Ideology without Organization? Internal Central Committee Debates on the Functions of the Otdel pechati in the 1920s
Ideology without Organization? Internal Central Committee Debates on the Functions of the Otdel pechati in the 1920s

Summary/Abstract: This article examines a series of on-going debates between Viacheslav Molotov and the staff of the Central Committee’s Press Department (Otdel pechati) about that body’s responsibilities and powers regarding the Soviet book publishing industry during the 1920s. Molotov wanted the Otdel pechati to focus on a specific set of tasks that revolved largely around Central Committee initiated campaigns. The staff of the Otdel pechati maintained that campaign goals could only be attained through a more general regulation of the publishing industry, which required the Otdel pechati’s oversight. This set off a series of confrontations between Molotov and the Otdel pechati’s staff about that organ’s proper functions and powers over non-party institutions, as Molotov insisted that the Otdel pechati focus its efforts narrowly on the tasks it was assigned, and its staff tried to use its authority to bring order to what they saw as a chaotic publishing industry. These conflicts likely contributed to the Otdel pechati’s reintegration with the Agitational-Propaganda Department in 1928. This subject provides insight into several important aspects of Soviet rule, such as the evolving relationship between central party and state institutions, the function of the Central Committee apparatus, and the ways Molotov and Stalin manipulated that apparatus for political gain during the mid-1920s. It also considers whether or not the later establishment of the Central Committee apparatus as the apex of Soviet power was inevitable.

• Details
• Contents