From War to Peace: Formation of the Yenisei Provincial Party Committee of the RCP(b)

In the article, the author recreates the process of organizing the Yenisei Provincial Party Committee of the Russian Communist Party of Bolsheviks from the moment the city of Krasnoyarsk was liberated from counterrevolutionary forces in January 1920 and the formation of the Provisional Yenisei Provincial Party Committee of the RCP (b) until the first Provincial Party Conference in June, at which a full-fledged Yenisei provincial party committee of the RCP (b) was elected. The provincial party committee was the highest party authority in the province. The study is based on published (materials of the party press) and unpublished sources (archival documents of the State Archive of the Krasnoyarsk Territory). In an attempt to answer the question of how, in the most difficult conditions of devastation, the decline of industry, agriculture, famine, typhus epidemics, personnel shortages, lack of infrastructure, the Bolsheviks managed to establish, retain party power and support the implementation of a unified policy on the territory of the Yenisei province, the author highlights a number of specific features in the formation and functioning of the Yenisei Provincial Party Committee of the RCP (b). Firstly, communist power in the province was restored by military means with the direct participation of the Red Army. The political department of the 30th Rifle Division of the Red Army carried out the initial organizational work to restore the organs of party and Soviet power. Significant military formations were deployed on the territory of the province. Significant support for the communist regime was provided by emergency authorities, which had almost unlimited powers. The communists of the province underwent military training, and the authorities in the majority consisted of Red Army soldiers and partisans. Secondly, the features of personnel policy, including the transfer of senior staff from one position to another, from province to province, and appointment. Such a policy made it possible to solve not only the problems of shortage of personnel, but also to avoid local separatism, corruption, and ensure the unity of the policy of the center and the province. Thirdly, the communists, combining party posts with Soviet ones, ensured control and leadership of Soviet organizations. Fourthly, the party leadership tried to influence various categories of the population by organizing work with youth, among women, trade unions, among foreigners, former prisoners of war. Fifthly, considerable attention was paid to agitation and propaganda among the entire population, both party and non-party. Party education was also important. Thus, all of the above features together allowed the communists to achieve their goal. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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