The Politburo Protocols, 1919-40

Abstract

Historians who have worked with the protocols of the Politburo of the Soviet Communist Party now available at the Russian Center for the Preservation and Study of Documents of Modern History have occasionally described the collection as disappointing. Those familiar with the form of Soviet documentation known as protokoly-a term sometimes translated as minutes because they record the participants, agendas and decisions of official meetings-will find it no surprise that these documents often contain tersely worded resolutions and give little indication of debates behind decisions; some of the material is meaningful only in conjunction with much additional research in other sources. Despite such drawbacks-which are likely to disappoint especially those in search of instant revelations-these first available Politburo materials add a new dimension to the study of Soviet politics in the interwar period and can shed light on virtually every aspect of Soviet history in the 1920s and 1930s.