Patrimonialism and the Stalinist system: The case of S. I. Syrtsov

Europe - Asia Studies

Volumn 48, Issue 4, 1996, Pages 551-568

  Hughes, James ^a  

^a LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS   (United Kingdom)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0040273156     PISSN: 09668136     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/09668139608412367     Document Type: Article

References (87)

1. There are numerous biographical studies of Stalin that allude to the interplay between patrimonialism and the emergence of his dictatorship, among the best of which are: Isaac Deutscher, Stalin: A Political Biography (London, 1949); Robert H. McNeal, Stalin: Man and Ruler (London, 1988). Classic studies of Bolshevik party history in the 1920s, from a high politics perspective, include: Leonard Schapiro, The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (London, 2nd edition, 1970); Robert V. Daniels, The Conscience of the Revolution. Communist Opposition in Soviet Russia (New York, 1969); and E. H. Carr's multi-volume A History of Soviet Russia (London, 1952-71), of which in particular see Socialism in One Country, 1924-1926, Vol. 2 (London, 1959), chapter 19. More recent institutionalist studies, ostensibly focused on the patrimonial ties binding the Stalin machine, are weak on the investigation of the evolution of personalised political relationships; see: Niels Erik Rosenfeldt, Knowledge and Power. The Role of Stalin's Secret Chancellery in the Soviet System of Government (Copenhagen, 1978), and Graeme Gill, The Origins of the Stalinist Political System (Cambridge, 1990).
2. There are numerous biographical studies of Stalin that allude to the interplay between patrimonialism and the emergence of his dictatorship, among the best of which are: Isaac Deutscher, Stalin: A Political Biography (London, 1949); Robert H. McNeal, Stalin: Man and Ruler (London, 1988). Classic studies of Bolshevik party history in the 1920s, from a high politics perspective, include: Leonard Schapiro, The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (London, 2nd edition, 1970); Robert V. Daniels, The Conscience of the Revolution. Communist Opposition in Soviet Russia (New York, 1969); and E. H. Carr's multi-volume A History of Soviet Russia (London, 1952-71), of which in particular see Socialism in One Country, 1924-1926, Vol. 2 (London, 1959), chapter 19. More recent institutionalist studies, ostensibly focused on the patrimonial ties binding the Stalin machine, are weak on the investigation of the evolution of personalised political relationships; see: Niels Erik Rosenfeldt, Knowledge and Power. The Role of Stalin's Secret Chancellery in the Soviet System of Government (Copenhagen, 1978), and Graeme Gill, The Origins of the Stalinist Political System (Cambridge, 1990).
3. There are numerous biographical studies of Stalin that allude to the interplay between patrimonialism and the emergence of his dictatorship, among the best of which are: Isaac Deutscher, Stalin: A Political Biography (London, 1949); Robert H. McNeal, Stalin: Man and Ruler (London, 1988). Classic studies of Bolshevik party history in the 1920s, from a high politics perspective, include: Leonard Schapiro, The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (London, 2nd edition, 1970); Robert V. Daniels, The Conscience of the Revolution. Communist Opposition in Soviet Russia (New York, 1969); and E. H. Carr's multi-volume A History of Soviet Russia (London, 1952-71), of which in particular see Socialism in One Country, 1924-1926, Vol. 2 (London, 1959), chapter 19. More recent institutionalist studies, ostensibly focused on the patrimonial ties binding the Stalin machine, are weak on the investigation of the evolution of personalised political relationships; see: Niels Erik Rosenfeldt, Knowledge and Power. The Role of Stalin's Secret Chancellery in the Soviet System of Government (Copenhagen, 1978), and Graeme Gill, The Origins of the Stalinist Political System (Cambridge, 1990).
