XIX Congress of the CPSU (b) - (October 5-14, 1952). Documents and Materials

October 7th

(Morning session)

Presiding N.A. Bulganin, after a break L.M. Kaganovich.

The meeting continued the discussion of the reports of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) and the Central Auditing Commission of the CPSU (b).

At the end of the meeting, the congress heard a report from the Credentials Committee. The Congress unanimously approves the report of the Credentials Committee.

N.M. Pegov

Report of the Credentials Committee of the XIX Congress of the CPSU (b)

Comrades! On behalf of the Credentials Committee, allow me to report to the congress on the results of the commissionʹs work.

The credentials committee checked the credentials of each delegate elected to the 19th party congress, and established that everywhere elections were carried out in full accordance with the decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) on the norms of representation and the procedure for electing delegates to the congress. In the party organizations of the RSFSR, delegates to the congress were elected at party conferences of regions, territories and autonomous republics, in other union republics, with the exception of Ukraine, at congresses of the communist parties of the union republics. In Ukraine, delegates to the 19th party congress were elected at regional party conferences. The communists, who are members of the party organizations of the Soviet Army, the Navy and the border units of the MGB, elected delegates to the 19th party congress together with the corresponding territorial party organizations at regional, regional party conferences or congresses of the communist parties of the union republics.

As is known, the Central Committee of the Party established the following norms of representation at the 19th Party Congress: one delegate with a casting vote for every five thousand party members and one delegate with an advisory vote for five thousand candidates for party members. At all party conferences and congresses of the communist parties of the union republics, during the election of delegates to the congress, these norms of representation were observed. Everywhere the elections of delegates were carried out, in accordance with the Charter of the party, by closed (secret) ballot. All delegates elected to the convention received the required majority of votes.

The Credentials Committee notes that the election of delegates to the 19th Party Congress in all party organizations was carried out correctly, without any violations of the established election procedure. The commission recognized the credentials of all delegates elected to the congress valid.

The elections of delegates to the 19th Party Congress at all congresses of the communist parties of the union republics and party conferences were held in an atmosphere of great enthusiasm, high activity and organization of communists and party organizations as a whole, under the sign of the development of businesslike, principled criticism and self‐criticism.

The election of delegates to the congress showed the unshakable unity of our party, the selfless devotion of all communists to the great cause of Lenin and Stalin, their fighting readiness to selflessly fight for the complete victory of communism. Our party came to its 19th Congress united and powerful, rallied around the Partyʹs Central Committee, around its great leader and teacher, Comrade Stalin. (Stormy applause.)

Comrades! A total of 1,192 delegates with a decisive vote and 167 delegates with an advisory vote were elected to the 19th Party Congress. The Credentials Committee reports that they are all present at the congress.

The growth of the partyʹs ranks is a striking evidence of the further strengthening of the partyʹs ties with the masses and the strengthening of its authority among the people. As of October 1, 1952, according to personal records, the CPSU (b) has 6,013,259 party members and 868,886 candidates for party members, and a total of 6,882,145 people. By the 18th Congress, the party had 2,477,666 members, including 1,588,852 party members and 888,814 candidates for party membership. Consequently, during the time between the XVIII and XIX congresses, the quantitative composition of the party increased by 4.404 thousand people.

It is known that during the Great Patriotic War our party lost many of its glorious sons, who selflessly fought at the fronts and in partisan detachments behind enemy lines. Despite this, during the period between the 18th and 19th congresses, the number of party members and candidates not only did not decrease, but almost tripled, which is a vivid testimony to the powerful attractive power of our party banner, the boundless love and devotion of the Soviet people to the great

Communist Party. (Applause.)

Of the delegations elected to the congress by party conferences of regions, territories and autonomous republics of the Russian Federation, the largest is the Moscow delegation, which has 129 voting delegates representing 646,000 party members. In this connection it is pertinent to note that by the 14th Congress our entire party had 643,000 members in its ranks. The Leningrad delegation includes 60 delegates with a decisive vote, the Gorky ‐ 25, Sverdlovsk ‐ 23, Rostov ‐ 18, Saratov ‐ 18, Khabarovsk ‐ 18, Krasnodar ‐ 17, Voronezh ‐ 17, Primorsk ‐ 17, Chelyabinsk ‐ 16, Kuibyshev ‐ 16, Bashkir ‐ 15, Tatar ‐ 15, Molotov ‐ 14, Kemerovo ‐ 14, Altai ‐ 14 delegates.

The Communist Party of Ukraine is represented at the congress by 153 delegates with a decisive vote, including the delegation of the Kiev regional party organization numbering 20 delegates. Kharkov ‐ 16, Stalin ‐ 15, Dnipropetrovsk ‐ 12 delegates. The largest delegations of the communist parties of the union republics are also: the Kazakh delegation, which has 42 delegates with a decisive vote. Georgian ‐ 32, Belarusian ‐ 28, Uzbek ‐ 25, Azerbaijani ‐ 23 delegates.

