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81-472: Rykov is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Alexei Rykov (1881–1938), Bolshevik revolutionary and Soviet politician Vladimir Rykov (born 1987), Russian professional football player Konstantin Rykov (born 1979), Russian politician Yegor Rykov (born 1997), Russian ice hockey player [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with

162-576: A party Congress . Members of the Central Committee were given a predetermined list of candidates for the Politburo (having only one candidate for each seat); for this reason, the election of the Politburo was usually passed unanimously. The more power the CPSU General Secretary had, the stronger the chance was that the Politburo membership were passed without serious dissent. Article 25 of

243-616: A measure, proposing instead of handing them over to the courts. Molotov and Kliment Voroshilov , supported a compromise brokered by Stalin, which handed over Bukharin and Rykov to the NKVD . Despite this opposition, Stalin and his closest associates began purging officials nationwide. In May 1937, Jānis Rudzutaks became the first Politburo member to be purged. In 1938, four other Politburo members were purged; Chubar, who personally telephoned Stalin crying trying to assure his innocence, Kosior, who confessed for anti-socialist crimes after his daughter

324-851: A member of the Petrograd and Moscow Soviets and was elected to the Bolshevik Party Central Committee in July–August of the same year, during the Sixth Congress of the Bolshevik Party . Rykov, a moderate, often came into political conflict with Lenin and more radical Bolsheviks but proved influential when the October Revolution finally overthrew the Russian Provisional Government and as such served many roles in

405-526: A national strike unless the Bolsheviks shared power with other socialist parties and dropped Lenin and Leon Trotsky from the government. Grigori Zinoviev , Lev Kamenev , and their allies in the Bolshevik Central Committee argued that the Bolsheviks had no choice but to start negotiations since a railroad strike would cripple their government's ability to fight the forces that were still loyal to

486-478: A noted factionalist before the Bolshevik seizure of power, supported the promotion of people he had previously clashed with on important issues to the Politburo; Trotsky and Lenin had had several years of violent polemics between them, while Grigori Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev both opposed the Central Committee resolution that initiated the October Revolution. From 1917 to the mid-1920s, congresses were held annually,

567-595: A one-man dictatorship within the party, Lenin countered, stating that he, like any other, could only implement policies by persuading the party. This happened on several occasions, such as in 1917 when he threatened to leave the party if it did not go along with the October Revolution , when he persuaded the party to sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk , or with the introduction of the New Economic Policy (NEP). Lenin,

648-519: A plan to close GUM and open some kind of cabinet of curiosities there." After everyone sat down, he asks: "Well, has the GUM issue been resolved?" Everyone, including Suslov, nodded their heads. The problem was closed once and for all without discussion. To be elected to the Politburo, a member had to serve on the Central Committee . The Central Committee formally elected the Politburo in the aftermath of

729-621: A special representative of the Council of Labor and Defense for food supplies for the Red Army and Navy. Rykov was elected to the Communist Party Central Committee on 5 April 1920 after the 9th Party Congress and became a member of its Orgburo , where he remained until 23 May 1924. Once the Bolsheviks emerged victorious in the civil war, Rykov resigned his Supreme Council of National Economy post on 28 May 1921. On 26 May 1921, he

810-537: Is a system in which higher bodies are responsible to lower bodies and where every member is subordinate to party decisions). The nature of democratic centralism had changed by 1929, and freedom of expression , which had been previously tolerated within the party, was replaced with monolithic unity. This was achieved with Stalin's defeat of rival factions such as the Left Opposition and the Right Opposition . It

891-464: Is approved,' said Brezhnev after a few more moments of silence. Makarov put his hand on my shoulder, whispering, 'Okay, Arkady, that's it. You can go.'" Nevertheless, there were times where the General Secretary would override all the other members by making his opinion clear and implying that dissent would not be tolerated. Mikhail Smirtyukov , recalled one such Politburo meeting. While Brezhnev

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972-480: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Alexei Rykov Rykov joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1898, and after it split into Bolshevik and Menshevik factions in 1903, he joined the Bolsheviks, which were led by Vladimir Lenin . He played an active part in the 1905 Russian Revolution . Months prior to the October Revolution of 1917, he became

