Politburo of the CPSU (TheodoresTomfooleries)
Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Политбюро ЦК Коммунистической партии Советского Союза (Russian) | |
|---|---|
.svg) Emblem of the CPSU | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | Five years |
| History | |
| Founded | October 23, 1917 |
| Leadership | |
Elected by and responsible to | |
| Seats | 30 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Kremlin Senate Moscow, Soviet Union | |
The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, abbreviated as Politbureau or Politburo, is the highest political body of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Its members are elected by the Central Committee following the conclusion of a party Congress.
When the party Congress or Central Committee is not in session, the Politburo is the highest organ of the Communist Party. It consists of 30 members, often including, ex-officio, the General Secretary. The Politburo is responsible for the policies of the Communist Party and hence, as the Soviet Union is a one-party state, the policies of the Soviet state. The Politburo meets weekly in the Kremlin Senate in Moscow.
History
The Politburo was initially founded as the Political Bureau of the Central Commitee of the RSDLP(b) on 23 October (O.S. 10 October) 1917, to serve as leadership for the planned uprising that was scheduled for 7 November (25 October) 1917. It was initially headed by Vladimir Lenin, and consisted of Old Bolsheviks such as Grigory Zinovyev, Lev Kamenev, Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky. On 12 December 1917 (29 November), the Political Bureau was renamed simply as "bureau", with a reduced membership.
The Political Bureau was re-established as a permanent body of the Central Committee in March 1919, at the 8th Congress of the Bolshevik Party. The Political Bureau's name changed with the changing of the Communist Party's name: first as the RSDLP, then as the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), and finally the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
At the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1952, the Politburo was re-established as the Presidium of the Central Committee, with its membership greatly expanded. While the number of members continued to expand, the Presidium was renamed back to the Politburo at the 23rd party Congress in 1966.