Bolshevik+Party

= The Bolshevik Party =

T he Bolshevik Party was originally known as the Social Democrat Party but split in 1903. The new party's leader was Vladamir Lenin. In 1917, the Bolsheviks led the October Revolution and overthrew the provisional government. Lenin believed in the Marxist theory that a revolutionary upheaval of the proletariat would then lead to them being able to govern themselves. Only a small group of armed specialists would be needed to deal with those who “waver" in their approach to communism.

= = = Structure of the Party =

= _________________________________________________________________________________________  = =A. Main Committees:=


 * Political Bureau (Politbur****o):** Politburo is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties. The very first politburo was created in Russia by the Bolshevik Party in 1917 to provide strong and continuous leadership during the Russian Revolution occurring during the same year. However, after the Bolshevik's coup in Petrograd, the politburo was dissolved and the Central Committee became the governing body of Russia. In 1919 the Politburo was a small cabinet of high ranking officials consisting of of Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Kamenev and Krestin skii. Its official designation was decide on things in time of emergency. However Lenin used it as to decided policy superseding the the Central Committee.

**Orgburo:** Establish March 1919, was officially a sub committee of the central committee. But unofficially handled the allocation of forces.

**Secretaria**t: Another sub committee of the Central Committee. It dealt with matter not important enough for the Orgburo. Had the Orgburo full backing. The Secretariat was the executive body of the Provisional Central Executive Committee of Soviets.

**Central Committee**: The central governing tool of the Bolshevik party. Official decider of policy and governing the people. However often superseded by the Politburo and Orgburo.

Each of the below committees deals with the prefix of their name:

- Regional Committee (oblast’)

- Provincial Committee (guberniia’)

- District Committee (uezd’)

- Rural Committee (volost’) = _________________________________________________________________________________________ =

= B. Specialized Side Committees: =

**Department of Agitation and Propaganda of the Central Committee:**(Agitprop’) This specialised in the production of propaganda for the Central committee. Agiprop is a political strategy where the techniques of agitation and propaganda are used to influence and mobilize public opinion. Although the strategy is common, both the label and an obsession with it were specific to the Marxism practiced in Soviet Russia. Agitprop is derived from agitation and propaganda, and describes stage plays, pamphlets, motion pictures and other art forms with a political message. The term propaganda in the Russian language did not bear any negative connotation at the time. It simply meant "spreading of ideas. In terms of agitprop, the ideas to be spread were those of communism, including explanations of the policy of the Bolshevik Party. In othercontexts, propaganda could mean spreading of any kind of beneficial knowledge, like of new methods in agriculture. Agitation meant urging people to do what Bolshevik leaders expected them to do at various levels. After the October Revolution of 1917, an agitprop train toured the country, with artists and actors performing plays and broadcastin g propaganda.

**Organisation and Instruction Department and the Records Assignment Department:** (Orgotdel): Answered enquiries and issued direction on aspects such as party work propaganda, women in the party and National minorities in the party.

**Uchraspred:** Assigned party members to positions inside the party. Also collected data on party members.

**Cheka**: Secret police, aimed at finding counter-revolutionaries.

**Sources:**

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