The 25th Congress of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union " Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspape ...

met in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

from February 24 to March 5, 1976.

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and 1 ...

greeted 4,998 Soviet delegates and representatives from 96 foreign countries. Among Communist-ruled nations, only the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

did not send representatives. The congress itself produced few surprises, with the main emphasis placed on the stability of the political and economic situation and the prospects of continued success in the future. Brezhnev declared that the USSR would not invade or fight other countries, but also stated that he would support national liberation movements, despite

détente Détente (, French: "relaxation") is the relaxation of strained relations, especially political ones, through verbal communication. The term, in diplomacy, originates from around 1912, when France and Germany tried unsuccessfully to reduce ...

. Little mention was made of fundamental problems facing the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

— the slowdown of the rate of economic growth, the low output of

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

despite heavy investment. The only critical voices raised were those of foreign Communists. French Communist leader

Georges Marchais Georges René Louis Marchais (7 June 1920 – 16 November 1997) was the head of the French Communist Party (PCF) from 1972 to 1994, and a candidate in the French presidential elections of 1981. Early life Born into a Roman Catholic family, he be ...

boycotted the congress after criticizing the Soviet Union's suppression of dissidents. A major problem that faced Soviet leaders, and one that was continually evaded, was the need to rejuvenate the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contracti ...

, which was elected at the 1st Plenary Session of the 25th Central Committee. The membership of the 25th Politburo was slightly changed from the 24th Politburo, with the ouster of Soviet Agriculture Secretary

Dmitry Polyansky Dmitry Stepanovich Polyansky (russian: Дми́трий Степа́нович Поля́нский; – 8 October 2001) was a Soviet statesman who was First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union from 1965 to 1973. Fr ...

in the wake of the failure of the 1975 grain harvest,"Soviet Agriculture Chief Is Ousted From Politburo", ''The New York Times'', March 6, 1976, p.1 and the addition of two new full members promoted from candidate status,

Dmitriy Ustinov Dmitriy Fyodorovich Ustinov (russian: Дмитрий Фёдорович Устинов; 30 October 1908 – 20 December 1984) was a Marshal of the Soviet Union and Soviet politician during the Cold War. He served as a Central Committee se ...

and

Gregory Romanov Grigory Vasilyevich Romanov (russian: Григорий Васильевич Романов, scientific transliteration: ''Grigorij Vasil'evič Romanov''; 7 February 1923 – 3 June 2008) was a Soviet politician and member of the Politburo and Secre ...

. The subtraction of one and addition of two brought the full membership to 16. The members' average age was 66 years old. Brezhnev himself was 69.

References

External links

*
and Resolutions. XXVth Congress of the CPSU
'
''Building a New Society: The 25th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union''
Communist Party of the Soviet Union 25

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

1976 conferences February 1976 events in Europe March 1976 events in Europe {{USSR-stub