16th Congress

Sixteenth Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (b). June 26 to July 13, 1930

The Sixteenth Congress of the CPSU (B) was held June 26 - July 13, 1930 in Moscow. There were 1,268 delegates with a casting vote and 891 with an advisory vote, representing 1,260,874 party members and 711,609 candidates.

Order of the day:

Political report of the Central Committee (lecturer I. V. Stalin);

Organizational report of the Central Committee (L.M. Kaganovich);

Report of the Central Auditing Commission (MF Vladimirsky);

Report of the Central Control Commission (G.K. Ordzhonikidze);

Report of the delegation of the CPSU (b) to the ECCI (VM Molotov);

Fulfillment of the five-year industrial plan (V.V. Kuibyshev);

The collective farm movement and the rise of agriculture (Ya.A. Yakovlev);

Tasks of trade unions in the reconstruction period (N.M. Shvernik);

Election of the central institutions of the party.

An analysis of the international and internal situation of the USSR was given in the Central Committee's report and in the resolution of the Congress adopted on this issue, and the main tasks of the new stage of socialist construction were determined. The successes of building socialism in the countryside were reflected in the mass collective farm movement. By the time of the congress, collective farms in the main grain-growing regions united 40-50% of peasant farms. The congress approved the transition to a policy of liquidating the kulaks as a class on the basis of complete collectivization.

The congress noted that successful socialist construction was ensured by a decisive struggle on two fronts - against Trotskyism and against the right deviation in the CPSU (b). The congress declared the views of the right opposition to be incompatible with belonging to the CPSU (b).

The congress drew attention to the need to further improve and reduce the cost of the state apparatus, set the task of continuing the purge of governing bodies, intensifying the fight against bureaucracy, and achieving exact implementation of the decisions of the party and government.

Approving the activities of the delegation of the CPSU (b) in the Executive Committee of the Comintern, the congress noted the great merits of the Comintern in defeating Trotskyism and right opportunism, supported the organizational measures developed by the Comintern aimed at cleansing the communist parties of right and "left" opportunists.

After hearing and discussing the report on the fulfillment of the five-year industrial plan, the congress noted that the party had achieved an over fulfillment of the planned targets, and increased the initial outline of the plan. Particular attention was paid to the all-round upsurge in heavy industry, the acceleration of the development of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, the introduction of advanced technology, the production of new machinery and equipment necessary for the technical reconstruction of all sectors of the economy. The congress decided to create in the near future in the east the second coal and metallurgical base of the country - the Ural-Kuznetsk Combine. The congress proposed to speed up the development of those industries that are associated with strengthening the defense capability of the USSR.

At the congress, the question of the collective-farm movement was comprehensively considered. Since the five-year plan was exceeded in the field of collectivization, the congress recognized it necessary to revise the five-year plan for the development of agriculture. The main task was to complete (mainly) the socialist transformation of the countryside, in the economic strengthening of the collective farms.

On the issue of trade unions, the congress emphasized the need to increase their role in socialist construction, determined their immediate tasks: to develop socialist competition and the shock workers' movement, improve the qualifications of workers, and fight inertia and bureaucracy. The congress put forward the slogan "Trade unions face production!"

The congress elected a Central Committee with 71 members and 67 candidates, a Central Auditing Commission with 13 members and a Central Control Commission with 187 members.

The 16th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks went down in history as the congress of the unfolded offensive of socialism along the entire front. He gave instructions for speeding up the pace of creating the material and technical basis of socialism, for the elimination of all capitalist elements in the country.