The CPSU and its members: Between communism and postcommunism

British Journal of Political Science

Volumn 26, Issue 1, 1996, Pages 105-122

  White, Stephen ^a   McAllister, Ian ^a  

^a NONE

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0030535820     PISSN: 00071234     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/s0007123400007432     Document Type: Article

References (80)

1. Ronald J. Hill in Stephen White, Alex Pravda and Zvi Gitelman, eds, Developments in Soviet Politics (London: Macmillan and Durham NC: Duke University Press, 1990), p. 86.
2. See Jerry F. Hough, 'Party Saturation in the Soviet Union', in Hough, The Soviet Union and Social Science Theory (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1977), pp. 125-39.
3. Quoted in Aryeh L. Unger, 'Images of the CPSU', Survey, 23, no. 4 (1977-8), 23-34, p. 24.
4. On the party's final stages see for instance Ronald J. Hill, 'The CPSU: Decline and Collapse', Irish Slavonic Studies, no. 12 (1991), 97-120; Hill, 'The CPSU: From Monolith to Pluralist?', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 217-35; Stephen White 'Rethinking the CPSU', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 405-28; Bohdan Harasymiw, 'Changes in the Party's Composition: The "Destroyka" of the CPSU', Journal of Communist Studies, 7, no. 2 (June 1991), 133-60; Neil Robinson, 'Gorbachev and the Place of the Party in Soviet Reform, 1985-91', Soviet Studies, 44 (1992), 423-44; Rita di Leo, 'The Soviet Communist Party 1988-91: From Power to Ostracism', Coexistence, 29 (1992), 321-34; James R. Millar, ed., Cracks in the Monolith: Party Power in the Brezhnev Era (Armonk, NY: Sharpe, 1992); E. A. Rees, ed., The Soviet Communist Party in Disarray (London: Macmillan, 1992); and Stephen White, 'Communists and Their Party in the Late Soviet Period', Slavonic and East European Review, 72 (1994), 644-63.
5. On the party's final stages see for instance Ronald J. Hill, 'The CPSU: Decline and Collapse', Irish Slavonic Studies, no. 12 (1991), 97-120; Hill, 'The CPSU: From Monolith to Pluralist?', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 217-35; Stephen White 'Rethinking the CPSU', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 405-28; Bohdan Harasymiw, 'Changes in the Party's Composition: The "Destroyka" of the CPSU', Journal of Communist Studies, 7, no. 2 (June 1991), 133-60; Neil Robinson, 'Gorbachev and the Place of the Party in Soviet Reform, 1985-91', Soviet Studies, 44 (1992), 423-44; Rita di Leo, 'The Soviet Communist Party 1988-91: From Power to Ostracism', Coexistence, 29 (1992), 321-34; James R. Millar, ed., Cracks in the Monolith: Party Power in the Brezhnev Era (Armonk, NY: Sharpe, 1992); E. A. Rees, ed., The Soviet Communist Party in Disarray (London: Macmillan, 1992); and Stephen White, 'Communists and Their Party in the Late Soviet Period', Slavonic and East European Review, 72 (1994), 644-63.
6. On the party's final stages see for instance Ronald J. Hill, 'The CPSU: Decline and Collapse', Irish Slavonic Studies, no. 12 (1991), 97-120; Hill, 'The CPSU: From Monolith to Pluralist?', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 217-35; Stephen White 'Rethinking the CPSU', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 405-28; Bohdan Harasymiw, 'Changes in the Party's Composition: The "Destroyka" of the CPSU', Journal of Communist Studies, 7, no. 2 (June 1991), 133-60; Neil Robinson, 'Gorbachev and the Place of the Party in Soviet Reform, 1985-91', Soviet Studies, 44 (1992), 423-44; Rita di Leo, 'The Soviet Communist Party 1988-91: From Power to Ostracism', Coexistence, 29 (1992), 321-34; James R. Millar, ed., Cracks in the Monolith: Party Power in the Brezhnev Era (Armonk, NY: Sharpe, 1992); E. A. Rees, ed., The Soviet Communist Party in Disarray (London: Macmillan, 1992); and Stephen White, 'Communists and Their Party in the Late Soviet Period', Slavonic and East European Review, 72 (1994), 644-63.
