THE SPECIFICS OF TRAINING PARTY AND SOVIET PERSONNEL IN THE 1920s (based on the materials of the Mari and Udmurt Autonomous regions)

DOI: 10.47026/2712-9454-2025-6-1-19-36

УДК 94:[35.08:331.361(470.343+470.51)”192″]

ББК Т3(2Рос.Мар)61-334+Т3(2Рос.Удм)61-334

Artemy V. ZHELOBANOV

Key words

personnel training, schools for training Soviet government and Communist Party workers, the Mari Autonomy, the Udmurt Autonomy, Sarapul party school, Glazovskaya party school, korenization policy.

Abstract

Training specialists in the field of public administration is an urgent topic, as evidenced, for example, by the “Presidential Management Personnel Program”, which has been implemented in most of the country. As digitalization becomes a part of modern management, there is a need to update the educational program for future leading figures. To avoid repeated mistakes when introducing innovations in training government workers, it is necessary to study the experience of training party and Soviet personnel in the 1920s. This topic is poorly studied, which is confirmed by a modest number of publications.

The purpose of the study is to identify and evaluate the specifics of training party and Soviet personnel in the 1920s based on the materials of the Mari and the Udmurt autonomous regions.

Materials and methods. The published collections of documents served as the source base. Chronological framework: 1920s. Historical-genetic, historical-comparative, historical-systemic and other methods were used when preparing the article.

Results. The article examines the specifics of training party and Soviet personnel in the 1920s in the Mari and the Udmurt Autonomous Regions. A brief description of political education evolvement in the 1920s is given. The previous circle form of training for future managers proved ineffective in the conditions of transition from the Civil War to the new economic policy. In the new circumstances, a well-educated and ideologically competent leader was required. For this purpose, a three-tier system of Soviet party schools (school for training Soviet government and Communist Party workers) was formed. The development of party education in Mari El took place in the context of an internal party struggle for power and a serious shortage of personnel. Famine inflicted a heavy blow on the formation of a network of party educational institutions, which exacerbated the shortage of teaching staff. Training of party and Soviet personnel from the Mari took place in line with the policy of korenization, which supposed an active involvement of the titular ethnic groups of the national-territorial formations in self-governance. The quality of education decreased due to a low educational level of political education workers, the lack of specialized literature and facilities equipped with the necessary equipment. Periodic housecleanings of the state apparatus had a negative impact on the composition of the management staff. At the same time, important achievements in organizing cultural and educational institutions are noted. The development of party education in Udmurtia took place in conditions of teaching staff shortage. The number of educational institutions often outweighed the quality of education. Schools for training Soviet government and Communist Party workers were opened in Izhevsk, Sarapul and Glazov. The history of Sarapul and Glazovskaya party schools is considered in detail. In order to eliminate the shortage of lecturers in these educational institutions, it was decided to select persons on course who had successfully completed their studies as teachers. The quality of education in schools for training Soviet government and Communist Party workers was influenced by teachers’ overburdening with exterior work, as well as poor material equipment of educational institutions. In the process of korenization of the Udmurt state apparatus, office work was translated into the Udmurt language, and courses on its study were organized in parallel. The successes of this policy were often offset by housecleanings of the state apparatus. Important results on forming the network of political educational institutions in Udmurtia are noted.

Conclusions. The personnel problem was directly related to the formation of statehood among the Mari and the Udmurts. The increase or decrease in the number of schools for training Soviet government and Communist Party workers was influenced by various factors, including the famine of 1921. The policy of korenization, which involved training in specialized organizations and involving the local population in government structures, was carried out in both autonomies in close cooperation with the Center. The disadvantages of training were explained by objective socio-economic and cultural conditions. For Mari El and Udmurtia, the 1920s became an important period in the field of cultural construction and formation of schools for training Soviet government and Communist Party workers.

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About the author

Artemy V. Zhelobanov – Assistant Lecturer, Department of Russian History, Chuvash State University, Russia, Cheboksary (zhelobanov.a@mail.ru; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-4038-8492).

For citations

Zhelobanov A.V. The specifics of training party and soviet personnel in the 1920s (based on the materials of the Mari and Udmurt autonomous regions). Historical Search, 2025, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 19–36. DOI: 10.47026/2712-9454-2025-6-1-19-36 (in Russian).

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