1st Edition
The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Politburo
The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Politburo (1992) is the definitive history and political analysis of this institution. Extensive use of new Soviet sources permitted the authors to provide a comprehensive analysis of the way in which the Politburo operated and a sociological examination of its membership. The history of the Politburo is presented in a lucid and rigorous account that charts its development from creation by Lenin in 1919 to sidetracking by Gorbachev in 1990: an organization that, as the authors state, ‘subjected the whole of the USSR to its ruthless dictatorship, but itself bowed time and again to the leader of its own making’.
1. Inner Circle – the Central Committee’s Russian Branch: Origins of the Politburo 2. Not a Debating Club: The Politburo Under Lenin 3. The Entourage of the Leader: The Politburo Under Stalin 4. The Era of Conspiracies: the Presidium Under Khrushchev 5. Stability of Cadres: the Politburo Under Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko 6. Abdication: the Politburo Under Gorbachev 7. The Politburo at Work: Mode of Operation 8. The Politburo Dissected: Profile 9. The Politburo: A Complete List of its Composition at Selected Dates 10. Politburo Background List 1919–1990
Biography
John Löwenhardt, James R. Ozinga and Erik van Ree
