Politburo

politburo, the former central policy-making and governing body of the Communist party of the Soviet Union and, with minor variations, of other Communist parties. It was first created on the eve of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia in 1917, but it did not become fully functional until the Eighth Party Congress in Mar., 1919. Nominally elected by the central committee to direct the party between the committee's plenary sessions, the politburo, in reality, governed the country. The size of the politburo in the Soviet Union varied; from 1952 until 1966 it was called the presidium.

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Politburo

Supreme policy-making body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the model for the politburos in other countries. The first Politburo, created in 1917 to provide leadership during the Bolshevik uprising, was dissolved when the coup was accomplished. The party congress of 1919 instructed the Central Committee to elect a new Politburo, which soon overshadowed the Central Committee in power. In 1952 it was replaced by a larger Presidium of the Central Committee; after Joseph Stalin's death, stress was placed on “collective leadership” to correct for his abuses. The name Politburo was revived in 1966. Its members included the general secretary of the Communist Party, the minister of defense, the head of the KGB, and the heads of the most important republics or urban party branches. It was dissolved with the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

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Politburo

1. the executive and policy-making committee of a Communist Party

2. the supreme policy-making authority in most Communist countries