This collection documents the plenums of the Central Committee of the CPSU
from the Stalin era until the demise of the Soviet Union. During each plenum
a team
of stenographers compiled an "uncorrected stenogram" or verbatim transcript
of the proceedings. However, speakers were permitted to revise and extend their
remarks. These corrected versions, called the "author's copy," were
then collated into the "corrected copy." After additional editing,
usually with an eye to aintaining ideological consistency, the remarks were
distributed to members of the Politburo, the CPSU Secretariat and members of
the Central Committee as a final "edited copy."
This publication contains nearly all versions -- from uncorrected stenogram
to edited copy -- of Central Committee plenums. Of particular interest to scholars,
the author's copies often contain the handwritten corrections of the participants
as well as the inclusion of newly drafted remarks. Of great significance, the
collection includes files of documents that were used or distributed during
the plenums. Frequently, these documents were classified as secret" or
"top secret."
The collection provides the record of debate and the highest level of documentation
for both foreign and domestic policies of the Soviet Union. Included are extensive
records concerning:
The power struggles within the Kremlin
Problems within the Warsaw Pact
Difficulties with Yugoslavia The Sino-Soviet Split Arms Control negotiations with the West
Intervention in Czechoslovakia, 1968 Agricultural and Industrial production in
the USSR
Internal Dissent
Perestroika and Glasnost
Opus 1 contains the records of the plenums of the Central Committee from 1941
to 1966. Opus 3 documents those between 1966 and 1986, and Opus 5 covers the
years of Mikhail Gorbachev's leadership, 1986-1990.
Yale owns all 181 microfilm reels and 659 microfiche of the collection. Scholars
can consult these sources in the Microtext Reading Room, which is in the basement
of Sterling Memorial Library.
Sterling Library's hours of operation
LOCATION: SML, Microform (Non-Circulating)
CALL NUMBER: Film B18361
