Features of the Soviet Political Elite Forming and Training in the 1920s–1930s

The article, devoted to the characteristics of the process of forming and training of political elites in the Soviet Union, tries to identify key aspects in the formation of the Soviet managerial class, analyze training methods and the role played by ideological factors. It also reveals the concepts such as ‘Soviet political elites’ and ‘nomenklatura’. We will consider institutions that formed political cadres and give an idea of specific requirements for a state cadres, consider decisions made by the Soviet leadership to create political elite. Methodological tools used include historical, comparative and sociological analyses, as well as institutional and discourse analysis, which allow a comprehensive reconstruction of the processes of political elite formation and tracing internal mechanisms for change.
The article substantiates the conclusion that the Soviet elite was formed as a closed managerial class, where membership was determined not by origin, but by inclusion into nomenclatural hierarchy and ideological allegiance. The results allow us to rethink the Soviet elites as dynamic systems with internal stratification, whose characteristics can be justified by stable reproduction mechanisms that combine formal access to “social elevation” with strict ideological control.

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