1053-600: Is generally believed that under Stalin the Politburo's powers were reduced compared to the General Secretary . Stalin defeated the Left Opposition led by Trotsky by allying himself with the rightists within the Politburo; Nikolai Bukharin , Aleksey Rykov , and Mikhail Tomsky . After defeating the Left Opposition, Stalin began attacking the rightists (referred to as the Right Opposition) through his supporters in

1134-567: The 14th Party Congress in December 1925, he lost his position as Chairman of the Soviet Council of Labor and Defense—which he had assumed from Lenin following Lenin's death—and was replaced by Rykov on 19 January 1926. Under his leadership vodka was heavily taxed, and became known as "Rykovka". Some of his political opponents claimed that he was a heavy drinker, but in reality he was an abstainer. Rykov's Premiership encompassed drastic change in

1215-859: The Mensheviks ) in London in 1905 and its 4th Congress in Stockholm in 1906. He was elected candidate (non-voting) member of the Central Committee at the 5th Congress in London. Initially supportive of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin in the 1908–09 struggle with Alexander Bogdanov for the leadership of the Bolshevik faction, Rykov voted to expel the latter at the June 1909 mini-conference in Paris . He spent 1910–11 exiled in France , and in 1912 expressed reproach towards Lenin's proposal that

1296-508: The People's Commissar for Heavy Industry , refused to acknowledge Stalin's projected economic growth targets, claiming that the majority in the Politburo supported his position. Sergey Kirov , who had turned down an offer to take Stalin's place as General Secretary before the 17th Congress, opposed many of Stalin's repressive policies, and tried throughout 1934 to moderate them. Several scholars have viewed Ordzhonikidze's and Kirov's outspokenness as

1377-567: The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) in 1898 and supported its Bolshevik faction when the party split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks at its Second Congress in 1903. He worked as a Bolshevik agent in Moscow and Saint Petersburg and played an active role in the Russian Revolution of 1905 . He was elected a member of the Party's Central Committee at its 3rd Congress (boycotted by

1458-690: The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and of the Soviet Union , which he served as until May 1929 and December 1930, respectively. In December 1930 he was removed from the Politburo . From 1931 to 1937, Rykov served as People's Commissar of Communications on the council he formerly chaired. In February 1937 at a meeting of the Central Committee , he was arrested with Nikolai Bukharin . In March 1938, both were found guilty of treason and executed. Alexei Ivanovich Rykov

1539-576: The Ryazan - Uralsk railroad. In 1892 he began his first year of middle school in Saratov. An outstanding student, he started high school at age 13. He excelled in mathematics, physics and the natural sciences. At 15 Rykov stopped attending church and confession, and renounced his faith. He graduated from high school in 1900 and enrolled at the University of Kazan to study law, which he did not complete. Rykov joined

1620-444: The Soviet Union . It ordered the Central Committee to appoint a five-member Politburo to decide on questions too urgent to await full Central Committee deliberation. The original members of the Politburo were Lenin , Trotsky , Stalin , Kamenev , and Nikolai Krestinsky . The Soviet system was based upon the system conceived by Lenin , often referred to as Leninism . Certain historians and political scientists credit Lenin for

1701-589: The Trial of the Twenty-One , Rykov, Bukharin, Nikolay Krestinsky , Christian Rakovsky , Genrikh Yagoda , and sixteen other Soviet officials were found guilty of treason (having plotted with Trotsky against Stalin) and sentenced to death by the Military Collegium . Rykov wrote a letter to the collegium requesting clemency but failed to get them to overturn the verdict. On 15 March, most of them were executed. Rakovsky

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1782-456: The population censuses , during these years the Soviet Union had a composition of between 51% (in 1989 ) and 58% (in 1939 ) Russian, between 15% (in 1989) and 21% (in 1926 ) Ukrainian, between 1.2% (in 1926) and 1.4% (in 1989) Georgian, and between 0.5% (in 1989) and 1.8% (in 1926) Jewish. In general, in the first half of the Politburo's existence, there was a higher ethnic representation than

1863-440: The surname Rykov . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rykov&oldid=1024230865 " Categories : Surnames Russian-language surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description

1944-529: The 1920s, promoting a partial restoration of the market economy under NEP policies. The moderates supported Joseph Stalin , Grigory Zinoviev , and Lev Kamenev against Leon Trotsky and the Left Opposition in 1923–24. After Trotsky's defeat and Stalin's break with Zinoviev and Kamenev in 1925, Rykov, Bukharin and Tomsky supported Stalin against the United Opposition of Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev in 1926–27. After Kamenev voiced opposition to Stalin at

