Recruitment and Purge in the Moscow Party Organisation

Abstract

Recruitment policy and the nature of the changes in the social composition and occupational structure of party membership were a central concern and cause of controversy throughout the civil war. With the growth in bureaucracy, attempts were made to ensure a flow of party members to occupy the key posts, and so their training and political education became an important issue. The principles governing the vetting of party recruits and the expulsion of various categories of undesirables had an important role to play in the political debates and organisational developments in this period.