7. On the party's final stages see for instance Ronald J. Hill, 'The CPSU: Decline and Collapse', Irish Slavonic Studies, no. 12 (1991), 97-120; Hill, 'The CPSU: From Monolith to Pluralist?', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 217-35; Stephen White 'Rethinking the CPSU', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 405-28; Bohdan Harasymiw, 'Changes in the Party's Composition: The "Destroyka" of the CPSU', Journal of Communist Studies, 7, no. 2 (June 1991), 133-60; Neil Robinson, 'Gorbachev and the Place of the Party in Soviet Reform, 1985-91', Soviet Studies, 44 (1992), 423-44; Rita di Leo, 'The Soviet Communist Party 1988-91: From Power to Ostracism', Coexistence, 29 (1992), 321-34; James R. Millar, ed., Cracks in the Monolith: Party Power in the Brezhnev Era (Armonk, NY: Sharpe, 1992); E. A. Rees, ed., The Soviet Communist Party in Disarray (London: Macmillan, 1992); and Stephen White, 'Communists and Their Party in the Late Soviet Period', Slavonic and East European Review, 72 (1994), 644-63.
8. On the party's final stages see for instance Ronald J. Hill, 'The CPSU: Decline and Collapse', Irish Slavonic Studies, no. 12 (1991), 97-120; Hill, 'The CPSU: From Monolith to Pluralist?', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 217-35; Stephen White 'Rethinking the CPSU', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 405-28; Bohdan Harasymiw, 'Changes in the Party's Composition: The "Destroyka" of the CPSU', Journal of Communist Studies, 7, no. 2 (June 1991), 133-60; Neil Robinson, 'Gorbachev and the Place of the Party in Soviet Reform, 1985-91', Soviet Studies, 44 (1992), 423-44; Rita di Leo, 'The Soviet Communist Party 1988-91: From Power to Ostracism', Coexistence, 29 (1992), 321-34; James R. Millar, ed., Cracks in the Monolith: Party Power in the Brezhnev Era (Armonk, NY: Sharpe, 1992); E. A. Rees, ed., The Soviet Communist Party in Disarray (London: Macmillan, 1992); and Stephen White, 'Communists and Their Party in the Late Soviet Period', Slavonic and East European Review, 72 (1994), 644-63.
9. On the party's final stages see for instance Ronald J. Hill, 'The CPSU: Decline and Collapse', Irish Slavonic Studies, no. 12 (1991), 97-120; Hill, 'The CPSU: From Monolith to Pluralist?', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 217-35; Stephen White 'Rethinking the CPSU', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 405-28; Bohdan Harasymiw, 'Changes in the Party's Composition: The "Destroyka" of the CPSU', Journal of Communist Studies, 7, no. 2 (June 1991), 133-60; Neil Robinson, 'Gorbachev and the Place of the Party in Soviet Reform, 1985-91', Soviet Studies, 44 (1992), 423-44; Rita di Leo, 'The Soviet Communist Party 1988-91: From Power to Ostracism', Coexistence, 29 (1992), 321-34; James R. Millar, ed., Cracks in the Monolith: Party Power in the Brezhnev Era (Armonk, NY: Sharpe, 1992); E. A. Rees, ed., The Soviet Communist Party in Disarray (London: Macmillan, 1992); and Stephen White, 'Communists and Their Party in the Late Soviet Period', Slavonic and East European Review, 72 (1994), 644-63.
