 | natural |
| Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov |
Stalin (p). Red Army |
14th Congress (f) 1 Jan 1926. |
Failed ouster of Khrushchov CC Plenary Session expelled Jun 1957 |
4 Feb 1881- 2 Dec 1969 | |
| Yan E^rnestovich Rudzutak |
Stalin (p)(i). Trade unions |
14th Congress (c) Jan 1926; Zinov'ev expelled (f) Jul 1926 17th Congress (c) 10 Feb 1934 |
Seconded to CCC, 1932-1934; Purged in 1938. |
15 Aug 1887- 19 Jul 1938 | Tried (1938) and shot |
| Grigorij Ivanovich Petrovskij |
? Head of Ukrainian SSR "government" |
14th Congress (c) 1 Jan 1926 |
Removed early 1939. |
4 Feb 1878 - 9 Jan 1958 | Life may have been spared as one of 12 Bolshevik deputies to Tsarist duma. |
| Nikolaj Aleksandrovich Uglanov |
Stalin (p); Bukharin |
14th Congress (c) 1 Jan 1926. |
Opposed Collectivization CC Plenary Session 29 Apr 1929 |
1886-1937 | shot |
| Georgij Konstantinovich ("Sergo") Ordzhonikidze |
Stalin (p)(i). Popular; effective manager. |
CC Plenary Session (c) Jul 1926; Rykov expelled (f) Dec 1930. |
Seconded to C.C.C, 1926-1930; death (1937) |
24 Oct 1886- 18 Feb 1937 | forced suicide; ambivalently canonized. |
| Sergej Mironovich Kirov (Kostrikov) |
Stalin (p)(i). Orator, popular and charismatic |
CC Plenary Session (c) Jan 1926; 16th Congress (f) 13 Jul 1930. |
death (1934) | 27 Mar 1886- 1 Dec 1934 | assassinated on Stalin's secret order; canonized. |
| Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan |
Stalin (p). | CC Plenary Session (c) Jul 1926; CC Plenary Session (f) 1 Feb 1935 |
1960s? | 25 Nov 1895- 21 Oct 1978 | |
| Lazar' Moiseevich Kaganovich |
Stalin (p). Brutal but effective manager |
CC Plenary Session (c) Jul 1926 16th Congress (f) 13 Jul 1930 |
Failed ouster of Khrushchov. CC Plenary Session expelled Jun 1957 |
22 Nov 1893- 25 Jul 1991 | |
| Vlas Yakovlevich Chubar' |
Stalin (p). | Ordzhonikidze seconded to C.C.C. (c) 3 Nov 1926; CC Plenary Session (f) 1 Feb 1935 |
1938 | ? - 1938 | Presumed executed |
| Andrej Andreevich Andreev |
Stalin (p). |
15th Congress (c) 19 Dec 1927; 17th Congress (f) 10 Feb 1934 |
Seconded to C.C.C. 1930-1934. Agricultural policy out of favor 1950? |
? | |
| Stanislav Vikent'evich Kosior |
Stalin (p)(i). Party boss of Ukrainian SSR |
15th Congress (c) 19 Dec 1927; (f)16th Congress (f) 13 Jul 1930. |
1938 | 1889-1939 | Shot |
| Karl Yanovich Bauman |
Stalin? Supported Collectivization |
replaced Uglanov (c) 29 Apr 1929; |
Scapegoat in temporary retreat from Collectivization ("Dizzy with Success") Mar(?) 1930 |
1892- Oct 1937 | Tried and shot |
| Sergej I. Syrtsov [Syrcov] |
Stalin | 16th Congress (c) 12 Jul 1930; |
Agitated against dictatorship, economic policies C.C. and C.C.C. decision expelled 1 Dec 1930 |
? - ca 1938? | Secretly repressed, 1937-38? |
| Pavel Petrovich Postyshev |
Stalin (p). |
17th Congress (c) 20 Feb 1934 |
CC Plenary Session expelled Jan 1938 |
1887- 22 Feb 1939 | Executed |
| Andrej Aleksandrovich Zhdanov |
Stalin (p). |
CC Plenary Session (c) 1 Feb 1935 18th Congress (f) 22 Mar 1939 |
death (1948) | 26 Feb 1896- 31 Aug 1948 | natural |
| Robert Ivanovich Eikhe [E^ixe] |
Stalin (p). |
CC Plenary Session (c) 1 Feb 1935 |
1938 | 1897-1940 | Died in prison |
| Nikolaj Ivanovich Ezhov |
Stalin (p). NKVD |
Oct 1937 (c) | 1939 | 1895-1940 | Executed |
| Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev [Xrushchev] |
Stalin (p). | CC plenary session (c) Jan 1938 18th Congress (f)22 Mar 1939 |
Successful coup 1964 |
5 Apr 1894- 11 Sep 1971 | |
| Lavrentij Pavlovich Beriya |
Stalin (p). NKVD |
18th Congress (c) 22 Mar 1939 CC plenary session (f)Mar 1946 |
Coup orchestrated by N.S. Khrushchov CC plenary session expelled Jul 1953 |
29 Mar 1899- Dec 1953 | shot |
| Nikolaj Mixajlovich Shvernik |
Stalin (p). | 18th Congress (c) 22 Mar 1939 19th Congress (f)16 Oct 1952 CC plenary session (f)Jun 1957 |
dropped to candidate 1953-1957. 1966 |
7 May 1888- 24 Dec 1970 | |
Some later Stalinist Politburo full members include:
In addition, there was this candidate member:
Below are listed additional Presidium members from 1953-58.
[Nominations to the expanded Presidium of Oct 1952 are ignored, unless they were confirmed in March 1953. Nominations in 1952 marked as "candidate" with an asterisk * actually were "full" nominations to the expanded 1952 Presidium, but confirmed in March 1953 only as "candidate."
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