Liquidation of political departments of MTS and sovkhozes

According to the decision of Political Bureau (Politburo) of the Central Committee of the All-Russia Communist Party (bolsheviks) (TsK VKP(b)) poLitotdeLs - political departments - (extraordinary party organs) were created in November, 1941. Political Departments (politotdely) were supposed to take the situation in the countryside under control, counteract to the possible anti-soviet actions, mobilize kolkhoz peasants to carry out increased production targets and by any means provide the front and the home front with supplies. Politotdels were organized in a very critical moment for agriculture and the country itself and they helped to eliminate the most obvious defects of the agricultural production. With the assistance of politotdels, peasants were able to provide the country with the minimum amount of food and and agricultural commodities. These extraordinary organs existed till the end of May, 1943. Politotdels of machine and tractor stations (MTS) and soviet farms (sovkhozes) were party-state mobilization organs. The decision to form them was taken by highest organs of ARCP(b) and they were financed from state sources. Politotdels had political, administrative and economic functions, were the centers of the power in sovkhozes and MTS and therefore were the obvious case of how party and state organs were jointed in soviet political system. Their extraordinary status was underlined by the fact that their heads were appointed directly by CC ARCP(b) on a motion by the first secretary of an oblast (krai) party committee which made politotdels more or less independent from rural district party committees. Politotdels of MTS and sovkhozes were liquidated for a number of reasons. Party mobilization to the front decreased and the staff of rural organizations of ARCP became stable. Rural district party committees gained some experience of working under war conditions. Negative aspects of politotdels' activity caused by their extraordinary origin were becoming more obvious. Centralism increased, limited party democracy became even more restricted, politotdels replaced or doubled the functions of economic executives. Direct administrative and economic functions of politotdels were no longer a mean of efficient problem solving but became a well-established method of party management. Anxious expectations that party leaders, who took preventive means about peasants, were not met. In spite of the difficulties of collectivization and dispossession of the kulaks there were no open anti-government actions. Under these circumstances parallel functioning of regular and extraordinary party organs became inexpedient.

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