10. On the party's final stages see for instance Ronald J. Hill, 'The CPSU: Decline and Collapse', Irish Slavonic Studies, no. 12 (1991), 97-120; Hill, 'The CPSU: From Monolith to Pluralist?', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 217-35; Stephen White 'Rethinking the CPSU', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 405-28; Bohdan Harasymiw, 'Changes in the Party's Composition: The "Destroyka" of the CPSU', Journal of Communist Studies, 7, no. 2 (June 1991), 133-60; Neil Robinson, 'Gorbachev and the Place of the Party in Soviet Reform, 1985-91', Soviet Studies, 44 (1992), 423-44; Rita di Leo, 'The Soviet Communist Party 1988-91: From Power to Ostracism', Coexistence, 29 (1992), 321-34; James R. Millar, ed., Cracks in the Monolith: Party Power in the Brezhnev Era (Armonk, NY: Sharpe, 1992); E. A. Rees, ed., The Soviet Communist Party in Disarray (London: Macmillan, 1992); and Stephen White, 'Communists and Their Party in the Late Soviet Period', Slavonic and East European Review, 72 (1994), 644-63.
11. On the party's final stages see for instance Ronald J. Hill, 'The CPSU: Decline and Collapse', Irish Slavonic Studies, no. 12 (1991), 97-120; Hill, 'The CPSU: From Monolith to Pluralist?', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 217-35; Stephen White 'Rethinking the CPSU', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 405-28; Bohdan Harasymiw, 'Changes in the Party's Composition: The "Destroyka" of the CPSU', Journal of Communist Studies, 7, no. 2 (June 1991), 133-60; Neil Robinson, 'Gorbachev and the Place of the Party in Soviet Reform, 1985-91', Soviet Studies, 44 (1992), 423-44; Rita di Leo, 'The Soviet Communist Party 1988-91: From Power to Ostracism', Coexistence, 29 (1992), 321-34; James R. Millar, ed., Cracks in the Monolith: Party Power in the Brezhnev Era (Armonk, NY: Sharpe, 1992); E. A. Rees, ed., The Soviet Communist Party in Disarray (London: Macmillan, 1992); and Stephen White, 'Communists and Their Party in the Late Soviet Period', Slavonic and East European Review, 72 (1994), 644-63.
12. On the party's final stages see for instance Ronald J. Hill, 'The CPSU: Decline and Collapse', Irish Slavonic Studies, no. 12 (1991), 97-120; Hill, 'The CPSU: From Monolith to Pluralist?', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 217-35; Stephen White 'Rethinking the CPSU', Soviet Studies, 43 (1991), 405-28; Bohdan Harasymiw, 'Changes in the Party's Composition: The "Destroyka" of the CPSU', Journal of Communist Studies, 7, no. 2 (June 1991), 133-60; Neil Robinson, 'Gorbachev and the Place of the Party in Soviet Reform, 1985-91', Soviet Studies, 44 (1992), 423-44; Rita di Leo, 'The Soviet Communist Party 1988-91: From Power to Ostracism', Coexistence, 29 (1992), 321-34; James R. Millar, ed., Cracks in the Monolith: Party Power in the Brezhnev Era (Armonk, NY: Sharpe, 1992); E. A. Rees, ed., The Soviet Communist Party in Disarray (London: Macmillan, 1992); and Stephen White, 'Communists and Their Party in the Late Soviet Period', Slavonic and East European Review, 72 (1994), 644-63.
13. Rossiiskaya gazera, 4 March 1992, p. 2.
14. Kuranty, 1 December 1992, p. 1.
15. Pravda, 16 February 1993, pp. 1-2, and (for the wider association) Pravda, 30 March 1993, p. 2. On these developments see Ya. G. Ermakov et al., 'Kommunisticheskoe dvizhenie v period zapreta: ot KPSS k KP RF' Kentavr, no. 3 (1993), 65-80; and Peter Lentini, 'Post-CPSU Communist Political Formations', Journal of Communist Studies, 8 (1993), 280-92.
16. Pravda, 16 February 1993, pp. 1-2, and (for the wider association) Pravda, 30 March 1993, p. 2. On these developments see Ya. G. Ermakov et al., 'Kommunisticheskoe dvizhenie v period zapreta: ot KPSS k KP RF' Kentavr, no. 3 (1993), 65-80; and Peter Lentini, 'Post-CPSU Communist Political Formations', Journal of Communist Studies, 8 (1993), 280-92.
