Politics of The Soviet Union - Role of The Communist Party

Role of The Communist Party

See also: Communist Party of the Soviet Union and List of leaders of the Soviet Union

According to Article 6 of the Soviet Constitution, the Party was "the leading and guiding force of Soviet society and the nucleus of its political system, of all state organisations and public organisations, is the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The CPSU exists for the people and serves the people." The Communist Party was officially a Marxist-Leninist communist party, which determined the general development of Soviet society both in domestic and foreign policy. Also, it directed the "great work" of building communism through economic planning and the struggle for the victory of communism. All Communist Party organisations had to follow the framework laid down by the 1977 Soviet Constitution. After mounting pressure against him by the reformers, Mikhail Gorbachev removed the phrase "the leading and guiding force" and replaced it with "the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and other political parties".

The Nomenklatura was the Soviet Union's ruling group, and remained one of the main reasons why the USSR existed as long as it did. Members of the Nomenklatura were elected by the CPSU to all important posts in Soviet society; this could mean a locally or nationally significant office. This, along with the CPSU's monopoly on power, led to the gradual physical and intellectual degeneration of the USSR as a state. As long as the General Secretary of the CPSU commanded the loyalty of the Politburo he would remain more-or-less unopposed, and in all probability become the leader of the country.