4. There are numerous biographical studies of Stalin that allude to the interplay between patrimonialism and the emergence of his dictatorship, among the best of which are: Isaac Deutscher, Stalin: A Political Biography (London, 1949); Robert H. McNeal, Stalin: Man and Ruler (London, 1988). Classic studies of Bolshevik party history in the 1920s, from a high politics perspective, include: Leonard Schapiro, The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (London, 2nd edition, 1970); Robert V. Daniels, The Conscience of the Revolution. Communist Opposition in Soviet Russia (New York, 1969); and E. H. Carr's multi-volume A History of Soviet Russia (London, 1952-71), of which in particular see Socialism in One Country, 1924-1926, Vol. 2 (London, 1959), chapter 19. More recent institutionalist studies, ostensibly focused on the patrimonial ties binding the Stalin machine, are weak on the investigation of the evolution of personalised political relationships; see: Niels Erik Rosenfeldt, Knowledge and Power. The Role of Stalin's Secret Chancellery in the Soviet System of Government (Copenhagen, 1978), and Graeme Gill, The Origins of the Stalinist Political System (Cambridge, 1990).
5. There are numerous biographical studies of Stalin that allude to the interplay between patrimonialism and the emergence of his dictatorship, among the best of which are: Isaac Deutscher, Stalin: A Political Biography (London, 1949); Robert H. McNeal, Stalin: Man and Ruler (London, 1988). Classic studies of Bolshevik party history in the 1920s, from a high politics perspective, include: Leonard Schapiro, The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (London, 2nd edition, 1970); Robert V. Daniels, The Conscience of the Revolution. Communist Opposition in Soviet Russia (New York, 1969); and E. H. Carr's multi-volume A History of Soviet Russia (London, 1952-71), of which in particular see Socialism in One Country, 1924-1926, Vol. 2 (London, 1959), chapter 19. More recent institutionalist studies, ostensibly focused on the patrimonial ties binding the Stalin machine, are weak on the investigation of the evolution of personalised political relationships; see: Niels Erik Rosenfeldt, Knowledge and Power. The Role of Stalin's Secret Chancellery in the Soviet System of Government (Copenhagen, 1978), and Graeme Gill, The Origins of the Stalinist Political System (Cambridge, 1990).
6. There are numerous biographical studies of Stalin that allude to the interplay between patrimonialism and the emergence of his dictatorship, among the best of which are: Isaac Deutscher, Stalin: A Political Biography (London, 1949); Robert H. McNeal, Stalin: Man and Ruler (London, 1988). Classic studies of Bolshevik party history in the 1920s, from a high politics perspective, include: Leonard Schapiro, The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (London, 2nd edition, 1970); Robert V. Daniels, The Conscience of the Revolution. Communist Opposition in Soviet Russia (New York, 1969); and E. H. Carr's multi-volume A History of Soviet Russia (London, 1952-71), of which in particular see Socialism in One Country, 1924-1926, Vol. 2 (London, 1959), chapter 19. More recent institutionalist studies, ostensibly focused on the patrimonial ties binding the Stalin machine, are weak on the investigation of the evolution of personalised political relationships; see: Niels Erik Rosenfeldt, Knowledge and Power. The Role of Stalin's Secret Chancellery in the Soviet System of Government (Copenhagen, 1978), and Graeme Gill, The Origins of the Stalinist Political System (Cambridge, 1990).
7. There are numerous biographical studies of Stalin that allude to the interplay between patrimonialism and the emergence of his dictatorship, among the best of which are: Isaac Deutscher, Stalin: A Political Biography (London, 1949); Robert H. McNeal, Stalin: Man and Ruler (London, 1988). Classic studies of Bolshevik party history in the 1920s, from a high politics perspective, include: Leonard Schapiro, The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (London, 2nd edition, 1970); Robert V. Daniels, The Conscience of the Revolution. Communist Opposition in Soviet Russia (New York, 1969); and E. H. Carr's multi-volume A History of Soviet Russia (London, 1952-71), of which in particular see Socialism in One Country, 1924-1926, Vol. 2 (London, 1959), chapter 19. More recent institutionalist studies, ostensibly focused on the patrimonial ties binding the Stalin machine, are weak on the investigation of the evolution of personalised political relationships; see: Niels Erik Rosenfeldt, Knowledge and Power. The Role of Stalin's Secret Chancellery in the Soviet System of Government (Copenhagen, 1978), and Graeme Gill, The Origins of the Stalinist Political System (Cambridge, 1990).