17. Pravda, 16 February 1993, pp. 1-2, and (for the wider association) Pravda, 30 March 1993, p. 2. On these developments see Ya. G. Ermakov et al., 'Kommunisticheskoe dvizhenie v period zapreta: ot KPSS k KP RF' Kentavr, no. 3 (1993), 65-80; and Peter Lentini, 'Post-CPSU Communist Political Formations', Journal of Communist Studies, 8 (1993), 280-92.
18. Pravda, 16 February 1993, pp. 1-2, and (for the wider association) Pravda, 30 March 1993, p. 2. On these developments see Ya. G. Ermakov et al., 'Kommunisticheskoe dvizhenie v period zapreta: ot KPSS k KP RF' Kentavr, no. 3 (1993), 65-80; and Peter Lentini, 'Post-CPSU Communist Political Formations', Journal of Communist Studies, 8 (1993), 280-92.
19. Pravda, 2 April 1993, p. 2.
20. According to an unpublished survey conducted in December 1992 the Democratic party had the most widespread popular support (17.8 per cent viewed it 'positively'), but the two main successor parties to the CPSU enjoyed 23.1 per cent support between them. See Institut prikladnoi politiki, 'Politicheskie partii Rossii' (Moscow, 1993, typescript). The survey was based upon interviews with 1,500 respondents in four Russian regions; a short report appeared in Moskovskie novosti, no. 12 (1993), p. 9A. In the December 1993 elections the Communist Party of the Russian Federation took third place, with 13.6 per cent, but the communist-aligned Agrarians took a further 9 per cent and opposition parties together commanded about a third of the seats. For the results, see Segodnya, 28 December 1993, p. 1.
21. See, for instance, Guillermo O'Donnell and Philippe C. Schmitter, Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies (Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986), chap. 4.
22. Materialy XIX Vsesoyuznoi konferentsii 28 iyunya - 1 iyulya 1988 goda (Moscow: Politizdat, 1988), pp. 70-2.
23. Materialy XIX Vsesoyuznoi konferentsii, pp. 124-6.
24. Pravda, 10 February 1987, p. 2; Partiinaya zhizn', no. 11 (1988), p. 15. 14 Pravda, 1 October 1988, p. 1 (the membership is listed in Pravda, 29 November 1988, pp. 1-2); Materialy Tsentral'nogo komiteta KPSS 8-9 oktyabrya 1990 goda (Moscow: Politizdat, 1990), p. 201.
25. Izvestiya TsK KPSS, no. 1 (1989), pp. 81-9.
26. It was in these terms that Gorbachev presented the decision: Materialy Tsentral'nogo komiteta KPSS 5-7 fevralya 1990 goda (Moscow: Politizdat, 1990), pp. 9-10.
27. Gorbachev drew attention to this change in his address to the July 1991 Central Committee plenary meeting: Pravda, 26 July 1991, p. 2. In a survey conducted in December 1992, 33 per cent of former CPSU members said that they believed in God, 40 per cent said they did not, and the remaining 27 per cent either offered no response or found the question difficult to answer (Institut prikladnoi politiki, 'Politicheskie partii Rossii').
28. The amended party rules are in Materialy XXVIII s" ezda Kommunisticheskoi partii Sovetskogo Soyuza (Moscow: Politizdat, 1990), pp. 108-24.
29. Leon Onikov in Pravda, 2 January 1989, p. 2.
30. Pravda, 10 July 1989, p. 2.
31. Onikov in Nezavisimaya gazera, 26 March 1993, p. 2; similarly in Argumenty i fakty, 1992, no. 28, pp. 1, 4.
32. Onikov in Nezavisimaya gazera, 26 March 1993, p. 2; similarly in Argumenty i fakty, 1992, no. 28, pp. 1, 4.
33. Pravda, 2 January 1989, p. 2.
34. Vladimir Ivashko in Pravda, 2 February 1991, p. 2.
35. See Philip Hanson and Elizabeth Teague, 'Soviet Communist Party loses members'. Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe Report on the USSR, 18 May 1990, pp. 1-3.
