Political elite recruitment system on the example of the communist party of the Soviet Union in 1950-1970

The article examines the political elite recruitment system in the Soviet Union, which was largely determined by the complex role of the country's leadership in society. The peculiarities of the formation of the ruling composition of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1950-1970 are analyzed and the basic tendencies of this process are revealed. It is emphasized that in the management team, initially it was exclusively “bureaucrats”, i.e. ideological party members, who were replaced by Communist specialists who drew on their professional experience in various fields of economics. The structure of personnel circulation in the USSR political party system was vertical and horizontal. The first was expressed in the processes of demotion or promotion. The second is in power struggles between individuals and institutions. There was also the phenomenon of “interlocking directorates”, with one person holding several positions in the party and government hierarchy.