8. There are numerous biographical studies of Stalin that allude to the interplay between patrimonialism and the emergence of his dictatorship, among the best of which are: Isaac Deutscher, Stalin: A Political Biography (London, 1949); Robert H. McNeal, Stalin: Man and Ruler (London, 1988). Classic studies of Bolshevik party history in the 1920s, from a high politics perspective, include: Leonard Schapiro, The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (London, 2nd edition, 1970); Robert V. Daniels, The Conscience of the Revolution. Communist Opposition in Soviet Russia (New York, 1969); and E. H. Carr's multi-volume A History of Soviet Russia (London, 1952-71), of which in particular see Socialism in One Country, 1924-1926, Vol. 2 (London, 1959), chapter 19. More recent institutionalist studies, ostensibly focused on the patrimonial ties binding the Stalin machine, are weak on the investigation of the evolution of personalised political relationships; see: Niels Erik Rosenfeldt, Knowledge and Power. The Role of Stalin's Secret Chancellery in the Soviet System of Government (Copenhagen, 1978), and Graeme Gill, The Origins of the Stalinist Political System (Cambridge, 1990).
9. The argument is developed in Robert Tucker's two volume study: Stalin as Revolutionary, 1879-1929: A Study in History and Personality (London, 1974), especially pp. 303-304, and Stalin in Power: The Revolution From Above, 1928-1941 (London, 1990).
10. The argument is developed in Robert Tucker's two volume study: Stalin as Revolutionary, 1879-1929: A Study in History and Personality (London, 1974), especially pp. 303-304, and Stalin in Power: The Revolution From Above, 1928-1941 (London, 1990).
11. Stephen Cohen, Bukharin and the Bolshevik Revolution: A Political Biography, 1888-1938 (London, 1974), pp. 327, 458-459 notes 236, 245.
12. Cohen, p. 326. See also Tucker, Stalin in Power, chapters 1, 3, and pp. 276-282.
13. The term 'secretarial hierarchy' was first used by Stalin's Leftist critics in the 'Platform of the 46' of October 1923. The fullest elaboration of the critique is in Trotsky's 1937 polemic The Revolution Betrayed: What is the Soviet Union and Where is it Going?, trans. Max Eastman (New York, 1972).
14. Trotsky, pp. 88, 93. The term 'coryphées' refers to the leaders of the corps de ballet.
15. Studies employing positional analysis tend to be clustered in the period of the Great Terror, when there was a catastrophic turnover in the Stalinist patrimonial network; for examples see: Sheila Fitzpatrick, 'Stalin and the Making of a New Elite, 1928-1939', Slavic Review, 38, 3, October 1979; J. Arch Getty & William Chase, 'Patterns of Repression among the Soviet Elite', and Sheila Fitzpatrick, 'The Impact of the Great purges on Soviet Elites: A Case Study from Moscow and Leningrad Telephone Directories of the 1930s', in J. Arch Getty & Roberta T. Manning (eds), Stalinist Terror: New Perspectives (Cambridge, 1993).
16. Studies employing positional analysis tend to be clustered in the period of the Great Terror, when there was a catastrophic turnover in the Stalinist patrimonial network; for examples see: Sheila Fitzpatrick, 'Stalin and the Making of a New Elite, 1928-1939', Slavic Review, 38, 3, October 1979; J. Arch Getty & William Chase, 'Patterns of Repression among the Soviet Elite', and Sheila Fitzpatrick, 'The Impact of the Great purges on Soviet Elites: A Case Study from Moscow and Leningrad Telephone Directories of the 1930s', in J. Arch Getty & Roberta T. Manning (eds), Stalinist Terror: New Perspectives (Cambridge, 1993).
17. Studies employing positional analysis tend to be clustered in the period of the Great Terror, when there was a catastrophic turnover in the Stalinist patrimonial network; for examples see: Sheila Fitzpatrick, 'Stalin and the Making of a New Elite, 1928-1939', Slavic Review, 38, 3, October 1979; J. Arch Getty & William Chase, 'Patterns of Repression among the Soviet Elite', and Sheila Fitzpatrick, 'The Impact of the Great purges on Soviet Elites: A Case Study from Moscow and Leningrad Telephone Directories of the 1930s', in J. Arch Getty & Roberta T. Manning (eds), Stalinist Terror: New Perspectives (Cambridge, 1993).
18. For the rival approaches see David Beetham, Bureaucracy (Milton Keynes, 1987).
19. An exception was Roy Medvedev, All Stalin's Men, trans. H. Shukman (Oxford, 1983), which provided biographical accounts of six leading Stalinists and examined their relationships with Stalin.