It must be said that many party organizations could have at this congress more delegates with a decisive vote than they have, if the work with candidates was better organized in these organizations. Candidate experience, as it is rightly said in the theses of Comrade Khrushchevʹs report, often turns into an empty formality and for a significant number of candidates stretches over a number of years. In the Ukrainian party organization, there are about 62 thousand candidates with expired service, in the Moscow one ‐ 34 thousand, in the Kazakh ‐ over 22 thousand, in the Uzbek ‐ more than 17 thousand, in the Leningrad ‐ 14 thousand people.

Since the 18th Congress of the All‐Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, not only has the numerical strength of our party increased, but the number of party organizations has also increased significantly.

By the present congress we have in the party: 15 communist parties of the union republics, 8 regional, 167 regional, 36 district, 511 city and 4.886 district party organizations.

For the first time, party organizations from a number of republics, regions, cities and districts that became part of the Soviet Union during the time between the 18th and 19th congresses took part in the election of delegates to the congress of our party. These include primarily the party organizations of the four new union republics that have joined the fraternal family of the peoples of the Soviet Union: the Lithuanian SSR, Moldavian SSR, Latvian SSR and Estonian SSR.

Let me dwell in some detail on the data on the delegations elected to the 19th Congress by the Communist Parties of the Baltic Republics. These data are convincing evidence of the steady growth of the Partyʹs authority and the boundless confidence in it on the part of the working people of the new republics, who have recently freed themselves from capitalist slavery. As of January 1, 1941, the Communist Party of Latvia united only 2.800 communists. At our congress, the Latvian delegation represents 50 thousand party members. The delegation of the Lithuanian Communist Party represents 36 thousand communists at the XIX Congress, and in January 1941 there were only about two and a half thousand people in the Lithuanian Communist Party. Twelve years ago, when the Estonian people embarked on the path of socialism, the Estonian Communist Party had two thousand members. Today, the Estonian party organization numbers about 31 thousand communists.

The Baltic republics, which practically started building socialism only in the post‐war period, in a short time, with the help of the peoples of other fraternal republics, not only made great strides forward in industrialization, but also carried out the transfer of small peasant farming to the path of socialism, completed the collectivization of agriculture, and successfully develop national in form and socialist in content culture.

For the first time at the party congress, the party organizations of the western regions of Ukraine, uniting more than 100 thousand communists, and the party organizations of the western regions of Belarus, in which there are about 33 thousand party members and candidates, are represented.

The delegates of the party organization of the new Kaliningrad region, created on the territory of the former East Prussia, which was a nest of imperialist reaction and a centuries‐old springboard for an attack on our Motherland, take part in the work of the congress.

Communists of such regions as South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, reunited within the borders of our Fatherland, also took part in the election of delegates to the 19th Congress.

It should be noted that during the period between the 18th and 19th Party Congresses, a large number of primary party organizations were again created at enterprises, construction sites, machine and tractor stations, state farms, collective farms, and educational institutions. The number of primary party organizations has increased during this time by 237,245 organizations, or more than three times.

The largest number of new party organizations have been created at construction sites, where their number has almost quadrupled. In recent years alone, large party organizations of the great construction projects of communism have been created: the Kuibyshev hydroelectric power station, where there are 2,550 communists, the Stalingrad hydroelectric power station ‐ 1,862 communists, the construction of the Main Turkmen Canal ‐ 747, the construction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station ‐ 640, the construction of the Moscow State University ‐ 759 party members and candidates. Large party organizations have also been created at many industrial enterprises that went into operation between the 18th and 19th Party Congresses. Among them are the party organizations: the Kuibyshev State Bearing

Plant, which unites 1,224 communists, the Moscow Small Car Plant ‐ 1,170, the Altai Tractor Plant ‐ 1,096, the Stalin Ural Automobile Plant ‐ 1,090 communists, the party organizations of the Lipetsk, Minsk and Vladimir Tractor Plants, the Tula Self‐Propelled Combine Harvester Plant , Kutaisi and Minsk automobile plants and many other enterprises.

It is significant that since the 18th Party Congress the number of primary organizations on collective farms has increased more than six times, and in educational institutions ‐ almost seven times.

These are the basic data on the quantitative composition of the delegates to the 19th Party Congress and the party organizations represented at it.

The delegates to the congress include workers from all branches of

party and state work, socialist economy and culture.

The data on the composition of the delegates of the Congress on education are indicative. Of the 1,192 delegates to the congress, 709 have higher education, 84 have incomplete higher education, 223 have secondary education and 176 have incomplete secondary and primary education.

These data on the composition of the delegates to the 19th Party Congress reflect the steady rise in the cultural level of members of our Party and the entire Soviet people.

Among the 709 delegates of the congress with higher education there are 282 engineers, 68 agronomists, livestock experts and other agricultural specialists, 98 teachers, 18 economists, 11 doctors, 7 lawyers. The presence of such a large number of specialists from various sectors of the economy and culture in the composition of the delegates of the congress shows once again that in our country cultural people, who know their business well and are able to move it forward, are highly valued and boldly promoted.