2025-505: The 1960s onwards the majority of new members had workers' backgrounds, as expected. What is strange, however, is that from 1975 to 1981, a sudden increase of people of peasant background took place. When looking at first profession, the majority of members had worked as workers, but the majority of them had attended higher education later in their life (the majority of them choosing engineering ). 43 percent of Politburo members attained higher education credentials during their life, while in

2106-608: The Bolsheviks become an independent party. The dispute was interrupted by Rykov's exile to Siberia for revolutionary activity. Rykov returned from Siberia after the February Revolution of 1917 and re-joined the Bolsheviks, although he remained skeptical of their more radical inclinations. He became a member of the Petrograd Soviet and the Moscow Soviet. At the 6th Congress of the Bolshevik Party in July–August 1917 he

2187-519: The Central Committee and from the government on 17 November 1917 . On 3 April 1918 Rykov was appointed Chairman of the Supreme Council of National Economy and served in that capacity throughout the Russian Civil War . On 5 July 1919, he also became a member of the reorganized Revolutionary Military Council, where he remained until October 1919. From July 1919 and until August 1921, he was also

2268-728: The Central Committee plenum in February 1937, Stalin, Molotov, Zhdanov and Nikolai Yezhov began accusing leading officials of anti-socialist behavior, but they met opposition. Pavel Postyshev , a Politburo candidate member and First Secretary of the Ukrainian Communist Branch , in response to them accusing a member of the Ukrainian Central Committee of being anti-socialist said; "I don't believe it." When Yezhov proposed killing Bukharin and Rykov, Postyshev along with Stanislav Kosior and Grigory Petrovsky , opposed such

2349-514: The Central Committee treated Politburo replenishment as the responsibility of the Politburo itself. Politburo members usually picked successors who were around the same age, the result being the establishment of the gerontocracy of the Brezhnev Era . While the age steadily crept up during Khrushchev's leadership, members were replaced; for instance, 70 percent of the members elected to the Politburo in 1956 lost their seats in 1961. In contrast, all

2430-403: The Central Committee was convened at least once a month and the Politburo met once a week. With Joseph Stalin 's consolidation of power , the frequency of formal meetings declined. By the mid-1930s, the Central Committee met only once a month, and the Politburo convened at most once every third week. The Politburo was established, and worked within the framework of democratic centralism (that

2511-485: The Central Committee, upon elections. These amendments were removed from the party Charter under Leonid Brezhnev , and Article 25 now stated; "In the election of all party organs, from the primary party organization to the Central Committee of the CPSU, the principle of systematic replacement of personnel and the continuity of leadership is to be observed." The Brezhnev period saw, in complete contrast to Khrushchev's amendment,

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2592-545: The Central Committee. Expecting the worst, Rykov nearly decided to follow the example of his close friend Mikhail Tomsky and preempt arrest by committing suicide, but was convinced otherwise by his family. As Stalin's Great Purge intensified in early 1937, Rykov and Bukharin were expelled from the Communist Party and arrested at the February–March 1937 meeting of the Central Committee on 27 February. On 13 March 1938, at

2673-697: The Communist Party of the Soviet Union , abbreviated Politbureau CC CPSS or simply Politbureau , was the highest political body of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and de facto a collective presidency of the USSR . It was founded in October 1917, and refounded in March 1919, at the 8th Congress of the Bolshevik Party . It was known as the Presidium from 1952 to 1966. The Politburo's authority

2754-701: The Leningrad City Committee and member of the Secretariat, and Robert Eikhe , the First Secretary of the Siberian and West-Siberian District Committee, were elected Politburo candidate members. 1936 signaled the beginning of the Great Purge , a nationwide purge of what Stalin deemed as anti-socialist elements. The first victims of the purge were members and leaders of economic organizations. Not everyone in

2835-614: The Party by December 1927. After the defeat of the United Opposition, Stalin adopted more radical policies and came into conflict with the moderate wing of the party. The two factions maneuvered behind the scenes throughout 1928. In February–April 1929 the conflict came to a head and the moderates, branded the Right Opposition , or "Rightists", were defeated and forced to "admit their mistakes" in November 1929. Rykov lost his position as Premier of

