Abstract
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) is, according to its own claim and by common consent, the central political institution in the Soviet political system. As the USSR Constitution of 1977 (Article 6) accurately expressed it, ‘The leading and guiding force of Soviet society and the nucleus of its political system, of all state organs and public organs, is the Communist Party of the Soviet Union’. The same source outlines the party’s principal functions: determining the general perspectives of the development of society and the course of the home and foreign policy of the USSR, directing ‘the great constructive work of the Soviet people’, and imparting ‘a planned, systematic and theoretically substantiated character to their struggle for the victory of communism’.KeywordsCommunist PartyCentral CommitteeParty MemberParty OrganisationParty CommitteeThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