36. Pravda, 26 July 1991, p. 2.
37. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya, 1991, no. 3, pp. 14-15.
38. Harasymiw, 'Changes in the Party's Composition', p. 133.
39. Voprosy istorii KPSS, no. 8 (1989), p. 8.
40. Pravda, 12 October 1990, p. 3, and (for 'severe economy') Pravda, 12 March 1990, p. 3.
41. Pravda, 12 October 1990, p. 3, and (for 'severe economy') Pravda, 12 March 1990, p. 3.
42. Arguments i fakty, no. 48 (1990), p. 1.
43. Pravda, 29 July 1991, p. 2.
44. See respectively Izvestiya, 28 January 1990, p. 4, and 19 January 1990, p. 3;
45. See respectively Izvestiya, 28 January 1990, p. 4, and 19 January 1990, p. 3;
46. Pravda, 15 February 1990, p. 2,
47. 26 February 1990, p. 3,
48. 1 March 1990, p. 2,
49. 11 February 1990, p. 2, and
50. 13 February 1990, p. 3.
51. See Yu. Burtin, ed., Pul's Reform (Moscow: Progress, 1989), p. 71.
52. Pravda, 1 February 1990, p. 2.
53. Politicheskeskoe obrazovanie, no. 18 (1990), p. 6.
54. Pravda, 29 July 1991, p. 3.
55. On the developments see Hill, 'The CPSU', pp. 217-35 , and Rees, ed., Soviet Communist Party, pp. 20-4.
56. On the developments see Hill, 'The CPSU', pp. 217-35 , and Rees, ed., Soviet Communist Party, pp. 20-4.
57. Izvestiya TsK KPSS, no. 8 (1990), p. 133.
58. Novae vremya, no. 12 (1991), p. 13.
59. Pravda, 26 February 1991, p. 3.
60. Izvestiya, 24 May 1991, p. 4.
61. The data are from the 1992 New Russia Barometer survey, collected by the All-Russian Centre for the Study of Public Opinion between 26 January and 25 February 1992. The sample was based upon the urban population aged 16 years and over, resident in the Russian Federation. The survey was conducted by means of personal interviews; the effective response rate was 82.9 per cent. The total sample size was 2,106, weighted by education to reflect the national population. A fuller account of the survey and the other results that were obtained is provided in Irina Boeva and Viacheslav Shironin, Russians between State and Market: The Generations Compared (Glasgow: Centre for the Study of Public Policy, University of Strathclyde, SPP 205, 1992).
62. The actual figure for CPSU membership in the unweighted data is considerably higher. However, we have weighted the data by education, to make it more representative of the general population, and since education is highly correlated with party membership (see Table 2) this necessarily reduces the estimates.
63. Rossiiskaya gazeta, 27 August 1991, p. 3, and Izvestiya, 30 August 1991, p. 2.
64. Rossiiskaya gazeta, 27 August 1991, p. 3, and Izvestiya, 30 August 1991, p. 2.
65. Izvestiya, 5 November 1991, p. 1 (funds frozen), and Rossiiskaya gazeta, 9 November 1991, p. 2.
66. Izvestiya, 5 November 1991, p. 1 (funds frozen), and Rossiiskaya gazeta, 9 November 1991, p. 2.
67. See, for instance, Patrick Seyd and Paul Whiteley, Labour's Grassroots: The Politics of Party Membership (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992).
