State Control in Soviet Russia: The Rise and Fall of the Workers and Peasants Inspectorate, 1920-34

327 Pages·7.019 MB·English

by  E. A. Rees

STATE CONTROL IN SOVIET RUSSIA
Reproduced from E. Lyons, Stalin (London, 1940)
The Party Leaders in 1934
Back row: A.S. Enukidze, K.E. Voroshilov, L.M. Kaganovich, V.V. Kuibyshev.
Front row: G.K. Ordzhonikidze, I.V. Stalin, V.M. Molotov, S.M. Kirov.
State Control in
Soviet Russia
The Rise and Fall of the Workers’ and
Peasants’ Inspectorate, 1920-34
E.A. Rees
Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN 978-0-333-43603-5 ISBN 978-1-349-09299-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-09299-4
©E.A. Rees 1987
All rights reserved. For information, write:
Scholarly & Reference Division,
St. Martin’s Press, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
First published in the United States of America in 1987
ISBN 978-0-312-00767-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rees, E.A.
State control in Soviet Russia.
Bibliography: p.
Including indexes.
1 . Russian S.F.S.R. Narodnyi komissariat
raboche-krest ianskoi inspektsii — History.
2. Soviet Union—Politics and government— 1917- 1936.
3. Soviet Union— Economic policy— 19 17 - .
I. Title.
JN6524.R44 1987 947.084T 87-4777
ISBN 978-0-312-00767-6
For my father, Gwynfor Meredydd Rees, and my
mother, Elizabeth Jane Rees
‘NKRKI ... a sort of permanent super-commission for audit and
control: it is continually combing the other state departments for traces
of graft, bureaucratism and other abuses. The Rabkrin has a far flung
net; its inspectors look into everything, from the management of the
Moscow Art Museum to the building of a new industrial plant, from
civil service qualifications of the officials in Daghestan to the conditions
of the peasant farms in the Kuban.’
W.H. Chamberlin, Soviet Russia (London, 1930)
‘NKRKI. What tremors these five letters cause in Russia today, an
Industrial Scotland Yard. The first example the Soviet Union has set the
world ... a new departure, watching the Industries of the Union, with
its spies in every part of the country working hand in glove with the
OGPU . . . The huge building hums with activity at all hours . . .
couriers come through its portals hurriedly, its officials know no fixed
hours of work. Their high powered motor cars stand waiting to be
summoned at a moment’s notice, all kind and class of people come and
go on all kinds of business.’
J.R. Westgarth, Russian Engineer (London, 1934)
‘The USSR Commission for Workers’ and Peasants’ Inspection came to
have no fewer than five assistants, each at the head of a considerable
department - so true is the common Russian joke that the only remedy
for bureaucracy is the creation of more bureaucracy.’
S. Webb and B. Webb, Soviet Communism: A New Civilization?
(London, 1935)
‘It is much to be hoped that, even should the Russians relax their fierce
repression of the now unpopular social classes, they will not lightly
abandon their institution of Workers’ and Peasants’ Inspection.
Undoubtedly the price of this meddlesome interference of the rank and
file into affairs of which they must, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred,
understand nothing at all is a considerable sacrifice of efficiency. But,
even at that price, it may be argued that the safeguard which it affords
against the odious vulgarities of class distinction is well worth having.’
B. Wootton, Plan or No Plan (London, 1934)
Contents
List of Illustrations x
List of Plates xi
List of Tables xii
Preface and Acknowledgements xiii
Introduction : Aspects of State Control 1
1 The Institutionalization of State Control (1919 - 22) 12
State, departmental and workers’ control (1918-19) 12
Establishment of Rabkrin (1919-20) 20
Rabkrin in action (February 19 20 - March 1921) 25
The X Party Congress and the redirection of control 30
Rabkrin (1920-2) : an overview 35
Conclusion 37
2 Lenin’s Plan for the Reorganization of Rabkrin (1922-3) 39
Dilemmas of state and party control 39
Lenin’s plan for the reorganization of Rabkrin 43
Discussion of Lenin’s plan 49
The XII Party Congress 57
Conclusion 63
3 Rabkrin and the Organization of State Control (1923 - 30) 68
Implementation of the T sKK-NKRKI reorganization 68
TsKK-NKRKI and the central party-government
apparatus 72
Rabkrin’s organizational structure and staff 78
Rabkrin and the ‘scientific organization of labour’ 85
The problem of defining Rabkrin’s role 87
Conclusion 93
4 Rabkrin and the ‘Scissors Crisis’ (1923-4) 98
TsKK-NKRKI and the ‘scissors crisis’ 99
Rabkrin and industrial policy 10 2
Rabkrin and agricultural policy 1 10
Rabkrin’s relations with the economic institutions 1 1 2
TsKK-NKRKI and the internal party struggle 11 4
The XIII Party Congress 116
Conclusion 11 8
vii
viii Contents
5 Rabkrin at the High Point of NEP (1925-6) 120
Rabkrin and economic policy ( 19 25) 12 0
TsKK-NKRKI and the internal party struggle (1925) 127
The XIV Party Congress 1 29
Rabkrin and economic policy (1926) 133
TsKK-NKRKI and the internal party struggle (1926) 139
Conclusion 140
6 Rabkrin and the ‘Left Turn’ (1927-9) 144
The ‘regime of economy’ campaign 145
Rabkrin and industrial policy 1 49
Towards the ‘revolutionary reconstruction’ of agriculture 1 56
Rabkrin’s relations with the economic institutions 16 1
TsKK-NKRKI and the internal party struggle 1 66
Conclusion 169
7 Rabkrin and the ‘Revolution from Above’ (1929-30) 170
TsKK-NKRKI and the central party-government
apparatus 170
Rabkrin and industrial policy 1 73
Rabkrin’s relations with the economic institutions 19 0
Conclusion 197
8 Rabkrin : Decline and Abolition (1931-4) 202
TsKK-NKRKI and the central party-government
apparatus 202
Rabkrin and economic policy 204
The decline of Rabkrin 2 10
TsKK-NKRKI and the internal party struggle 2 1 7
Abolition of TsKK-NKRKI 219
Conclusion 223
Conclusion 225
Appendices 233
A Organs of State Control 233
B Leadership ofNKRKI (1920-34) 234
CNKRKIUSSR 237
D Organizational Structure of Central Apparatus NKRKI 239
E TsKK 242
F TsKK Presidium (1920-34) 244
Glossary of Russian Terms and Abbreviations Used in Text 246
Notes and References 249
Contents ix
Bibliography 292
Name Index 301
Subject Index 305