Communist Party of the Soviet Union (2001)
Political organization in former Soviet states
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The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Russian: Коммунистическая Партия Советского Союза, Kommunisticheskaya Partiya Sovetskogo Soyuza; short: КПСС, KPSS) is an organization which split from the Union of Communist Parties – Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 2001 after disagreements between Oleg Shenin and Gennady Zyuganov over the creation of a united communist party of the Union of Belarus and Russia.[1] It had been led by Shenin until his death in May 2009.[2]
Communist Party of the Soviet Union Коммунистическая Партия Советского Союза Kommunisticheskaya Partiya Sovetskogo Soyuza | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Leader | Sergey Alexandrov |
| Founded | 21 July 2001 |
| Split from | Union of Communist Parties – Communist Party of the Soviet Union |
| Headquarters | Moscow, Russia |
| Ideology | Communism Marxism–Leninism Anti-revisionism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| European affiliation | INITIATIVE (defunct) |
| International affiliation | IMCWP ICS (defunct) |
| Colours | Red |
| Party flag | |
.svg) | |
| Website | |
cpsu | |
Background
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, various communist organizations re-emerged in former Soviet republics.[3] As such, a 29th congress of the "Communist Party of the Soviet Union" (UCP-CPSU) was held from March 26-27 1993.[3] The organization simultaneously presented itself as the successor to the CPSU, as well as a coordinating body for post-independence communist parties.[3] The organization was led by Oleg Shenin, a principal conspirator in the 1991 Soviet coup attempt.[3][4]
Shenin wanted the group to develop into the nucleus of an all-Union communist party that would possess centralized discipline, a common political line and authority over its national organizations.[5] Gennady Zyuganov, and the leadership of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), however, favored retaining its status as a loose coordinating body.[6]
Shenin and the UCP-CPSU plenum authorized on January 29, 2000, the merger between the CPRF and the Communist Party of Belarus (CPB) into a unified Union State communist party.[5] On 15 July 2000 the Communist Party of the Union of Russia and Belarus held its founding congress and elected Shenin as its chairman.[7] However, Zyuganov and the CPRF rejected this merger, insisting that Shenin had acted without proper authorization and his actions where null and void.[7] The CPB also refused to approve this merger, which Shenin claimed was due to pressure from the CPRF.[5]
Shenin survived a vote of no confidence on 28 October 2000 before calling the 32nd Congress of the UCP-CPSU on 15 January 2001 during which, on 20 January, Shenin was removed from office and Zyuganov elected in his place.[5] Shenin, meanwhile, rejected this, arguing that the 32nd Congress never reached quorum and therefore his removal was invalid.[5][3]
Leaders
- Oleg Shenin (21 July 2001 – 28 May 2009; as Chairman)
- Vladimir Berezin (20 March–16 July 2010; as First Secretary)
- Sergey Alexandrov (acting 21 July 2010; official from 20 November 2010–present)
Members
| Party | State | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communist Party of Abkhazia |  Abkhazia[a] |
[8] | |
| United Communist Party of Armenia |  Armenia |
[citation needed] | |
| Communist Party of Azerbaijan[9][b] |  Azerbaijan |
[8] | |
| Republican Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus |  Belarus |
[8] | |
| Communist Party of Estonia |  Estonia |
[8] | |
| New Communist Party of Georgia |  Georgia |
[8] | |
| Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan |  Kyrgyzstan |
[8] | |
| Socialist Party of Latvia |  Latvia |
[8] | |
| Socialist People's Front |  Lithuania |
[citation needed] | |
| Russian Communist Workers' Party of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union |  Russia |
[8] | |
| Communist Party of Transnistria |  Transnistria[c] |
[citation needed] | |
| Party of Workers and Villages of Ukraine |  Ukraine |
[8] | |
Former members
| Party | years | State | Note | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party of Communists of the Republic of South Ossetia | 2001-2004 |  South Ossetia[d] |
Splinter from the Communist Party of South Ossetia, liquidated in 2004 after declaring bankruptcy | [8] | |
| Pavlodar regional committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan | 1991-2015 |  Kazakhstan |
Communist Party of Kazakhstan banned in 2015 | [8] | |
| Union of Communists of Ukraine | 1992-2015 | Ukraine |
Banned per Ukraine's 2015 decommunization law | [8] | |
- Abkhazia is a partially recognized state.
- Note that there are two parties named "Communist Party of Azerbaijan". They are completely different parties, with completely different leaders. One is a member of the "Union of Communist Parties – Communist Party of the Soviet Union", while the other one is a member of the "Communist Party of the Soviet Union (2001)".
- Transnistria is a partially recognized state.
- South Ossetia is a partially recognized state.