20. Short biographies of Syrtsov may be found in J. L. Wieczynski (ed.), The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History, 51 Vols (Gulf Breeze, Florida, 1976-85), Vol. 38, pp. 146-147; Bol'shaya savetskaya entsiklopediya, 3rd edition, 30 Vols, (Moscow, 1970-78), Vol. 25, pp. 410-411; Bol'shaya savetskaya entsiklopediya, 3rd edition, 30 Vols, (Moscow, 1970-78), Vol. 25, pp. 410-411; B. A. Starkov, 'Pravo-levye fraktsionery', in A. B. Afanas'ev (ed.), Oni ne molchali (Moscow, 1991), p. 127. The most complete treatment of his background and career to date is S. A. Kislitsyn, Variant Syrtsova: Iz Istorii formirovaniya antistalinskogo soprotivleniya v sovetskom obshchestve v 20-30-e gg. (Rostov-on-Don, 1992).
21. Short biographies of Syrtsov may be found in J. L. Wieczynski (ed.), The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History, 51 Vols (Gulf Breeze, Florida, 1976-85), Vol. 38, pp. 146-147; Bol'shaya savetskaya entsiklopediya, 3rd edition, 30 Vols, (Moscow, 1970-78), Vol. 25, pp. 410-411; Bol'shaya savetskaya entsiklopediya, 3rd edition, 30 Vols, (Moscow, 1970-78), Vol. 25, pp. 410-411; B. A. Starkov, 'Pravo-levye fraktsionery', in A. B. Afanas'ev (ed.), Oni ne molchali (Moscow, 1991), p. 127. The most complete treatment of his background and career to date is S. A. Kislitsyn, Variant Syrtsova: Iz Istorii formirovaniya antistalinskogo soprotivleniya v sovetskom obshchestve v 20-30-e gg. (Rostov-on-Don, 1992).
22. Short biographies of Syrtsov may be found in J. L. Wieczynski (ed.), The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History, 51 Vols (Gulf Breeze, Florida, 1976-85), Vol. 38, pp. 146-147; Bol'shaya savetskaya entsiklopediya, 3rd edition, 30 Vols, (Moscow, 1970-78), Vol. 25, pp. 410-411; Bol'shaya savetskaya entsiklopediya, 3rd edition, 30 Vols, (Moscow, 1970-78), Vol. 25, pp. 410-411; B. A. Starkov, 'Pravo-levye fraktsionery', in A. B. Afanas'ev (ed.), Oni ne molchali (Moscow, 1991), p. 127. The most complete treatment of his background and career to date is S. A. Kislitsyn, Variant Syrtsova: Iz Istorii formirovaniya antistalinskogo soprotivleniya v sovetskom obshchestve v 20-30-e gg. (Rostov-on-Don, 1992).
23. Short biographies of Syrtsov may be found in J. L. Wieczynski (ed.), The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History, 51 Vols (Gulf Breeze, Florida, 1976-85), Vol. 38, pp. 146-147; Bol'shaya savetskaya entsiklopediya, 3rd edition, 30 Vols, (Moscow, 1970-78), Vol. 25, pp. 410-411; Bol'shaya savetskaya entsiklopediya, 3rd edition, 30 Vols, (Moscow, 1970-78), Vol. 25, pp. 410-411; B. A. Starkov, 'Pravo-levye fraktsionery', in A. B. Afanas'ev (ed.), Oni ne molchali (Moscow, 1991), p. 127. The most complete treatment of his background and career to date is S. A. Kislitsyn, Variant Syrtsova: Iz Istorii formirovaniya antistalinskogo soprotivleniya v sovetskom obshchestve v 20-30-e gg. (Rostov-on-Don, 1992).
24. Kislitsyn, p. 64.
25. For the expansion of the Central Committee see T. H. Rigby, 'Staffing USSR Incorporated: The Origins of the Nomenklatura System', Soviet Studies, 40, 4, October 1988, p. 525.