68. See V. G. Mordkovich, 'Obshchestvenno-politicheskaya aktivnost' trudyashchikhsya' (av-toreferat doktorskoi dissertatsii, Moscow: Gosudarstvennyi pedagogicheskii institut, 1974), p. 25 (Komsomol); and Trud i lichnost' pri sotsializme, vyp. 2 (Perm': Permskii gosudarstvennyi universitet, 1973), p. 46, and V. N. Ermuratsky, ed., Sotsial'naya aktivnost' rabotnikov promyshlennogo predpriyatiya (Kishinev: Shtiintsa, 1973), p. 110.
69. See V. G. Mordkovich, 'Obshchestvenno-politicheskaya aktivnost' trudyashchikhsya' (av-toreferat doktorskoi dissertatsii, Moscow: Gosudarstvennyi pedagogicheskii institut, 1974), p. 25 (Komsomol); and Trud i lichnost' pri sotsializme, vyp. 2 (Perm': Permskii gosudarstvennyi universitet, 1973), p. 46, and V. N. Ermuratsky, ed., Sotsial'naya aktivnost' rabotnikov promyshlennogo predpriyatiya (Kishinev: Shtiintsa, 1973), p. 110.
70. See V. G. Mordkovich, 'Obshchestvenno-politicheskaya aktivnost' trudyashchikhsya' (av-toreferat doktorskoi dissertatsii, Moscow: Gosudarstvennyi pedagogicheskii institut, 1974), p. 25 (Komsomol); and Trud i lichnost' pri sotsializme, vyp. 2 (Perm': Permskii gosudarstvennyi universitet, 1973), p. 46, and V. N. Ermuratsky, ed., Sotsial'naya aktivnost' rabotnikov promyshlennogo predpriyatiya (Kishinev: Shtiintsa, 1973), p. 110.
71. In the early 1980s, for instance, 76 in every 1,000 members of the population aged 10 or over had a higher education, or 110 for every 1,000 members of the labour force (Narodnoe khozyaistvo SSSR 1922-1982: Yubileinyi statisticheskii ezhegodnik (Moscow: Finansy i statistika, 1982), p. 42.
72. Akademiya obshchestvennykh nauk TsK KPSS, Tsentr sotsiologicheskikh issledovanii, Politicheskaya sotsiologiya: Informatsionnyi byulleten', no. 3 (1991), pp. 14-16 (we are grateful to Simon Clarke for making this source available to us).
73. Argumenty i fakty, 1994, no. 35, p. 3.
74. Ol'ga Kryshtanovskaya, 'Transformatsiya staroi nomenklatury v novuyu rossiiskuyu elitu' (unpublished manuscript, Moscow, 1994), Table 9.
75. In January 1990, 6.8 million party members (35.4 per cent of the total) had a completed higher education (Izvestiya TsK KPSS, no. 4 (1990), p. 114); this compared with 20.2 million within the working population as a whole (Narodnoe khozyaistvo SSSR v 1989 godu (Moscow: Finansy i statistika, 1990), p. 187).
76. In January 1990, 6.8 million party members (35.4 per cent of the total) had a completed higher education (Izvestiya TsK KPSS, no. 4 (1990), p. 114); this compared with 20.2 million within the working population as a whole (Narodnoe khozyaistvo SSSR v 1989 godu (Moscow: Finansy i statistika, 1990), p. 187).
77. Kommunist, no. 12 (1991), pp. 8, 4.
78. In December 1989, 23 per cent of Russians 'completely trusted' the CPSU; by late 1991, just after the coup, the level of trust was down to 2.3 per cent (Izvestiya, 1 October 1991, p. 9). And who was responsible for the crisis in which the Soviet Union found itself at the end of the 1980s? For 11.4 per cent it was 'the people' and for 17.4 per cent 'the party, including its rank and file'; but 29.2 per cent blamed 'the current party leadership', and 37.1 per cent 'former leaders' (Obshchestvennoe mnenie v tsifrakh, 10, No. 17 (April 1990), p. 17).
79. See, for instance, Mir mnenii i mneniya o mire, 10, No. 76 (September 1993), a Russia-wide survey of the desired attributes of a future president.
80. Literaturnaya gazeta, 20 February 1991, pp. 1, 3.