PARTY HIERARCHY IN THE USSR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600370133-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 17
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 27, 2011
• Sequence Number: 133
• Publication Date: January 9, 1951
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/27: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600370133-3
CONFIDENTIAL
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJEC1 Political - Communist Party
HOW
PUBLISHED weekly peri 41-cal
WHERE
PUBLISHED Bed Nauhei.m, US 2.;r= Germany
DATE
PUBLISHED Lo Jul 13%o
LANGUAGE
NATIONAL I
OFISTHEt UNITED STATEN W THIN ATHE MEAN NO{Oi EESPIONAGE DACT N{0
0, S. C.. 31 AND ]]. AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR THE REVELATION
or TS N ANY MANN
XISITODC ST TLAW. I REPRODUCTION or THIS NORTY IS iRONI{ITED, IS iR0?
SOURCE Ost-Problems. Vol II, No 29, 1950.
CD NO.
DATE OF
INFORMATION 1950
DATE DIST. 9 Jan 1951
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
PARTY HIERARCHY IN THE USSR
[M_y inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the original article in
German, except for tygcaraphic$1 errors, have been retained in the fcl-
loving to aid the a.*lalyst?ln evaluating the information. "Mediator"
is thought,to be a pen name for Boris Meiesner. Numbers in parentheses
:refer to the appended notbe./
Stalin, who likes to speak in military terms,, in a speech in 1937 described
the party hierarchy as'consisti.ng of 3,000 - 4,000 top leaders (the "generals"),
30,000 - 1+0,000 intermediate leaders (the "officers"), and 100,000 - 150,000 low-
level leadere (the "noncommiseioned officere).(1) In a one-party state the top-
level leaders, the so-called "generals," are of special importance: partyfunc-
tionaries rank above functionaries of the state, the armed forces, and the econ-
omy. They do not,-however, outrank the state police.., whu are on an equal level
with them and sometimes command more effective power.
Among the "generals" are the members of the TsK VKP(b) and its organs: the
Politburo, the 0rgburo, the Secretariat, the Party Control Commission (including
the Party Collegium), and the Central Auditing Commission.
administra-
Also included among the "generals" are the chiefs of lead Komsomol
tions of the Central Committee: the Section for Party, Trade-Union, Propaganda and Agitation Section; Section for Checking of Party organs
for Heavy Industry 5robably should read:."Section for Checking Party Organs;
Heavy Industry Section'_7; Light Industry Section; Agriculture Section; Transpor-
tation Section; Planning, Finance, and Trade Section; Education Section; Defense
Section; Naval Section; Section for Work Among Women, etc., as well as their sub-
sections and operational organs of administrations, such as the Party Inspection.
NSRB
1FBI~-
DISTRIBUTION
T1
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/27: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600370133-3
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/27: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600370133-3
GONFIOEN I L
All cf tr,e e f?sncti^rraries, who at prevent probably number 500-750, together
with the "Hesda_uarte of the Conmander," constitute the "Great General staff" of
the 1:otmnunist Party, to which are attached the staffs of the international Commu
i.iat orra ;tio'i r.f the Ccmirform, etc. In addition to the central earthy party. functionsrie tier~., , tf therc.entr?altcoommitteei 00 of6the0Communistyparties of the union repub-
l memberf c
li-= ;nd :?f the :%bla=_t c^,mnittees of the autonomous oblasts, kr?sys, and oblasts,
e~cecutive organs. Thug:., the number of top party today probably
roob y
is 6,50,E 7,OOO. as compares with 3,000-4,000 in 1937?
fall l947.(2)as tri-
e 1 92,,C )2 hhi f Ijanuartllo~ y 1938 and Communist Part
pe? h1';.t, = F*5=
plcii~ it '
In this axcuv c;f top leaders., the party secretaries as the "commanding gen-
era-" and "gen ral sta.ff members," in addition to the Politburo and Orgburo of
the TsK vKP(t). .ceury the decisive p_siticfe.