2916-572: The Politburo (as well as the Central Committee) had to step down at each election to the Politburo, and that no members could be elected for more than three terms. The initiator of these changes, Khrushchev, the CPSU General Secretary, had served in the Politburo for 22 years. Instead of stepping down, Khrushchev made a rule which stated that members "who enjoyed great authority and possessed exceptional ability" could serve more than three terms, if they received more than 75 percent approval votes from

2997-451: The Politburo agreed with the purges, or the scope of them. Ordzhonikidze ridiculed the purge, and tried to save officials working in the People's Commissariat for Heavy Industry. Stalin expected that Ordzhonikidze would support the purges, at least officially, but instead he wrote a speech condemning them. On 18 February 1937, Ordzhonikidze was found dead in his house, having killed himself. At

3078-516: The Politburo from its establishment in 1919. This is not surprising, since the three most populous republics within the Soviet Union were ethnic Slavic; Byelorussia , Ukraine and Russia . From 1919 until 1991, 89 members of the Politburo were Russians (which makes up 68 percent). In distant second were Ukrainians, who had 11 members in the Politburo, making up 8 percent. In third place are both ethnic Jews and Georgians, who had 4 members respectively, making up 3 percent. For comparison, according to

3159-503: The Politburo members elected in 1966 were reelected in 1971. Even more worrisome, 12 out of 19 members elected in 1966 were reelected in 1981. By the time of Brezhnev's death in 1982, the median age of the politburo was 70. This age development was finally put to a halt under Gorbachev. From 1985 onwards, the age of Politburo members steadily declined. Fifty-nine percent of Politburo members (both candidate and full) were of rural origins, while 41 percent were urban. The first members of

3240-430: The Politburo were predominantly from urban areas. For instance, on the 9th Politburo, two out of eight (Trotsky and Mikhail Kalinin ) were born in rural areas. From the 1930s onwards, the majority of Politburo members had a father who worked either as a peasant or as a worker. This is strange, considering that one would assume a rise in representation of the intelligentsia as the Soviet Union became more advanced. From

3321-440: The Politburo's existence. Serving in the Politburo was a part-time function, and members served concurrently in either the party, state, trade union , security or military administrations (or all of them concurrently). Until the 1950s, most members served in state positions, but this changed at the 20th Congress (held in 1956) when 47% percent of Politburo members served in the central party apparatus while another 47% served in

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3402-573: The Politburo, Secretariat, and Orgburo. During this period, the office of the General Secretary became paramount. The Politburo, which was nominally responsible to the Central Committee and the Party Congress, became responsible to the General Secretary. The General Secretary, the formal head of the Secretariat and the Orgburo, "came to exercise enormous weight in decision-making." The Secretariat and Orgburo were responsible for personnel appointments in

3483-462: The Politburo, the Central Committee, and the Control Commission. Stalin and his companion supported an undemocratic interpretation of Lenin's What Is to Be Done? . Throughout the late-1920s, Politburo member Lazar Kaganovich (a Stalin ally), wrote and campaigned for a party organisational by-law which reduced intra-party democracy in favour of hierarchy and centralism . With the defeat of

3564-406: The Politburo; Elena Stasova , Yekaterina Furtseva , Alexandra Biryukova and Galina Semenova . Furtseva, Biryukova and Semenova reached the Politburo under the leadership of reformist party leaders; Nikita Khrushchev and Mikhail Gorbachev . The average age of the Politburo was 39 in 1919, and the Politburo continued to age more-or-less consistently until 1985. The reason for this being that

3645-457: The Russian SFSR to Sergei Syrtsov on 18 May 1929, but retained his other two posts. On 19 December 1930, after admitting another round of "mistakes", he was replaced by Vyacheslav Molotov as both Soviet Premier and Chairman of the Council of Labor and Defense . Two days later, Rykov was expelled from the Politburo , taking with him any chance of political advancement. On 30 May 1931, Rykov

3726-780: The USSR Supreme Council of National Economy and Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of People's Commissars on 6 July 1923. After Lenin's death on 21 January 1924 Rykov gave up his position as Chairman of the USSR Supreme Council of National Economy and became Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and, simultaneously, of the Sovnarkom of the RSFSR , on 2 February 1924. According to Polish historian, Marian Kamil Dziewanowski , Rykov

3807-578: The backs of one's rivals. In practice, Soviet Leninism's democratic centralism often followed a style of unanimous consent rather than majority vote . This style of consensus decision-making had roots not only in the era of the Great Terror , also known as the Yezhovshchina, but also in Brezhnev's carefully cultivated culture of collective decision-making. Shevchenko said, "While the Politburo considered