26. Kislitsyn, pp. 67-68.
27. Rigby, 'Staffing USSR Incorporated', p. 528.
28. The linkage between Stalin's manipulation of Uchraspred and the central apparatus, the increasing centralisation in this period, and his rise to power, is discussed in Robert V. Daniels, 'The Secretariat and the Local Organisations in the Russian Communist Party, 1921-1923', American Slavic and East European Review, 16, 1, March 1967, pp. 32-49; and in T. H. Rigby, 'Early Provincial Cliques and the Rise of Stalin', Soviet Studies, 33, 1, January 1981, pp. 3-28. For the institutional development of the Bolshevik apparatus in this period see Robert Service, The Bolshevik Party in Revolution: A Study in Organisational Change, 1917-1923 (London, 1979), pp. 104-111, 123-126; Gill, pp. 73-86, 160-167.
29. The linkage between Stalin's manipulation of Uchraspred and the central apparatus, the increasing centralisation in this period, and his rise to power, is discussed in Robert V. Daniels, 'The Secretariat and the Local Organisations in the Russian Communist Party, 1921-1923', American Slavic and East European Review, 16, 1, March 1967, pp. 32-49; and in T. H. Rigby, 'Early Provincial Cliques and the Rise of Stalin', Soviet Studies, 33, 1, January 1981, pp. 3-28. For the institutional development of the Bolshevik apparatus in this period see Robert Service, The Bolshevik Party in Revolution: A Study in Organisational Change, 1917-1923 (London, 1979), pp. 104-111, 123-126; Gill, pp. 73-86, 160-167.
30. The linkage between Stalin's manipulation of Uchraspred and the central apparatus, the increasing centralisation in this period, and his rise to power, is discussed in Robert V. Daniels, 'The Secretariat and the Local Organisations in the Russian Communist Party, 1921-1923', American Slavic and East European Review, 16, 1, March 1967, pp. 32-49; and in T. H. Rigby, 'Early Provincial Cliques and the Rise of Stalin', Soviet Studies, 33, 1, January 1981, pp. 3-28. For the institutional development of the Bolshevik apparatus in this period see Robert Service, The Bolshevik Party in Revolution: A Study in Organisational Change, 1917-1923 (London, 1979), pp. 104-111, 123-126; Gill, pp. 73-86, 160-167.
31. The linkage between Stalin's manipulation of Uchraspred and the central apparatus, the increasing centralisation in this period, and his rise to power, is discussed in Robert V. Daniels, 'The Secretariat and the Local Organisations in the Russian Communist Party, 1921-1923', American Slavic and East European Review, 16, 1, March 1967, pp. 32-49; and in T. H. Rigby, 'Early Provincial Cliques and the Rise of Stalin', Soviet Studies, 33, 1, January 1981, pp. 3-28. For the institutional development of the Bolshevik apparatus in this period see Robert Service, The Bolshevik Party in Revolution: A Study in Organisational Change, 1917-1923 (London, 1979), pp. 104-111, 123-126; Gill, pp. 73-86, 160-167.
32. Odinnadtsatyi s"ezd RKP (b), 27 marta-2 aprelya 1922 goda. Stenograficheskii otchet (Moscow, 1961), p. 248. Syrtsov wrote several instruction pamphlets for the new party cadres, including: Sbornik instruktsii po uchetu i raspredeleniyu partrabotnikov (Moscow, 1923); Rukovodyashchie kadry RKP/bol'shevikov/i ikh raspredelenie (Moscow, 1924).
33. Odinnadtsatyi s"ezd RKP (b), 27 marta-2 aprelya 1922 goda. Stenograficheskii otchet (Moscow, 1961), p. 248. Syrtsov wrote several instruction pamphlets for the new party cadres, including: Sbornik instruktsii po uchetu i raspredeleniyu partrabotnikov (Moscow, 1923); Rukovodyashchie kadry RKP/bol'shevikov/i ikh raspredelenie (Moscow, 1924).
34. Odinnadtsatyi s"ezd RKP (b), 27 marta-2 aprelya 1922 goda. Stenograficheskii otchet (Moscow, 1961), p. 248. Syrtsov wrote several instruction pamphlets for the new party cadres, including: Sbornik instruktsii po uchetu i raspredeleniyu partrabotnikov (Moscow, 1923); Rukovodyashchie kadry RKP/bol'shevikov/i ikh raspredelenie (Moscow, 1924).
