Congresses of the USSR.

[Tal Inbar]

Hi

After seeing some nice badges, I started to wonder how many congresses were held in the CCCP, at STATE level.

I know of those:

1. KPCC congress
2. Komsomol congress
3. Trade unions of the CCCP congress
4. Kolkhozniks congress

Any other?

Also of interest, are the dates of the congresses of various organs.


Tal

[Taz]

Tal,
Are these dates of any help?

CPSU Congresses:
---------------------
16th October 1952. Party Congress No 19
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5th March 1953.
1954?
12th July 1955.
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27th February 1956. Party Congress No 20
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29th June 1957.
18 June 1958.
1959?
4th May 1960.
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31st October 1961. Party Congress No 21
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23rd November 1962.
13th December 1963.
14th October 1964.
26th March 1965.

Eddie.

[Kim]

Where did you get those dates Eddie and what kind of congress are you writing about?

The party congress No 19 was in oktober 1952 and the next No 20 in feb 1956. So you must have listed some other kind of congress.

/Kim

[Taz]

Originally Posted by Kim

Where did you get those dates Eddie and what kind of congress are you writing about?

The party congress No 19 was in oktober 1952 and the next No 20 in feb 1956. So you must have listed some other kind of congress.

/Kim

Kim,
I got these dates from the site of the USSR: Communist Party: Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee: 1952-1966.
This is what was written underneath:
dates of elections of a new Presidium after each party congress indicated in bold.
And the dates were to the left of the elected Members.

The two dates you mention fit the list.
The next one was 31st October 1961. I've highlighted the party congresses in my previous post. Sorry Kim I should have made it clearer. The dates in between the Congress dates are probably not important.

Eddie.

[Taz]

This Info was also on the same site.

Soviet Union: Congresses of the Communist Party
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According to the party charter, the Congress was the supreme organ of the Communist Party. It was convened to decide all key questions and to elect the Central Committee. Formally, the Congress was responsible for revisions of the charter and of the party program, but, in fact, its power was limited to official approval. Despite its definition as the supreme organ, the Congress did not elect the Politburo (Presidium), the Orgburo or the Secretariat. These bodies reported to the Congress, which assumed their functions for the period when it was in session. (1)

The frequency of the Congress convocation in 1917-1925 reflected its important role in decision-making during the Bolshevik revolution and the Civil War in Russia. At times, the Congresses turned into a battlefield for rivaling factions within the party. It made all key decisions relating to the party policies and the general course. As Stalin increasingly consolidated his power and eliminated the factions, the Congress lost its original significance. It turned into a vast body convened to approve the politics pursued by the Politburo. The gaps between the Congresses increased from one year in 1917-1925 to five years in 1934-1939. During the World War II and after Stalin and his Central Committee did not convoke the Congress for 13 years. Starting from 1956, the party charter provided for convocation of the Congress once in five years.

Notes: 1 This temporary takeover caused differences in defining the terms of the Politburo (Presidium), the Orgburo and the Secretariat members as it depended on approach to this problem. In this regard, the end of tenure might be fixed a) on the day when a Congress convened and assumed full authority according to the charter, and b) on the day when the new party organs were elected by the Central Committee after each Congress. For instance, Mikhail Tomsky was elected full member of the Politburo on April 3, 1922, and was re-elected in 1923, 1924, 1926, 1927. The 16th party Congress opened on June 26, 1930, and closed on July 13. On the same day the Central Committee elected the new Politburo without Tomsky. So it would be correct to say that Tomsky's membership in the Politburo lasted form April 3, 1922 to June 26/July 13, 1930.

Eddie.

[Taz]

Congresses of the Communist Party.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
No. Dates Place
1. 1-3 [14-16] Mar 1898 Minsk, Russian Empire
2. 17 [30] Jul - 10 [23] Aug 1903 Brussels, Belgium and London, UK
3. 12-27 Apr [25 Apr - 10 May] 1905 London, UK
4. 10-25 Apr [23 Apr - 8 May] 1906 Stockholm, Sweden
5. 30 Apr - 19 May [13 May - 1 Jun] 1907 London, UK
6. 26 Jul - 3 Aug [8-16 Aug] 1917 Moscow, Russia
7. 6-8 Mar 1918 Moscow,Russian SFSR
8. 18-23 Mar 1919 Moscow, Russian SFSR
9. 29 Mar - 5 Apr 1920 Moscow, Russian SFSR
10. 8-16 Mar 1921 Moscow, Russian SFSR
11. 27 Mar - 2 Apr 1922 Moscow, Russian SFSR
12. 17-25 Apr 1923 Moscow, USSR
13. 23-31 May 1924 Moscow, USSR
14. 18-31 Dec 1925 Moscow, USSR
15. 2-19 Dec 1927 Moscow, USSR
16. 26 Jun - 13 Jul 1930 Moscow, USSR
17. 26 Jan - 10 Feb 1934 Moscow, USSR
18. 10-21 Mar 1939 Moscow, USSR
19. 5-14 Oct 1952 Moscow, USSR
20. 14-25 Feb 1956 Moscow, USSR
21. 27 Jan - 5 Feb 1959 Moscow, USSR
22. 17-31 Oct 1961 Moscow, USSR
23. 29 Mar - 8 Apr 1966 Moscow, USSR
24. 30 Mar - 9 Apr 1971 Moscow, USSR
25. 24 Feb - 5 Mar 1976 Moscow, USSR
26. 23 Feb - 3 Mar 1981 Moscow, USSR
27. 25 Feb - 6 Mar 1986 Moscow, USSR
28. 2-13 Jul 1990 Moscow, USSR

[Kim]

I got confused with all the dates between the party congresses. The other dates must have an other meaning. Some are of course well known, like 5 march 1953 when Stalin died.

They sure did go far from the first congress in Minsk with 9(!) participants...

/Kim