The Congress is attended by 65 delegates with academic degrees and titles, 58 Stalin Prize winners, among whom, along with well‐known scientists and technicians, there are industrial workers and collective farmers who have been awarded this high award for outstanding inventions and fundamental improvement of production methods.

Comrades! The data on the composition of the delegates to the congress in terms of party experience and age indicate that our party is consistently implementing Comrade Stalinʹs instructions on the need to pursue a course of combining, of uniting old and young cadres in one common orchestra of leading party and state work. Boldly nominating new young workers, the Party makes full use of old cadres with great experience and knowledge of the business in leadership work.

The composition of delegates to the Congress by party experience is distributed as follows: prior to 1917 ‐ 1.2 percent; from 1917 to 1920 ‐ 6.2 percent; from 1921 to 1930 ‐ 36.4 percent; from 1931 to 1940 ‐ 36.0 percent; from 1941 to 1945 ‐ 16.1 percent; from 1946 and later ‐ 4.1 percent.

Thus, the party members with experience until 1920, who went through a big school of the underground and civil war, in the composition of the congress delegates ‐ 7.4 percent, party members with experience from 1921 to 1940 in the congress delegates ‐ 72.4 percent.

By age: of delegates under 35 years old ‐ 5.9%, from 36 to 40 years old ‐

17.7%, from 41 to 50 years old ‐ 61.1%. and over 50 years ‐ 15.3 percent.

Delegates of 37 nationalities were elected to the party congress:

Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Azerbaijanis, Georgians, Armenians, Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Turkmens, Kirghiz, Tajiks, Karelians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Moldovans, Tatars, Bashkirs, Buryats, Chuvashs, Mordvins, Udmurts, Ossetians, Komi, Yakuts, Mari, peoples of Dagestan and others.

The multinational composition of the Congress delegates is the best evidence that the Lenin‐Stalin party is the embodiment of indestructible friendship and fraternal cooperation between the peoples of our state and holds the banner of proletarian internationalism high.

Among the delegates to the Congress with the right to vote, there are 147 women, or 12.3 percent of the total number of delegates. At the 18th Congress, women accounted for 9.1 percent. These data indicate the significant work done by the party in promoting women to leading party, Soviet and economic work.

Among the delegates with the right to vote, elected by the Ivanovo regional party organization, women make up 50 percent. In the Kostroma delegation there are 33% women, Kalinin, Yaroslavl ‐ 25%, Gorky, Uzbek ‐ 20%.

In the composition of women elected as delegates to the 19th Party Congress, 6 secretaries of regional committees and Central Committees of communist parties of the union republics, 36 secretaries of city committees, district committees and regional party committees, 7 secretaries of primary party organizations, 10 leading Soviet workers, 4 directors of enterprises, 19 chairmen of collective farms, 3 directors of MTS and state farms. Among the delegates to the congress are 14 Heroes of Socialist Labor, 8 laureates of the Stalin Prizes, 20 deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and 26 deputies of the Supreme Soviets of the union republics.

It should be noted that, in some party organizations, sufficient attention is apparently not paid to the promotion of women to leadership positions. There is no other explanation for the fact that there are very few women in some large delegations. In the composition of, for example, the Belarusian delegation, which has 28 delegates with a casting vote, only 2 women, while in Belarus there are more than 18 thousand women among the party members. There are more than 12 thousand women in the Krasnodar regional party organization, and one woman was elected among 17 delegates to the congress. There is only one woman in the Kiev delegation among 20 delegates. There is not a single woman among the deciding delegates from the Communist Party of Moldova. (Animation in the hall).

Allow me to report on the composition of the delegates to the congress with an advisory vote.

Of the 167 delegates elected to the congress with the right of an advisory vote, 69 people, or 41.3 percent, have a higher education, 68 people, or 40.7 percent, have incomplete higher and secondary education.

By party experience, delegates with an advisory vote are distributed as follows: before 1920 ‐ 2.4 percent, from 1921 to 1930 ‐ 24.5 percent, from 1931 to 1940 ‐ 35.9 percent, from 1941 and later ‐ 37.2 percent.

The Credentials Committee considers it necessary to report that 66 delegates of the 19th Party Congress have been awarded the high title of Hero of Socialist Labor by the Soviet Government for outstanding achievements and selfless work for the good of our Motherland.

62 Heroes of the Soviet Union, who glorified our Fatherland, the strength and might of the heroic Soviet Army in battles with enemies, take part in the work of our congress. (Applause.)

Comrades! The composition of the delegates shows that the party organizations elected to the 19th Party Congress the best, most active members of our party, those who heroically fought for the freedom and independence of our Motherland during the Great Patriotic War and are selflessly working to implement the great Stalinist program of building communism in our country. country. (Applause.)

May our great leader Comrade Stalin live and live for long, long years to the joy of the Party and the people! (Prolonged applause.)

The Congress unanimously approves the report of the Credentials

Committee.