35. Dvenadtsatyi s"ezd RKP (b), 17-25 aprelya 1923 goda. Stenograficheskii otchet (Moscow, 1968), pp. 73, 197, 673.
36. Daniels, 'The Secretariat and the Local Organisations', p. 32.
37. It seems that Lenin and other Bolshevik leaders were slow to appreciate the growing power of the apparatus. In his last testament Lenin spoke of the 'boundless power' that Stalin had accumulated through his control of the party apparatus: see Richard Pipes, Russia Under the Bolshevik Regime, 1919-1924 (London, 1994), pp. 461, 476.
38. Roy Medvedev, On Stalin and Stalinism (Oxford, 1979), p. 25.
39. Boris Bazhanov, Bazhanov and the Damnation of Stalin, translation and commentary by David W. Doyle (Athens, Ohio, 1990), p. 21. Bazhanov is also glowing in his tributes to Syrtsov's skills: 'I've rarely met a better administrator than Syrtsov' (p. 161). The credibility of Bazhanov as a source has been questioned owing to wild claims and numerous factual errors, see McNeal, p. 346, note 46. However, McNeal admits that Bazhanov should be believed on matters that 'do not involve his own importance or questions of high policy', such as those cited in this article.
40. Kislitsyn, p. 74.
41. Dvenadtsatvi s"ezd RKP (b), pp. 50-53.
42. See Gill, pp. 160-165.
43. Schapiro, p. 319.
44. Kislitsyn, pp. 78-79.
45. For Kaganovich's promotions see Medvedev, All Stalin's Men, p. 116.
46. I. V. Stalin, Sochineniya, 13 Vols (Moscow, 1947-49), Vol. 5, 1921-1923, p. 219, from his speech to the XII Congress.
47. Boris Bazhanov, 'Stalin Closely Observed', in G. R. Urban (ed.), Stalinism: Its Impact on Russia and the World (London, 1982), pp. 17, 19.
48. The enhanced role of the Agitprop Department was defined by the resolutions of the XII Congress in April 1923, and the XIII Congress in May 1924; see KPSS v resolyutsiyakh i resheniyakh s"ezdov, konferentsii i plenumov TsK, Vol. 3, 1922-1925 (Moscow, 1984), pp. 100-114, 261-272. For the Lenin enrolment see pp. 184-185.
49. For Agitprop's role in the Lenin cult see Nina Tumarkin, Lenin Lives! The Lenin Cult in Soviet Russia (London, 1983), pp. 213-244 passim. The importance of the Lenin cult and historical revisionism in the leadership struggle or the mid-1920s is discussed by Tucker, Stalin as Revolutionary, chapters 8 and 9.
50. For Agitprop's role in the Lenin cult see Nina Tumarkin, Lenin Lives! The Lenin Cult in Soviet Russia (London, 1983), pp. 213-244 passim. The importance of the Lenin cult and historical revisionism in the leadership struggle or the mid-1920s is discussed by Tucker, Stalin as Revolutionary, chapters 8 and 9.
51. Daniels, 'The Secretariat and the Local Organisations', p. 32.
52. See Kosior's speech to the congress: (XIV) Chetyrnadtsatyi s"ezd VKP (b), 18-31 dekabrya 1925 g., stenograficheskii otchet (Moscow, 1926), pp. 310-314.
53. (XV) Pyatnadtsatyi s"ezd VKP (b), 2-19 dekabrya 1927 g., stenograficheskii otchet (Moscow, 1962), Vol. 1, pp. 274-279; (XVI) Shestnadtsataya konferentsiya VKP (b), 23-29 aprelya 1929, stenograficheskii otchet (Moscow, 1962), pp. 319-326.
54. (XV) Pyatnadtsatyi s"ezd VKP (b), 2-19 dekabrya 1927 g., stenograficheskii otchet (Moscow, 1962), Vol. 1, pp. 274-279; (XVI) Shestnadtsataya konferentsiya VKP (b), 23-29 aprelya 1929, stenograficheskii otchet (Moscow, 1962), pp. 319-326.
55. For a discussion of these speeches see James Hughes, Stalin, Siberia and the Crisis of the New Economic Policy (Cambridge, 1991), pp. 61-62, 82-84.
56. Ibid., pp. 19-25.
57. These events are discussed in detail in ibid., pp. 137-148, 184-192.
58. See James Hughes, 'Capturing the Russian Peasantry: Stalinist Grain Procurement Policy and the "Ural-Siberian Method"', Slavic Review, 53, 1, Spring 1994, pp. 76-103.
