Tomsk provincial organization of the Russian Communist Party of Bolsheviks at the end of 1919 - July 1920

After Tomsk Province was freed from the Kolchak's troops the Bolsheviks renewed the legal political activity and were able to build a system of party organs. On December 23, 1919 Tomsk organizational bureau of the Russian Communist Party of Bolsheviks consisting of three people was elected, the scope of its activity was limited to Tomsk District only because of the temporary transfer of the provincial centre to Novonikolayevsk. In early January 1920 in Novonikolayevsk a provincial Party bureau was formed as the highest body of the Party control in the province. Its members then were re-elected in mid-January and mid-February. In the period from December 1919 to February 1920 the Party structures were established in the places. After the start of legal activity Tomsk Bolsheviks faced serious difficulties, which, first of all, were the lack of trained personnel, poor communication with the central Party and government organizations, lack of guidance and instructions. The first activities undertaken by the provincial Party bureau, was to regulate the work of Soviet institutions, to organise training courses for the Party members, to resume publications by the official organ, to conduct ''Subbotniks'', weeks of transport, to create national sectors in the district Party organizations. At the end of April 1920 by the decision of the Siberian revolutionary committee the centre of Tomsk Province was moved back to Tomsk, which led to another restructuring of the provincial Party apparatus. On May 7 the new Tomsk provincial bureau was elected, which included five people. One of the main problems the provincial bureau faced in this period was a severe shortage of responsible Party staff. In this regard, at the provincial meeting of representatives of county and district Party organizations the need was stated to obtain the maximum use of the available Party members in the province. At the same meeting a mechanism of accountability of party organs was developed: each lower Party organization had to give monthly progress reports to the higher one. On June 19-27, 1920 a member of Siberian bureau of the central committee of the Russian Communist Party of Bolsheviks V.N. Yakovleva visited Tomsk. After analysing the state of the provincial Party organization, she came to a conclusion about its extreme weakness and inefficiency. On July 25-26, 1920 the first Tomsk provincial Party conference took place, where the first results of Party organisation in the province were summed up. Upon completion of its work, Tomsk provincial committee of the Russian Communist Party of Bolsheviks was elected, which replaced the provincial Party bureau and thus became the supreme organ of the Party management in the province.

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