In the final anaiysie, the structure of all party organs is decisively in-
fluenced by the tightly centralized hierarchy of party secretaries which is based
on the organizational principle of one-man leadership (yedinonachaliye), and which
is headed by the General Secretary as leader and Supreme Commander.
In a report to the 18th Party ".ng.,ese in 1939, Zh-danov stated that there
were 333 secretaries of central committees of Communist parties of union republics,
kray committees f bays, and oblast committees of autonomous republics, autono-
mous cblasts, and oblasts. Of these, 196, or 58.9 percent, had completed higher
or secondary education, i.e., they belonged sc-ially to the new intelligentsia
and not to the working class. Also, 303, or 91 percent, were less than 40 years
old; 177, or 53.2 percent, had joined the party in or after 1924, i.e., after
Lenin's death. Their advancement took place chiefly during the great purges of
1934 - 1938, when Stalin' dictatorship was consolidated
edcsoclyhandive iti
ca11y.(3) There were 308 higher secretaries in 1939, including TsK
MI(b) secretaries. This number increased considerably with the annexation of
foreign territories, creation of new administrative areas, and expansion of the
party's administrative appsra.tus.
Article 45 of the 1939 Party Rules decreed that the central committee of the
Communist Party cf a union republic, or the oblast or kray committee appoints
from its ,anise for routine administrative work an executive body of no more than
11 persons and four or ft-vs secretaries, the first two of whom are for propaganda.
The secretaries bad to be confirmed by the TsK VKP(b), i.e., in effect, by the
Secretariat of the Centre:L Committee. This shows with particular clarity the
dependence of the local party organizations on the central party apparatus.
Before World War II, most central committees of Communist parties of union
republics had only three or four secretaries; there were generally five on the
higher administration level. The second secretary was replaced by a secretary
for agriculture and procurement and was rt oycfor indu try.(the urinnggithe of
ministrative reform in the party, dhac
the secretary for propaganda and agitation were curtailed and the functions of
the secretary for party affairs were extended and the name changed to secretary
for party, trade union, and Komsomol affairs.
The Tsk.Vl (b), which also serves the RSFSR, has five secretaries. The 15
central committees of the Communist parties of the other 15 union republics have
at present a total of 75 secretaries. The first secretary is always the general
secretary. The six kray committees of the six krays have a total of 30 secre-
taries, and the 149 oblast committees of the 16 autonomous republics, 9 autono-
mous oblasts, and 124 obl.csts have 'a total of 745 secretaries. Here too, the
position of the first secretary is the most important. Today, there are alto-
gether 855 secretaries, including 171 first secretaries, who constitute the "Com-
manding Generals," beaded by the General. Secretary of the TsK VKP(b) as "Supreme
Commander." Attached is a list of names of secretaries of central committees
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/27: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600370133-3
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/27: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600370133-3
G O N F I E N T L i AL
and, first secretaries. Some first secretaries are not listed because of changes
in personnel. Second secretaries are listed only if they are members of the Su-
preme Soviet USSR and are thus more in the limelight.
With few exceptions, all first secretaries were elected to the Supreme So-
viet USSR, Third Convocation., A great number of officials of other party organs
and many secretaries of the rayon committees are also deputies to the Supreme
Soviet USSR. The Tsk VKP(b) secretaries hold the key positions in the party
apparatus. They are automatically members ?:f the Orgburo and in most cases also
of tr_ Politburo. The General Secretary is ex officio chairman of the Orgburo
and since 1930 of the Politburo also. Under the principle of one-man leadership,
both bureaus are entirely dependent on ne will and are simply
has held the office of General Secretary wince 1922. The remaining secretaries
have changed constantly.
The following ), -1930; cl,,~seet asscclates were members of t
Andreyev, 1934 to the end ofat:
Molotov (5), -9'
World War II; Zhdanov (7), 1934 to his death in 1948; and Malenkov, since 1939.
Besides Kaganovich, Andreyev, and Zhdanov, Yezhov, chief of tte s tat Secretariat was
a secretary of the Central Committee from 1935 to 1938
was reorganized to include Stalin, Andreyev, Malenkov, and Zhdanov. In 1941 A. S.
