Presidium of the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

The Presidium of the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) was in session from 1961 to 1966. CPSU First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev chaired the Presidium from 1961 to 1964; Leonid Brezhnev succeeded him that year and chaired it until 1966.[1] In contrast to full members, candidate members of the Presidium could not vote during Presidium sessions.[2] It was normal that a full member of the Presidium had previously served as a candidate member, but this was not always the case.[3] During the term 23 people held seats in the Presidium: 14 full members and 9 candidate members. One candidate member was promoted to full membership in the Presidium during the term. Not a single Presidium member died during this period while retaining office.

22nd Presidium
Duration31 October 1961 – 8 April 1966
First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
A portrait shot of an older, bald man with three medals on his chest. He is wearing a blazer over a collared shirt and tie.
Khrushchev chaired the Presidium from 1955 to 1964.
A portrait shot of an older man with greying hair, with five medals on his chest and one badge. He is wearing a black blazer over a white shirt and black tie.
Brezhnev succeeded Khrushchev in 1964, and chaired the renamed Presidium until 1982.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was, according to sovietologists Merle Fainsod and Jerry F. Hough, elected unanimously at the 22nd Party Congress (17–31 October 1961).[4] The 22nd Central Committee in turn elected the Politburo unanimously.[4] Brezhnev, the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, was considered as an alternative to Kozlov as Second Secretary, but was instead made Third Secretary, the secretary responsible for industry. In 1963, for unknown reasons, possibly health reasons, Brezhnev took over Kozlov's duties at the Secretariat, and became the de facto Second Secretary. When a Western journalist asked Khrushchev in 1963 who would succeed him, Khrushchev responded bluntly "Brezhnev".[5] After a prolonged power struggle, Khrushchev was ousted from power,[6] and a collective leadership led by Brezhnev, Kosygin, Podgorny,[7] Mikhail Suslov[8] and Andrei Kirilenko[9] was formed.

In the months following Khrushchev's ousting, three members were elected to the Presidium: Alexander Shelepin, the Chairman of the State Control Commission; Petro Shelest, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine; and Kirill Mazurov, a First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers.[10] While Brezhnev may have been General Secretary, he did not have a majority in the Presidium; when Kosygin and Podgorny agreed on policy, which was not often the case, Brezhnev found himself in the minority. Brezhnev could only count on three to four votes in the Presidium: Suslov, who often switched sides, Kirilenko, Pelše and Dmitry Polyansky.[11] Brezhnev and Kosygin often disagreed on policy; Brezhnev was a conservative while Kosygin was a modest reformer. Kosygin, who had begun his premiership as Brezhnev's equal, lost much power and influence within the Presidium when he introduced the 1965–1971 Soviet economic reform.[12]

Composition edit

Members edit

Members of the Presidium of the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
[13]
Name Cyrillic 20th PRE 23rd POL Birth Death PM Ethnicity
Leonid Brezhnev Леонид Брежнев Old Reelected 1906 1982 1931 Russian
Nikita Khrushchev Никита Хрущёв Old Relieved 1894 1971 1918 Russian
Andrei Kirilenko Андре́й Кириле́нко By-election Reelected 1906 1990 1930 Ukrainian
Alexei Kosygin Алексей Косыгин Old Reelected 1904 1980 1927 Russian
Frol Kozlov Фрол Козлов Old Relieved 1908 1965 1926 Russian
Otto Kuusinen Отто Куусинен Old Died 1881 1964 1918 Finn
Kirill Mazurov Кири́лл Ма́зуров Promoted Reelected 1914 1989 1940 Belarusian
Anastas Mikoyan Анастас Микоян Old Not 1895 1978 1915 Armenian
Nikolai Podgorny Никола́й Подго́рный Old Reelected 1903 1983 1930 Ukrainian
Dmitry Polyansky Дми́трий Поля́нский Old Reelected 1917 2001 1939 Ukrainian
Alexander Shelepin Алекса́ндр Шеле́пин By-election Reelected 1918 1994 1940 Russian
Petro Shelest Петро Шелест Promoted Reelected 1908 1996 1928 Ukrainian
Nikolai Shvernik Никола́й Шве́рник Old Not 1888 1970 1905 Russian
Mikhail Suslov Михаил Суслов Old Reelected 1902 1982 1921 Russian
Gennady Voronov Геннадий Воронов Candidate Reelected 1910 1994 1931 Russian

Candidates edit

Candidate Members of the Presidium of the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
[13]
Name Cyrillic 20th PRE 23rd POL Birth Death PM Ethnicity
Pyotr Demichev Пётр Де́мичев By-election Candidate 1917 2010 1939 Russian
Viktor Grishin Ви́ктор Гри́шин Candidate Candidate 1914 1992 1939 Russian
Kirill Mazurov Кири́лл Ма́зуров Candidate Promoted 1914 1989 1940 Belarusian
Vasil Mzhavanadze Василий Мжаванадзе Candidate Candidate 1902 1988 1927 Georgian
Sharof Rashidov Шараф Рашидов New Candidate 1917 1983 1939 Uzbek
Volodymyr Shcherbytsky Влади́мир Щерби́цкий New Candidate 1918 1990 1948 Ukrainian
Petro Shelest Петро Шелест By-election Promoted 1908 1996 1928 Ukrainian
Dmitriy Ustinov Дми́трий Усти́нов By-election Candidate 1908 1984 1927 Russian
Leonid Yefremov Леонид Ефремов By-election Not 1912 2007 1941 Russian

References edit

General
Full- and candidate membership of the Presidium were taken from these sources:

  • Fainsod, Merle; Hough, Jerry F. (1979). How the Soviet Union Is Governed. pp. 230–231.
  • Fainsod, Merle; Hough, Jerry F. (1979). How the Soviet Union Is Governed. pp. 239–240.

Specific

  1. ^ Schmidt-Häuer 1986, p. 83.
  2. ^ Huskey 1992, p. 38.
  3. ^ Fainsod & Hough 1979, pp. 125–127.
  4. ^ a b Fainsod & Hough 1979, p. 452.
  5. ^ Fainsod & Hough 1979, p. 242.
  6. ^ Baylis 1989, p. 97.
  7. ^ Cocks & Daniels 1976, pp. 56–57.
  8. ^ Fainsod & Hough 1979, p. 245.
  9. ^ Fainsod & Hough 1979, p. 247.
  10. ^ Fainsod & Hough 1979, pp. 238–239.
  11. ^ Zemtsov 1989, pp. 102–103.
  12. ^ Brown 2009, p. 403.
  13. ^ a b "Узкий состав ЦК РСДРП(б) - Политическое бюро ЦК РСДРП(б) - Бюро ЦК РСДРП(б) - РКП(б) - Политическое бюро ЦК РКП(б) - ВКП(б) - Президиум - Политическое бюро ЦК КПСС" [Narrow composition of the Central Committee of the RSDLP(b) - Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b) - Bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b) - RCP (b) - Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) - CPSU (b) - Presidium - Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPSU]. Knowbysight.info. Archived from the original on 28 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.

Bibliography edit