59. Kislitsyn, p. 141.
60. Ibid., p. 128.
61. Stenographic report of the November 1929 Central Committee plenum, Russian Centre for the Preservation and Study of Documents of Modern History (hereafter RTsKhIDNI, f. 17, op. 2, d. 441, 1. 68-71.
62. Stalin was 'instructed' by the Politburo session of 25 February 1930 to write the article: RTsKhIDNI, f. 17, op. 3, d. 778, 1. 5-6, item 33 of Protocol 119.
63. S. I. Syrtsov, O nashikh uspekhakh, nedostatkakh i zadachakh (Moscow-Leningrad, 1930), p. 15.
64. S. I. Syrtsov, 'Zadachi partii v derevne', Bul'shevik, 1930, 5, 15 March, pp. 41-59 at pp. 54-55.
65. (XVI) Shestnadtsataya konferentsiva VKP (b), stenograficheskii otchet, 26 iyunya-13 iyulya 1930 g. (Moscow, 1930), pp. 17, 44-45 (Stalin), 221-227 (Syrtsov).
66. For detailed analyses of this episode see R. W. Davies, 'The Syrtsov-Lominadze Affair', Soviet Studies, 33, 1, January 1981, pp. 29-47; Starkov, 'Pravo-levye fraktsionery', pp. 125-144; Kislitsyn, chapters five to seven. Kislitsyn's detailed account draws heavily from archival sources and Syrtsov's personal party file which is held in the former KGB archive, and to which the author was denied access on several occasions in 1994: RTsKhIDNI, f. 589, op. 3, d. 9333, Vols 1-2, in the Central Archive of the former KGB USSR, R-8176, d.269448, Vols 1-2.
67. For detailed analyses of this episode see R. W. Davies, 'The Syrtsov-Lominadze Affair', Soviet Studies, 33, 1, January 1981, pp. 29-47; Starkov, 'Pravo-levye fraktsionery', pp. 125-144; Kislitsyn, chapters five to seven. Kislitsyn's detailed account draws heavily from archival sources and Syrtsov's personal party file which is held in the former KGB archive, and to which the author was denied access on several occasions in 1994: RTsKhIDNI, f. 589, op. 3, d. 9333, Vols 1-2, in the Central Archive of the former KGB USSR, R-8176, d.269448, Vols 1-2.
68. O. V. Khlevnyuk, A. V. Kvashonkin, L. P. Kosheleva & L. A. Rogovaya (eds), Stalinskoe politbyuro v 30-e gody, sbornik dokumentov (Moscow, 1995), p. 88. This collection reproduces several key documents relating to the affair, for which see pp. 88-106.
69. Kislitsyn, pp. 149, 152.
70. Ibid., p. 135.
71. S. I. Syrtsov, K novomu khozyaistvennomu godu. Pererabotannaya stenogramma rechi na ob"edinennom zasedanii SNK i EKOSO RSFSR, 30 August 1930 (Moscow, 1930). A discussion of the main contents of the speech may be found in Kislitsyn, pp. 137-140;
72. and N. Siokawa, 'Politicheskaya situatsiya v SSSR. Osen' 1930 goda.', in Acta Slavica Iaponica, Vol. III (Sapporo, Japan, 1989).
73. Syrtsov, K novomu khozyaistvennomu godu, p. 4. The Stalingrad Tractor Plant was hailed as a model of Stalinist planning at the XVI Congress, for which event it had especially run off the production line its first tractor. Syrtsov's point referred to the fact that the plant was still under construction and still lacked the trained workforce for mass production.
74. Kislitsyn, p. 152.
75. RTsKhIDNl, f. 17, op. 3, d. 800, 1. 14, items 36 and 37 of surveys of Politburo members of 11 October and 13 October 1930 respectively (decision to special folder); ibid., 1. 7, item 30 of Protocol 12 of Politburo session of 15 October 1930.
76. For extracts from Reznikov's report and other details see Khlevnyuk et al. (eds), pp. 96-99. The 'small group' included Molotov, Kaganovich, Mikoyan, Ordzhonikdze and, occasionally, non-Politburo members such as Yakovlev and Postyshev. The content of Syrtsov's comments was corroborated by Kavraisky under interrogation by the OGPU.