Shcherbakov (8) became the fifth secretary of the Central Committee. Andreyev's
departure and Shcherbakov's early death in 1945 made it necessary after the war
to restaff the Secretariat. It was approved in 1946 with Stalin, Zhdanov, Malen-
kov, and A. A. Kuznetsov (9) as members. Toward. the end of 1947; M. A. Suslov
was appointed fifth secretary of the Central Committee.
Until his sudden death in fall 1948 Zhdanov exercised a decisive influence
on party activities. Only after his death did his opponents in the Politburo,
with the support of Malenkov in the Secretariat, come to influence. G. M.
Popov (10) had already replaced Kuznetsov, and then P.lK, Ponomaien_ko, a loyal fol-
lower of Malenkov, became secretary of the Central Committee. Toward the end
of 1949, G.?M. Popov also was relieved of his party duties and was replaced by
N. S. Khrushchev. A similar displacement of power occurred in the Politburo.
There, N. A. Voznesenskiy (11), one of Zhdanov's closest followers, left office.
Thus, the personnel changes among the party hierarchy were prompted in part by
personal motives. These changes affected particularly the Leningrad and Moscow
party organizations and the central committees of the Communist parties of Karelo-
Finland, Estonia, and Latvia, which had been under Zhdanov's direct supervision.
The Secretariat of the TaK VKP(b) at present includes Stalin, Malenkov,
Khrushchev, Suslov, and Ponomarenko. Of thes, Malenkov (12) is probably most im-
portant because of his connections with Beriya, Kaganovich, and Stalin's private
secretariat. Next to Stalin be is regarded as the most powerful man and as
Stalin's most likely successor as General Secretary.
Malenkov, born in 1902 in Orenburg, 'began his political career, as did Yez-
hov, in the early 1920.'s in Turkestan under Kaganovich. When Kaganovich was
appointed Central Committee secretary and chief of the Moscow party organization,
Malenkov also began to advance. He became Stalin's second private secretary in
addition to A. N. Poskrebyahev, the "Gray Eminence of the Kremlin," and under
Kaganovich headed the organizational section of the Moscow party organization
from 1930 to 1934, worked under Yezhov in the corresponding section of the TsK
VKP(b), and took over its management when Yezhov was appointed People's Commissar
,of Internal Affairs. Malenkov played a decisive part in the 1934-1938 political
purges, in Yezhov's fall and Beriya's appointment to his post. Since then he has
been a close friend of the new chief of the Soviet State Police. In 1938 Malenkov
reorganized the Personnel Administration of the Central Committee. Malenkov,
like Stalin ac the beginning, was concerned chiefly with questions of organization
and personnel and left cultural and foreign policy to Zhdanov, who by far surpassed
him intellectually. Nikolay N. Sha.talin and Vasiliy M. Andrianov were Malenkov's
closest associated in the Personnel Administration, Organization and Instruction
Section; and in the Orgburo of the Central Committee.
CONFIDENTIAL
' u F$ NT t
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/27: CIA-RDP80-00809AO00600370133
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/27: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600370133-3
Pi~
soNmENT, 11
During W;?r 1d War II, Malenk :,v succeeded. V-zne.senskiy as head of the Economic
f th? State Defense Commit-
Council for the Armaments Industry and was r~ member c refneio for
tee GKO) the inner war cabinet,. He C-1-1- -.e G ,hatheoriznd epesen of the areas
the Staling; ad Front,. jr, i94 he was c E
liberated from enemy occupation, His subcrdinate.e in this task were Knrushchev in
the Ukraine, Ponrmarenko in Belorusmia, and S:i_l..v in Lithuania.
