The Soviet Union: Party and Society (Third World Council for Soviet and East European Studies)

This collection is derived from the Third World Congress for Soviet and East European Studies, and provides an up-to-date and comprehensive survey of contemporary Soviet political and economic problems. It concentrates upon three major themes; the Soviet party apparat, socialization and political discourse, and social policy, all which have been the subject of considerable and at times confusing fluctuations during the past decade. The first section focuses on party organization within the Soviet ministries, and examines the changes within the elite during the last years of Brezhnev's rule. In Part 2 the emphasis is upon processes of political socialization, and the nature of political language in the Soviet Union, whilst in the concluding part the contributors examine the mechanism and impact of social policy, and its ethnic and nationalist implications. Contents......Page 6 Figures......Page 8 Tables......Page 9 Contributors......Page 10 Foreword......Page 12 Preface......Page 14 PART I Party apparat......Page 20 1 The apparatchiki and Soviet political development......Page 22 2 The primary party organizations of branch ministries......Page 45 3 Soviet local party organs and the RAPOs......Page 67 PART 2 Socialization and political discourse......Page 84 4 Political socialization in the USSR: April 1979 and after 67 Stephen White......Page 86 5 Political language and political change in the USSR: notes on the Gorbachev leadership......Page 106 6 Soviet political discourse, narrative program and the "Skaz" theory......Page 126 7 The nationality policy of the CPSU and its reflection in Soviet socio-political terminology......Page 140 8 The evolution of the local Soviets JEFFREY W. HAHN......Page 161 PART 3 Social policy......Page 178 9 Social deprivation under Soviet full employment J. L. PORKET......Page 180 10 The Soviet social security system: its legal structure and fair hearings process......Page 198 11 Abortion in the Soviet Union: why it is so widely practiced......Page 220 12 Ethnic group divided: social stratification and nationality policy in the Soviet Union......Page 237 13 The party and Russian nationalism in the USSR: from Brezhnev to Gorbachev PETER J. S. DUNCAN......Page 248 Index......Page 264

This 1988 collection is derived from the Third World Congress for Soviet and East European Studies, and provides a comprehensive survey of Soviet political and economic problems. It concentrates upon three major themes; the Soviet party apparat, socialization and political discourse, and social policy, all which have been the subject of considerable and at times confusing fluctuations during the past decade. The first section focuses on party organization within the Soviet ministries, and examines the changes within the elite during the last years of Brezhnev's rule. In Part 2 the emphasis is upon processes of political socialization, and the nature of political language in the Soviet Union, whilst in the concluding part the contributors examine the mechanism and impact of social policy, and its ethnic and nationalist implications.

This paper explores a particular dimension of the role of the apparatchiki in the development of the Soviet system, particularly in relation to political development.