Politburo: Difference between revisions

[[File:Execute 346 Politburo passes.jpg|thumb|274px|The Soviet Politburo passes a resolution to execute 346 "enemies of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|CPSU]] and the Soviet Government" who led "counter-revolutionary, pro-trotskyistTrotskyist, plotting and spying activities", signed by secretary [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]], 17 January 1940.]]

A '''politburo''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɒ|l|ɪ|t|b|j|ʊər|oʊ|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-politburo.wav}}) or '''political bureau''' is the highest political organ of the [[executivecentral committee]] forin [[communistCommunist party|communist parties]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/politburo |title=Received 2012-02-02 |publisher=Merriam-webster.comCitation needed|date=2012-08-31March |access-date=2014-06-162024}}</ref> It is present in most former and existing [[Communist state|communist states]].

The term "''politburo"'' in English comes from the [[Russian language|Russian]] ''politbyuro'' ({{lang|ru|политбюро}}), itself aan contractionabbreviation of ''politicheskoye byuro'' ({{lang|ru|политическое бюро}}, "Political'political Bureau"bureau'). The [[Spanish language|Spanish]] term ''Politburó'' is directly [[loan wordLoanword|loaned]] from Russian, as is the [[German language|German]] ''Politbüro''. [[Chinese language|Chinese]] uses a [[calque]] ({{zh|c=政治局|p=Zhèngzhìjú}}), from which the [[Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary|Vietnamese]] ({{lang|vi|Bộ Chính trị}} "{{lang|vi-Hani|部政治"}}), and [[Sino-Korean vocabulary|Korean]] ({{lang|ko|정치국, 政治局}} ''Jeongchiguk'') terms derive.

The first politburo was created in [[Russia]] by the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Bolshevik Party]] in 1917 during the [[Russian Revolution]] that occurred during that year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/ussr/cpsu/politburo_hist.php |title=USSR: Communist Party: Politburo |publisher=Archontology.org |access-date=2014-06-16 |archive-date=5 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200105193012/http://www.archontology.org/nations/ussr/cpsu/politburo_hist.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/467548/Politburo |title=Politburo (Soviet political body) – Encyclopædia Britannica |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |date=2013-04-24 |access-date=2014-06-16}}</ref> The first Politburo had seven members: [[Vladimir Lenin]], [[Grigory Zinoviev]], [[Lev Kamenev]], [[Leon Trotsky]], [[Joseph Stalin]], [[Grigori Sokolnikov]], and [[Andrei Bubnov]].<ref>Dmitri Volkogonov, ''Lenin. A New Biography'', translated and edited by Harold Shukman (New York: The Free Press, 1994), p. 185.</ref>

During the 20th century, politburos were established in most Communist states. They included the politburos of [[Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|the USSR]], [[Politburo of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany|East Germany]], [[Politburo of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]], and [[Czechoslovak Socialist Republic|Czechoslovakia]]. SeveralToday, there are five countries stillthat have a politburo system in operation: [[Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party|China]], [[Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea|North Korea]], [[Politburo of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party|Laos]], [[Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam|Vietnam]], and [[Politburo of the Communist Party of Cuba|Cuba]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geography.about.com/od/lists/tp/communistcountries.htm |title=A List of Current Communist Countries |publisher=Geography.about.com |date=2014-05-29 |access-date=2014-06-16 |archive-date=16 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161216230655/http://geography.about.com/od/lists/tp/communistcountries.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>