The First General Purge of the Ruling Communist Party: Causes, Effects, and Aftermath: 1920–1924
| 27 August 2024
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Anfertiev I.A.,
Moscow, Russian Federation
The First General Purge of the Ruling Communist Party: Causes, Effects, and Aftermath: 1920–1924
Abstract
Drawing on a document collection from the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI), the article analyses causes of the first repression campaign for purging the ruling party of various undesirable elements that occurred in 1921. It defines the decision-making mechanism involved in the planning of the party purge and reconstructs the top-down operation of the campaign, assesses the State Political Directorate (OGPU) participation in the purge. In no small measure it was triggered by numerous negative developments in the party circles (ranging from abuse of office to economic crime and criminal offense) caused by the New Economic Policy (NEP), a liberalization of some areas of economic activity. The article reviews case materials the party members who were held administratively or criminally liable. It ascertains that the Communist Party had nothing to gain from ventilation of liberties allowed to the elite, embezzlement of state property, and favoritism. Nevertheless, there were measures to detect violations and condemn the culpable. And yet at the noon of the NEP there were in high level party leadership colliding standpoints on the issue. The article focuses on the mechanism of the recurring purges conducted by the control organs in various spheres of state activity, including party and security agencies, Soviet and economic entities.
Keywords
Party purge, the Political Bureau (Politburo) of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (bolsheviks), the Central Control Commission (CCC) of the Russian Communist Party (bolsheviks), socialism, the New Economic Policy (NEP), the State Political Directorate (OGPU).
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About the authors
Anfertiev Ivan Anatol'evich, PhD in History, associate professor, professor of the department of contemporary history of Russia of the Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, Russian Federation, +7-916-252-28-22, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it