Central Control Commission of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

The Central Control Commission (Russian: Комитет партийного контроля, Komitet Partiynogo Kontrolya) was a supreme disciplinary body within the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Its members were elected at plenary sessions of the Central Committee.

Function

The Party Control Committee oversaw the party discipline of the party members and candidate party members in terms of their observance of the Programme and regulations of the Party, state discipline and Party ethics. It administered punishments, including expulsions from the Party. The Party Control Committee also considered the appeals of party members punished by their local Party organizations.

History

It was through this committee that Joseph Stalin consolidated near complete control of the Soviet secret police and eventually of the Soviet Union. Stalin was never the official leader of the secret police agencies, but since all secret police leaders were appointed to the Control Committee by Stalin, he was thus able to indirectly control the workings of the secret police.

Leadership

The chairman of the Party Control Committee was a powerful figure in Party politics, and usually held membership in the Politburo. Notable chairmen included Andrei Andreyev, Nikolay Shvernik, Arvid Pelshe, Mikhail Solomentsev and Boris Pugo.

In 1920-1923, as head of the CCC, People's Commissar of Rabkrin(Stalin) was in charge of its activities on the national level.

Chairman of the Central Control Commission:

• Valerian Kuibyshev (1923–1926)
• Grigol Ordzhonikidze (1926–1930)
• Andrey Andreyev (1930–1931)
• Jānis Rudzutaks (1931–1934)

Chairman of the Party Control Commission of the Central Committee:

• Lazar Kaganovich (1934–1935)
• Nikolai Yezhov (1935–1939)
• Andrey Andreyev (1939–1952)

Chairman of the Party Control Committee of the Central Committee:

• Matvei Shkiryatov (1952–1954)
• Vacant (1954–1956)
• Nikolay Shvernik (1956–1966)
• Arvīds Pelše (1966–1983)
• Mikhail Solomentsev (1983–1988)
• Boris Pugo (1988–1990)

Chairman of the Central Control Commission:

• Boris Pugo (1990–1991)
• Yevgeny Makhov (1991)

See Also

Another control organ was the CPSU Central Auditing Commission.