POLITICAL CULTURE OF THE SOVIET POWER IN THE MIRROR OF BEZCLEBENKO’S "NOMENCLATURE’S "KAMASUTRA…"

Abstract

The article is devoted to researching of the book, which wittily called "Nomenclature Kamasutra: office romance

in Brezhnev period". This is the memories, written by S.D.Bezclubenko – the former minister of culture in Soviet Ukraine.

S.B.Rudenko analyzed views of Bezclubenko on such qualities of politicians in Soviet Union as the professionalism, their intellectual level, moral values. Under review were also struggle for power between partocrats, patterns of development career of bosses of nomenclatura, features of these processes in Ukraine. Rudenko compares the research results S.D.Bezklubenko and other researchers nomenclatura: M.S.Voslenski and M.Đilas. For all, who interesting in soviet political culture.

Scientific study of political culture of the Soviet era is of practical importance because modern Ukrainian politics

carries a lot of genetic traits that time. Research interest primarily is political culture of USSR rulers – nomenclatura.

There are insufficient number of lack of papers devoted to this topic. The system of government in the Soviet Union was a very closed. That is why an important role among sources of research plays memoirs of representatives of

nomenclatura. One of these sources of research is "Nomenclature Kamasutra..." written by Bezclubenko.

The central concept of the study is the "nomenclature". The author of "Nomenclature Kamasutra..." gives the following definition of this term: selection of personnel for executive positions among party bosses, what based on

compiling a list of the names of certain positions and names of people who were considered as candidates for their filling.

Each party organ had a level of "nomenclature", which in turn also divided into "main nomenclature" (the nomenclature of the party organ, which took the decision to appoint) and "accounting and control nomenclature" (the nomenclature of the higher party organ, who has consented to the appointment).

Based on the concept of M.Đilas, developed in the works M.S.Voslenski [3], the nomenclature is the ruling class

in the countries of "real socialism", which in essence was industrial and corporative feudalism (non state capitalism).

Nomenclature is not the same bureaucracy. This is a social class such as medieval nobility. It penetrated all spheres of public life and delegates powers exclusively own representatives. The nomenclature as social class can not be equated with almost 18 million members of the Communist Party in the early 80's of the twentieth century.

Dramaturgy memoir built around the opposition between Bezclubenko, the head of the ministry of Culture of Soviet Ukraine, and his curator from Central committee of Communist party of Ukraine Kapto. This conflict displays

arsenal of methods of political struggle, characterizing nomenclature environment. Kapto was a zealous defender of

political culture of the nomenclature. Bezklubenko many decisions was taken at its sole discretion (within the powers of minister), without coordination with his immediate boss party Kapto, in violation of unshakable hierarchy of soviet power.

Note the following realities of the political culture of the Soviet rulers. Because personnel decisions are the prerogative of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, in the apparatus of the Ministry of Culture were introduced people who worked against the minister and performed the orders of Kapto. Important role in the struggle between the Minister and partocrat played the Soviet secret police – the KGB. Herewith relations with the KGB used as one, and the other party to the conflict.

Bezklubenko with undisguised contempt belonged to his boss Kapto. In his opinion Kapto was uncultured, ignorant and not clever person. At the same time, among soviet "nobility" considered the norm to zealous attitude to the

guidance, despite its moral, intellectual and professional qualities, always shew him respect. Bezklubenko thought that business skills are fundamental to the effective management. But for political culture of the nomenclature most important quality was loyalty to their social class. The permanent struggle for power was the essence of its existence.

Minister Bezklubenko had very strong position at the highest level of the Communist Party of Ukraine. This is

evidenced by the inclusion of the Minister to the honorary electoral nomenclature – Central Committee and Parliament of Ukraine. Political friends of Bezklubenko were, in particular, Prodan and Vrublevski assistants of the first Secretary Shcherbytsky , second Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine Sokolov. Loyal to the minister was, credibly, Shcherbytsky. Perhaps, the first Secretary was impressed professionalism and fought of rebellious Bezclubenko. But, conflict between veiws on the political culture of Bezklubenko, and version of political culture of the nomenclature as social class , was obvious. Therefore, when Vrublevsky had lost confidence in the Minister of Culture, discrepancy political culture of nomenclature was the reason for dismissal from the post of Bezklubenko.

Тhе book of Bezclubenko "Nomenclature Kamasutra. Office Romance in Brezhnev period " is a valuable source

for the study of political culture in Soviet Ukraine in 60-80 years of XX century. Despite the fact that the author not

considering the nomenclature as class, however, clearly reveals specificity of political management of soviet chiefs.

Using specific examples, he shows the parasitic nature of nomenclature, disdain of professionalism in their environment of professionalism, trampling of rule of Law, mimicry of democracy, obsession own career interests, communication like in the mafia among the nomenclature bosses.