Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine (Soviet Union)

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Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine (Soviet Union)

The Central Committee (CC) was the highest ruling body of the Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU) between party congresses. It operated under the rules and programs of the CPSU and reported to the CPU congresses and the Central Committee of the CPSU. It existed as the Ukrainian republic’s main party authority from 1918 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. During World War II (1942–1943) there was a non-legal underground Ukrainian Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine.

Overview of how it worked:
- The CC’s composition was elected by the CPU’s congresses. It included both members and candidates who could be added as full members if vacancies occurred.
- It governed by the CPSU statutes and the decisions of CPSU congresses and plenums, as well as CPU congresses.
- Plenums were held at least every four months to discuss major issues; CPU congresses occurred at least every five years.
- The CC led the CPU’s work in the Ukrainian SSR, coordinated with regional and local party organizations, and reported its activities to CPU congresses and the CPSU Central Committee.
- It operated under the principle of democratic centralism and could convene republican party conferences between congresses when needed.
- The CC ensured the implementation of party policy, mobilized workers for “communist construction,” and directed youth through the Lenin Communist Youth Union of Ukraine (Komsomol).

Key leaders:
- First Secretary of the Central Committee: Volodymyr Shcherbytskyi (1972–1989).

Central Committee institutions:
- Political Bureau (Presidium), Organizational Bureau, Secretariat, and other bodies.
- Transborder/Frontlines-focused Bureau during wartime occupations.
- Central Audit Commission and Central Control Commission.
- Lenin Communist Youth Union of Ukraine (Komsomol) and the Institute of History of the Party (Ukraine).

Headquarters and buildings:
- The CC’s headquarters moved over time, including uses in Kharkiv (1922–1934, with the Noble Assembly building as one site) and Kyiv (1938 onward), with the Presidential Administration Building in Kyiv serving as a key site from 1943 to 1991.

CPU congresses and activities:
- The CPU held numerous congresses from the 1st Congress in 1918 to the 28th in 1990, which set major policies and leadership for the Ukrainian party.

Publications:
- Pravda Ukrainy (Russian: Sovetskaya Ukraina) — published 1938–1943 and 1944–1991.
- Radyanska Ukrayina (Ukrainian: Kommunist; later Radyanska Ukrayina) — Ukrainian-language newspaper, 1918–1991.

In short, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine was the top governing body of the CPU within the Soviet system, directing party activities, youth work, and regional party structures under the overarching framework and directives of the CPSU.