3888-564: The combined meetings of the Central Committee and the Control Commission into the party's " parliament ". The combined meetings of these two would hold the Politburo responsible, while at the same time guard the Politburo from factionalism . Admitting that organizational barriers may be inadequate to safeguard the party from one-man dictatorship, Lenin recognized the importance of individuals. His testament tried to solve this crisis by reducing both Stalin's and Leon Trotsky 's powers. Although some of his contemporaries accused Lenin of creating

3969-401: The event; the Central Committee continued with the political functions. However, due to practical reasons, usually fewer than half of the members attended the regular Central Committee meetings during this time, even though they decided all key questions. The 8th Party Congress in 1919 formalized this reality and re-established what would later on become the true center of political power in

4050-537: The evolution of the Soviet political system after his death. Others, such as Leonard Schapiro , argue that the system itself evolved from an inner-party democratic system to a monolithic one in 1921, with the establishment of the Control Commission , the ban on factions and the power of the Central Committee to expel members they deemed unqualified. These rules were implemented to strengthen party discipline. However,

4131-444: The existence of the USSR. While nominally subordinate to the Central Committee and the Party Congress, in practice the Politburo was the true center of power in the CPSU, and its decisions de facto had the force of law. Arkady Shevchenko , like many Soviet technical experts, once attended the part of a Politburo meeting that touched on his area of expertise, and he often prepared his boss Andrei Gromyko for meetings. He described

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4212-595: The greatest continuity in the Politburo in its history. Article 25 of the Charter remained unchanged under the successive leadership of Yuri Andropov , Konstantin Chernenko and Mikhail Gorbachev . Between 1919 and 1990, 42 members who served as candidate members were not promoted to full member status of the Politburo. Similarly, 32 full members of the Politburo never served as candidate members. Six members who had served as full members were demoted to candidate status during

4293-458: The item for which I was responsible, I sat with Kuznetsov , Kornienko , and [Vasily] Makarov, behind Gromyko at the long table in the Kremlin. Brezhnev asked whether all members of the Politburo had received the draft U.S.-Soviet documents in time and if they had studied them. Most of the members nodded silent assent. 'Can I assume that the draft is approved?' Brezhnev asked. No one spoke. 'The draft

4374-451: The military sector had had representatives in the Politburo since the 8th Politburo (in 1919). Defense ministers who had served in the Politburo are Leon Trotsky , Mikhail Frunze , Kliment Voroshilov , Nikolai Bulganin , Georgy Zhukov and Dmitry Ustinov among others. Similarly, several leading Politburo officials had participated in either the Russian Revolution , the Russian Civil War or World War II . Ethnic Slavs dominated

4455-527: The new government, starting October–November ( Old Style ) as People's Commissar for Internal Affairs on the first roster of the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom), which was chaired by Lenin . During the Russian Civil War (1918–1923), Rykov oversaw the implementation of the " War Communism " economic policy, and helped oversee the distribution of food to the Red Army and the Red Navy . After Lenin

4536-414: The other factions, these interpretations became party law. To strengthen the system of centralised decision-making, Stalin appointed his allies to high offices outside the Politburo. For instance, Vyacheslav Molotov succeeded Rykov as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars in 1930, to reduce the chance of another independent locus of centralised power forming form which could threaten Stalin and

4617-423: The overthrown Provisional Government . Although Zinoviev, Kamenev, and Rykov briefly had the support of a Central Committee majority and negotiations were started, a quick collapse of the anti-Bolshevik forces outside Petrograd allowed Lenin and Trotsky to convince the Central Committee to abandon the negotiating process. In response Rykov, Zinoviev , Kamenev , Vladimir Milyutin , and Victor Nogin resigned from

4698-453: The party Charter, said little to nothing on the actual relationship between the Politburo and the Central Committee. Until 1961, Article 25 stated (with several changes) that the Central Committee "forms" or "organizes" the Politburo. It was not until 1961, under Nikita Khrushchev , that the party Charter was amended; stating that the Politburo was appointed through "secret elections". The amended party Charter stated that at least one-third of