14a1F*,r^v was nested a candidate of th- Politburo in 1941, and in 1946, to-
gether with Seriya, was made a full member. On 18 CctOla' 1946 he was_appointed
Deputy Minister President Ldaputy chairman, C until ;f P_^ i=
in fa.l?. i9y7, Mi rxcv, as representCtive - Al.- TaK VKF(' together with Zhdanov,
founded the Cominform. Malt:rkOv supp^rt`3 th administrative reform in the party
which 1G:+genovich had advocate-It, ant after Vczne>_n kiy? fH11 be and Kaganovich
were reported to have taken :'Jer the actual guidance of economic planning. As a
tarty se?Creta:?y, he is said to specialize in industry.
lthruanchev is next in i:npc.,,ctance to. Ma snkov amine the remaining secretaries
of the Central Committee. He we3 born in 189L in Karsk Gzralyc. His politrcal
career began in the Ukraine under Kagan:vicn, and in 193 he became t assistant as second r.cretary of the Mosc w party^r_raaizastion. eaau'ce de1935
935
Kaganovich and headed the Moscow party g o t the Ukraine
to 1938. In 1938 he was appointed C.smerel Secretary of the of
and was charged with its recrganizati`n after the refit purg est which the claimed
of
db heemlais = su-rfng
among their victims Kcsicr and Chubar, iniann par yof the s and
the Politburo. In 1939 he wa appointed World War II,, ne was a member of the military council of the Stalingrad Front
where, as in Moscow. he CCOperated closely vith Melenkov and under whom he di-
rected the reconstruction of the Ule?aine. In 1947, after the offices of General
Secretary and Minister President LLhaiiman, Council of Mini_,tw'-87 in the -western
uni:n republics had been separated, he remained as Minister President genovich
Kegarovich temporarily occupied the ;;fcice 1f General Secretary. yfrom the office of
returned to Moscow toward the end of .i', F f He was con-
Minister president of the Ukraine andtheagain b)cofetheneraliSec e tary January 1.949, and
firmed by the 16th Party Cngras =Fc,-nary of the Central
in December 1949 vas appointed to succeed G. M. Popov as
his
attention and especially cf the a Miculture. and procurement. In Februaryy 950th na thored
atttroign. ttciilly to of Andreyev (13) and in
a strong attack. in Frauds against the agr?iCUltarai __ policy :.
another: Pravda article in April. 190 advocated consolidation of small kolkhozes
into large collective enterprises.
Suslov, who succeeded ZhdarOV in the field of cultural and foreign policy, and is secretary for propaganda and agitatic?n with function bothtinsidetand outside
the Soviet Union. Suslov was born in 1902. In 1939, as
Ordzhonikidze Kray Party Committee, he became a member of the Central Committee
and shortly thereafter of the Orgburo. During the war he distinguished himself
by his organizational. activity in the North Ceucasus, directed the reconstruc-
tion in-liberated Lithuania under Melenk.v, and in 1946 was called to the Academy
for Social Sciences under the TaK VKP(b) as teacher and political chief. After G. F. theane sharp attack , Suslov hloacphical 1947easschief of4then
the sunganda and 1A47
Propaganda eAgitation Administration of the Central. Committee. His deputy,
D. T. Shepilov, took over this office vihen Suslov was promoted to secretary.
itytinn political
changed
tic
After ZhdanoV?S death Susl.oVr scope of activity
field was curtailed and the Propaganda aa i uashangand
feduced7 to a section. Suslov continued Zhda O;vle c l t at policyhn eanged ia
turned particular attention in the foreign p:
of the Comiuform and its affiliated organizations. He was the initiator of the
resolutions of the Cominform meeting in Budapest in late 1949,(15)
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/27: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600370133-3
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/27: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600370133-3
I
Ponomarenko, barn in 1902, is the :nly _ecr.ete.ry W6,> '.a not a member of the
F:li.tburc, Sualov has been a Politburo candidate: Since 1948. After the great
purg1py Fcromarenkc was charged with the some task in Beic-r.'u, sia as ICnrushchev in
H'. 1taine. During World War' II he diatinguie ed himself as leader of the parti-
san n::vement In this area, which was entiis:ly occupied by the enemy. In ecknojrl-
edgement .f hie merit= he was made a general. lie headed the reconstruction of
Bel..ra:tie under Malenkcv. Whe in `947 nt.inuedfa-.ae ofaGene Pal Secretary PyBaanc
nd. of
Preident were esF!ir__ed, h_
Minie:t