77. Ibid., pp. 101-102; Kislitsyn, pp. 156-157; Pravda, 23 October 1930, p. 2; Starkov, 'Pravolevye fraktsionery', p. 133, and his 'M. N. Ryutin, k politicheskomu portretu', Izvestiya TsK KPSS, 1990, 3 (302), pp. 156-157. Kavraisky was head of the Information Sector of the Central Committee, and Nusinov worked in Sovnarkom RSFSR. M. N. Ryutin is well known for his anti-Stalinist 'platform' of March 1932: see Izvestiya TsK KPSS, 1990, 8-12 for the text.
78. Ibid., pp. 101-102; Kislitsyn, pp. 156-157; Pravda, 23 October 1930, p. 2; Starkov, 'Pravolevye fraktsionery', p. 133, and his 'M. N. Ryutin, k politicheskomu portretu', Izvestiya TsK KPSS, 1990, 3 (302), pp. 156-157. Kavraisky was head of the Information Sector of the Central Committee, and Nusinov worked in Sovnarkom RSFSR. M. N. Ryutin is well known for his anti-Stalinist 'platform' of March 1932: see Izvestiya TsK KPSS, 1990, 8-12 for the text.
79. Ibid., pp. 101-102; Kislitsyn, pp. 156-157; Pravda, 23 October 1930, p. 2; Starkov, 'Pravolevye fraktsionery', p. 133, and his 'M. N. Ryutin, k politicheskomu portretu', Izvestiya TsK KPSS, 1990, 3 (302), pp. 156-157. Kavraisky was head of the Information Sector of the Central Committee, and Nusinov worked in Sovnarkom RSFSR. M. N. Ryutin is well known for his anti-Stalinist 'platform' of March 1932: see Izvestiya TsK KPSS, 1990, 8-12 for the text.
80. L. Kosheleva, V. Lel'chuk, V. Naumov, O. Naumov, L. Rogovaya & O. Khlevnyuk (eds), Pis'ma I. V. Stalina V. M. Molotovu 1925-1936 gg., sbornik dokumentov (Moscow, 1995), pp. 231-232, letter No. 71, 23 October 1930. The same conclusion was reached by Lars T. Lih in the commentary to the English language version of this book: Lars T. Lih, Oleg V. Naumov & Oleg V. Khlevnyuk (eds). Stalin's Letters to Molotov, 1925-1936 (London, 1995), p. 45.
81. L. Kosheleva, V. Lel'chuk, V. Naumov, O. Naumov, L. Rogovaya & O. Khlevnyuk (eds), Pis'ma I. V. Stalina V. M. Molotovu 1925-1936 gg., sbornik dokumentov (Moscow, 1995), pp. 231-232, letter No. 71, 23 October 1930. The same conclusion was reached by Lars T. Lih in the commentary to the English language version of this book: Lars T. Lih, Oleg V. Naumov & Oleg V. Khlevnyuk (eds). Stalin's Letters to Molotov, 1925-1936 (London, 1995), p. 45.
82. Pravda, 4 November 1930.
83. Kislitsyn, pp. 155-156.
84. Kislitsyn, pp. 161-166. The resolution was made public on 1 December, see Pravda, 2 December 1930. Kavraisky, Nusinov and Kurs were released and exiled from Moscow.
85. RTsKhIDNI, f. 17, op. 3, d. 793, 11. 7, 20-26, 34. The members of the group were Kuznetsov (kraikom Second Secretary), Lyakhsutkin (Chairman of the Control Commission), Barankin (Chairman of krai Trade Union Council), Bazovsky (kraikombyuro member, Deputy Chairman of kraiispolkom), Eger (head of the organisation-instruction department), Abramov (kraikombyuro member, head of Sibugol'), Krylov (kraikombyuro member, head of the personnel department). Klimenko (kraisspolkom Chairman) sympathised with the group but did not sign the letter.
86. See Kislitsyn, pp. 167-168.
87. For the stenographic report see RTsKhIDNI, f. 17, op. 2, d. 460, 1. 61-64. The disgraced Siberian leader Klimenko and Molotov, as the new head of Sovnarkom USSR, also briefly denounced Syrtsov; ibid., 1. 161, 165.