4779-507: The party continued under Lenin and the early post-Lenin years to try to establish democratic procedures within the party. For instance, by 1929, leading party members began criticizing the party apparatus, represented by the Secretariat headed by Stalin, of having too much control over personnel decisions. Lenin addressed such questions in 1923, in his articles "How We Should Reorganize the Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate" and "Better Fewer but Better". In these, Lenin wrote of his plan to turn

4860-440: The power structure of the Soviet Union. From 1924 to 1930 the role of the Communist Party —informally led by Stalin who, as General Secretary , controlled Party membership—increasingly usurped powers from the legitimate governmental structures. Although an exact date cannot be given for Stalin's rise to power , the United Opposition —which consisted of Kamenev, Zinoviev, and Trotsky—was defeated and its followers were expelled from

4941-482: The republican-level. Security officials had historically had a low-profile on the Politburo. From 1953 until 1973, no officials representing the security sector served in the Politburo as full members; the last two being Lavrentiy Beria and Nikolay Ignatov . This tradition was put to an end with the elevation of Yuri Andropov , the KGB Chairman, to full membership (having served as a candidate member since 1967). Alexander Shelepin had served as KGB Chairman, but

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5022-407: The rise of a moderate Stalinist faction with the party. On 1 December 1934, Kirov was shot dead – whether he was the victim of a lone assailant or killed on Stalin's orders remains unknown. Not long after, on 21 January 1935, Valerian Kuybyshev died of natural causes, and a month later, Anastas Mikoyan and Vlas Chubar were elected Politburo full members. Andrei Zhdanov , the First Secretary of

5103-421: The second half. It was not until the 28th Politburo that every republic had a representative at the Politburo. The Politburo never tried to fix the ethnic imbalance within the Politburo. Instead, the Soviet Union at the central level was mostly ruled by Russians. Despite the ideological rhetoric about equality between the sexes, the Politburo came to be composed largely of men. Only four women ever served in

5184-429: The state administration. From the 20th Congress until the 28th Congress , the share of Politburo members serving in the central party apparatus increased, while those serving in the state administration declined. The majority of Politburo members had leading central posts; the highest share of republican officials serving in the Politburo came at the 22nd Congress (held in 1961) when 50 percent of members held offices at

5265-451: The whole party, and so were used as a machine by Stalin and his allies to promote like-minded individuals. Molotov and Kaganovich played a key role in strengthening the role of the Secretariat and the Orgburo in Party affairs. The 17th Politburo was elected at the 1st Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee , in the aftermath of the 17th Congress . Outwardly, the Politburo remained united, but on 4 February Grigory Ordzhonikidze ,

5346-408: The working style of the Politburo's weekly meeting during the Brezhnev era as "quiet, orderly, and methodical. Although an agenda is prepared, there is no quorum call or other form of parliamentary procedure ." Shevchenko's memoir makes it clear that the tense political struggle that could often occur among Politburo members usually did not take place openly during its meetings, but rather behind

5427-404: Was admitted to hospital with tuberculosis. She was released in September 1954, after 16 years prison and exile. The Soviet government annulled the verdict in 1988 and rehabilitated him during the perestroika . Rykov was then reinstated in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union . Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of

5508-554: Was appointed People's Commissar of Posts and Telegraphs , a position that he continued to occupy after the Commissariat was reorganized as People's Commissariat for Communications of the USSR in January 1932. On 10 February 1934, he was demoted to a candidate (non-voting) member of the Party's Central Committee . On 26 September 1936, in the wake of accusations made at the first Moscow Show Trial against Kamenev and Zinoviev, and Tomsky's suicide, Rykov lost his position as People's Commissar of Communications, but retained his membership in

5589-469: Was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Council of Labor and Defense of the Russian SFSR under Lenin. With Lenin increasingly sidelined by ill health, Rykov became his deputy at the Sovnarkom ( Council of People's Commissars ) on 29 December. Rykov joined the ruling Politburo on 3 April 1922, after the 11th Party Congress . A government reorganization in the wake of the formation of the Soviet Union in December 1922 resulted in Rykov's appointment as Chairman of

5670-459: Was arrested again and exiled to the Yenisey region of Krasnoyarsk . In exile, she underwent two operations for cancer, could not work, and had to depend on her husband, Walter Perli (1907–1961), a former officer in the Estonian army, arrested during the Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1940, whom she married in exile in June 1949. Perli, who worked as an accountant, also financially supported Nina Rykova's elderly sister, Yelena Tolmacheva, until he

