People's Control

The People's Control in the Soviet Union as a semi-civic, semi-governmental grassroots-based organization to scrutinize the activities or government, local administrations and enterprizes traces its roots back to Rabkrin (Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate) extablished in 1920.

When Joseph Stalin rose to power, he merged Rabkrin with the CPSU Party Control Committee. Nikita Khrushchev, as part of his de-Stalinization efforts, undid the merge and created the Committee for Party and State Control, which in 1965 was renamed by Leonid Brezhnev to the Committee of People's Control.

The 1979 USSR Law on People's Control established the committees of people's control in each Soviet republic under the supervision of the central Committee of People's Control. These committees had the authority to audit government and economic administration records. Officials found guilty of illegalities could be publicly reprimanded, fined for damages, or referred to the procurator for prosecution. In the late 1980s, the committees of people's control had been an invaluable instrument in Gorbachev's efforts at reform and "perestroika". [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/sutoc.html A Country Study: Soviet Union (Former), section "Committees of People's Control"] ]

The committees of people's control extended throughout the Soviet Union. In 1989, of the more than 10 million citizens who served on these organs, 95 percent were volunteers. General meetings of work collectives at every enterprise and office elected the committees for tenures of two and one-half years. The chairman of the Committee of People's Control and a professional staff served for five years. The chairman sat on the USSR Council of Ministers.

Chairmen

*Alexander Shelepin (...-1965)
*Pavel Kovanov
*Gennady Ivanovich Voronov (1971-)
*Alexey Shkolnikov (1974-)
*Sergey Manyakin (1987-)
*Gennady Kolbin(1989-)

ee also

*Central Auditing Commission

References

*Adams, Jan S. (1978). "Institutional Change in the 1970s: The Case of the USSR People's Control Committee." Slavic Review 37(3):457 - 472.
*Adams, Jan S. (1989). "USSR People's Control Committee and Perestroika." Radio Liberty Report on the USSR 1(4):1 - 3.