|
|
Article: Dead souls. (eliminated members of Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee) (editorial)
- Article from:
- The Nation
- Article date:
- May 22, 1989
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 The Nation Company L.P. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
During the recent one-day plenary session of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee, Mikhail Gorbachev managed to eliminate nearly a quarter of its total membership: to be precise seventy-four conservative "dead souls" out of 301 full members. More important, the debate, which was quite heated, was published in its entirety in the Soviet press, breaking with the undemocratic custom of selective summary established under Stalin. The change is crucial, for the publication of discussion at the top is a precondition for genuine debate at all levels.
Central Committee members are elected by the party congress, held every five years. In practice, they have ...