Nomenclature as the basis of party-state management: the formation process (20-30s of the XX century)

Abstract

The article describes how nomenclature became the basis of the Soviet party-state apparatus in the 1920s and 1930s of the XX century. The authors explain how the nomenclature turned into an independent social institution with a centralized management system, its own norms of political behavior, moral attitudes, mechanisms of recruitment and regulation of activities. Particular attention is paid to the formation of the “nomenclature complex” - a system of accounting and distribution of personnel, the introduction of which was accompanied by numerous difficulties and required constant intervention of the party authorities. Since the early 1920s, an important direction of personnel policy was the formation of personnel reserve, which marked the beginning of systemic work that continued in the following decades. It is noted that in the process of developing the nomenclature, a classification of civil servants based on a class approach was created, which strengthened the ideologized nature of management. One of the key consequences of the introduction of the nomenclature principle was the substitution of electability with appointments, which led to the alienation of citizens from participation in state governance. The electoral mechanisms enshrined in the Soviet constitutions became a formality to cover up the centralized personnel policy. This, in turn, contributed to a high turnover of personnel in the nomenclature system.