Politburo of the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

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23rd Politburo
Duration8 April 1966 – 9 April 1971

The Politburo of the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was in session from 1966 to 1971.

The 23rd Congress, the first such event since Nikita Khrushchev's ousting, the Presidium reverted to its previous name; Politburo. Mikoyan and Nikolai Shvernik, the two oldest members, were not reelected to the Presidium, while Arvīds Pelše became the only Presidium débutant.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3] After the reshuffling process of the Presidium ended in mid-to-late 1970, the Soviet leadership evolved into a gerontocracy, a form of rule in which the rulers are significantly older than most of the adult population; this meant that fewer up-and-comers were promoted to top party positions.[4]

Composition[edit]

Members[edit]

Members of the Political Bureau of the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
[5]
Name Cyrillic 22nd PRE 24th POL Birth Death PM Ethnicity
Leonid Brezhnev Леонид Брежнев Old Reelected 1906 1982 1931 Russian
Andrei Kirilenko Андре́й Кириле́нко Old Reelected 1906 1990 1930 Ukrainian
Alexei Kosygin Алексей Косыгин Old Reelected 1904 1980 1927 Russian
Kirill Mazurov Кири́лл Ма́зуров Old Reelected 1914 1989 1940 Belarusian
Arvīds Pelše А́рвид Пе́льше New Reelected 1899 1983 1915 Latvian
Nikolai Podgorny Никола́й Подго́рный Old Reelected 1903 1983 1930 Ukrainian
Dmitry Polyansky Дми́трий Поля́нский Old Reelected 1917 2001 1939 Ukrainian
Alexander Shelepin Алекса́ндр Шеле́пин Old Reelected 1918 1994 1940 Russian
Petro Shelest Петро Шелест Old Reelected 1908 1996 1928 Ukrainian
Mikhail Suslov Михаил Суслов Old Reelected 1902 1982 1921 Russian
Gennady Voronov Геннадий Воронов Old Reelected 1910 1994 1931 Russian

Candidates[edit]

Candidate Members of the Political Bureau of the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
[5]
Name Cyrillic 22nd PRE 24th POL Birth Death PM Ethnicity
Yuri Andropov Юрий Андропов By-election Candidate 1914 1984 1939 Russian
Pyotr Demichev Пётр Де́мичев Candidate Candidate 1917 2010 1939 Russian
Viktor Grishin Ви́ктор Гри́шин Candidate Member 1914 1992 1939 Russian
Dinmukhamed Kunaev Дінмұхаммед Қонаев New Member 1912 1993 1939 Kazakh
Pyotr Masherov Пётр Машеров New Candidate 1918 1980 1943 Belarusian
Vasil Mzhavanadze Василий Мжаванадзе Candidate Candidate 1902 1988 1927 Georgian
Sharof Rashidov Шараф Рашидов Candidate Candidate 1917 1983 1939 Uzbek
Volodymyr Shcherbytsky Влади́мир Щерби́цкий Candidate Member 1918 1990 1948 Ukrainian
Dmitriy Ustinov Дми́трий Усти́нов Candidate Candidate 1908 1984 1927 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. ^ Fainsod & Hough 1979, pp. 238–239.
  2. ^ Zemtsov 1989, pp. 102–103.
  3. ^ Brown 2009, p. 403.
  4. ^ Bacon & Sandle 2002, p. 12.
  5. ^ 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]