5751-443: Was born on 25 February 1881 in Saratov , Russia . His parents were ethnic Russian peasants from the village of Kukarka (located in the province Vyatka ). Alexei's father, Ivan Illych Rykov, a farmer whose work had led the family to settle in Saratov died in 1889 from cholera while working in Merv . His widowed stepmother could not care for him, so he was cared for by his older sister, Klavdiya Ivanovna Rykova, an officeworker for

5832-524: Was elected to the Central Committee. During the October Revolution of 1917 , he was a member of the Military Revolutionary Committee in Moscow. After the revolution, Rykov was appointed People's Commissar of Internal Affairs. On 29 October 1917 (Old Style), immediately after the Bolshevik seizure of power, the executive committee of the national railroad labor union, Vikzhel , threatened

5913-640: Was elected to the Politburo through his work in the Komsomol , while Eduard Shevardnadze , who had served as the Georgian Minister of Internal Affairs until 1972, became a candidate member of the Politburo through his work as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party . Similarly in 1973, the Minister of Defense Andrei Grechko was appointed to the Politburo. However, unlike the security sector,

5994-431: Was executed in 1941. Rykov's wife, Nina Semyonova, née Marshak, was arrested in 1937. Yevgenia Ginzburg , who was also arrested in 1937, recorded being approached inside Butyrka prison by "a woman of about 55, with an expression of acute suffering on her face" who demanded: "Have they tried them yet? They've shot them, haven't they?" Ginzburg was told this was Rykov's wife, vainly seeking news of her husband. Nina Rykov

6075-449: Was incapacitated by his third stroke in March 1923 Rykov, along with Lev Kamenev , was elected by the Sovnarkom to serve as deputy chairman to Lenin. While both Rykov and Kamenev were Lenin's deputies, Kamenev was the acting premier of the Soviet Union. Lenin died from a fourth stroke in January 1924, and in February, Rykov was chosen by the Council of People's Commissars as premier of both

6156-530: Was on vacation, Mikhail Suslov , who hated the idea that in front of the Lenin Mausoleum in Red Square there was a department store (GUM), attempted to turn GUM into an exhibition hall and museum showcasing Soviet and Communist history. After the decision was drawn up, Brezhnev was immediately reported. When he returned from vacation, before the first meeting of the Politburo he said: "Some idiot here invented

6237-410: Was placed in the position of Chairman of the Soviet Union due to support from Stalin as part of a wider effort to build an alliance in the Politburo . Dziewanowski argued that Trotsky rather than Rykov would have been the natural successor to Lenin had he accepted the position of Vice Chairman . Along with Nikolai Bukharin and Mikhail Tomsky , Rykov led the moderate wing of the Communist Party in

6318-400: Was raped in front of him, Postyshev and Eikhe. Petrovsky in contrast, was rather lucky, instead of being purged he was not reelected to the Politburo at the 18th Congress . The purging of Rudzutaks, Eikhe, and Kosior testified to Stalin's growing power; the Politburo were not even notified of the decision. Postyshev was purged because "of too much zeal in persecuting people." The Politburo

6399-570: Was shot on 4 March 1938. Their daughter Natalya, born 1916, worked for the NKVD as a teacher until her father's arrest, when she was sent into administrative exile in Tomsk , where she was arrested on 1 March 1938 and sentenced to eight years in the gulag for 'anti-soviet agitation'. On completing her sentence in 1946, she was sentenced to five years exile in East Kazakhstan, but before that had expired, she

6480-581: Was significantly undermined during the August coup and subsequently ended three months later upon its dissolution in 1991. On 18 August 1917, the top Bolshevik leader, Vladimir Lenin , set up a political bureau—known first as Narrow Composition , and after 23 October 1917, as Political Bureau —specifically to direct the October Revolution , with only seven members (Lenin, Leon Trotsky , Grigory Zinoviev , Lev Kamenev , Joseph Stalin , Grigori Sokolnikov , and Andrei Bubnov ), but this precursor did not outlast

6561-556: Was the highest organ of the party when the party Congress and the Central Committee were not in session. The Politburo, along with the Secretariat and the Organizational Bureau (Orgburo) until 1952, was one of three permanent bodies of the party. The General Secretary , the party leader, served as ex officio chairman of the Politburo (however, no formal rule stipulated such activity). 28 politburos were elected throughout

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