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PMUNC 2015
Cuban Missile Crisis JCC: USSR
Chair: Jacob Sackett-Sanders
JCC PMUNC 2015
Contents
Chair Letter…………………………………………………………………...3
Introduction……………….………………………………………………….4
Topics of Concern………………………...………………….………………6 The Space Race…...……………………………....………………….....6 The Third World...…………………………………………...... ………7 The Eastern Bloc………………………………………………………9 The Chinese Communists…………………………………………….10 De-Stalinization and Domestic Reform………………………………11
Committee Members….……………………………………………………..13
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Chair’s Letter
Dear Delegates,
It is my great pleasure to give you an early welcome to PMUNC 2015. My name is Jacob, and I’ll be your chair, helping to guide you as you take on the role of the Soviet political elites circa 1961.
Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, at Princeton I study Slavic Languages and Literature. The Eastern Bloc, as well as Yugoslavia, have long been interests of mine. Our history classes and national consciousness often paints them as communist enemies, but in their own ways, they too helped to shape the modern world that we know today. While ultimately failed states, they had successes throughout their history, contributing their own shares to world science and culture, and that’s something I’ve always tried to appreciate. Things are rarely as black and white as the paper and ink of our textbooks.
During the conference, you will take on the role of members of the fictional Soviet Advisory Committee on Centralization and Global Communism, a new semi-secret body intended to advise the Politburo and other major state organs. You will be given unmatched power but also faced with a variety of unique challenges, such as unrest in the satellite states, an economy over-reliant on heavy industry, and a geopolitical sphere of influence being challenged by both the USA and an emerging Communist China. You will have the opportunity to celebrate uniquely Soviet victories, such as the first successful manned space mission, and hopefully you will be able to engineer even greater successes. And of course, you will be forced to deal with the political games and maneuvering inherent in a bureaucratic system like the USSR, where who you know can be even more important than what you know.
Throughout the conference, I encourage you to push the limits of history. It is a historical simulation, not a retelling. Remain true to your character, but test the boundaries. Explore opportunities. And craft an alternate history for yourself. That, in the end, is the real delight in Model United Nations. Doing what wasn’t, and having a moment to revel in the big what ifs. And believe me, there will be plenty of what ifs over the course of the conference.
The details, for now, I’ll leave to your imagination. Until then, Comrades.
Sincerely, Jacob A. Sackett-Sanders
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JCC: USA
Introduction
Greetings, Comrade!
You have been chosen as a select member of the newly forged Soviet Advisory Committee on Centralization and Global Communism (SKCK). It is a new, secret gathering of the greatest Soviet minds, intended to function effectively behind closed doors, combining top expertise from the major state organs with a flawless efficiency unhindered by the bureaucratic nature of the Party Mechanisms (which remain in place as a cumbersome but necessary part of our development toward the final Worker’s Revolution.) While on this committee, you will be subordinate to nothing and no one except the greater ideals of our
Union, made manifest in our chair, Comrade Nikita Khrushchev himself.
That said, you are still a member of the Party and a citizen of our grand Soviet Union. In our halls your speech will be uncensored and your loyalty unquestioned, but your actions will be held accountable to the ideals you profess to hold, and the state organs may take their toll on any who are unable to defend their actions with results. The system exists merely as an extension of the Workers themselves, a collective striving against the excesses of Capitalism and unchecked religion. So while you are being granted a great freedom, a chance to be an actor outside the shadow of the Presidium and the Central Committee and even the
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Supreme Soviet, remember that the Worker is an eternal, beloved knife above us all, simultaneously the threat of our own annihilation but also the tool with which we are most able to cut this dark and corrupt world into an ideal world. The hammer and the sickle remain our symbolic mantra. We build for the Proletariat; cut down all those who would stand in our way. No man who loves Communism is a foe, be he from East or West; no enemy of our state is a Communist, no matter what his lips and hands may seek to say or write.
With that, I welcome you to the SKCK. Attached is a political dossier, intended for your eyes only. It will help prepare you for the first meeting of the committee. Many different forces will be at play; many diverging opinions will vie for attention and action. With you, you bring your entire network of friends, associates, and civil or political associations. This document will help you understand at least a fraction of what your fellow committee members are bringing as well. The full details I will leave to you to find out on your own.
Tread carefully.
Glory to Lenin!
Yakov Vukovich Sadzakov
First Secretary of the SKCK
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capture not just the attention but the very
Topics of Concern hearts of the world.
The Space Race Beyond the real, moral victories of our
current path, (which prove once again that
It was with the great power and ingenuity we march with the full weight of history of true Socialist Labor that the Soviet behind us), we must also consider our
Union succeeded in launching the first future trajectory. The development of satellite, Sputnik, up into the cosmos. In advanced rocketry has been expensive, that one fell swoop, we captured the and the advances in our ability to project attention of the world, showing the First, our power into space have been marred
Second, and Third World alike the heights by the uncertainty of what exactly to do. of what we are able to accomplish. To be Some suggest the mobilization of space sure, it terrified the capitalist Western itself into a weapon against the soulless dogs, who have since attempted to match systems of oppression in the West; others our progress, albeit with varying success. suggest that space may provide a new
But they know not what we have in store, opportunity and venue to develop never as the final touches are being put on our before thought of technologies. The first manned space flight, set to take place rockets themselves have thus far been in April. To the best of our knowledge, mainly civil in design, but it is believed this plan is still a secret to the United they may serve as templates to more
States, and we endeavor to keep it so, all efficiently deliver both nuclear and the better to use surprise and awe to traditional payloads. The Cold War front
is ever shifting, and as the cosmos is
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Mankind’s latest frontier, we must be their true, innate potential. While many vigilant and aware of how best to shape it nations, such as those of Eastern and for our use. Central Europe, have sought to make real
their own Socialist Dream from within
Do not underestimate the Americans. our great Union, there is another class of
They are capitalist pigs, but pigs willing to nation that has sought a path of their own. exploit their own people to no end in Claiming to reject the excess of West and order to maintain the illusion of legitimacy “impersonality” of East, a so called “Third and modernity. The will stop at no end to World” has begun to assert its own sense compete in such a prestigious arena as the of authority in the fractured and perilous exploration (and perhaps even realm of geopolitics. While there is little colonization) of space. The costs, already doubt that the local political elites mean high, will only spiral higher as the years go well by their machinations, it falls upon on. Ensure the plan of action we develop the Soviet Union to reassure and assert is one that will result in a victory worth the overwhelming truth of the Worker’s the costs. Goal into their viewpoints, thereby
ensuring that the global Proletariat
continues its march towards innovative
The Third World and creative self-actualization.
Since the end of the Great Patriotic War, As our agents report, there are strong we have waged a ceaseless battle against indications that later this year a
Western propaganda that seeks to prevent conference of Third World nations will be the nations of the world from realizing organized, led by non-other than the
7 JCC PMUNC 2015 heretical “communist” propagandist Josip righteous citizen into signing his own
Broz Tito. While the Soviet government papers of enslavement. We must advance now rejects the former excesses of Stalin, the cause wherever and whenever who hated Tito on a personal level and possible. erred in his extreme criticism of Tito as being a corporatist of all things, it remains Of particular note is the newly minted true that Titoist Yugoslavia represents a government of Cuba. Recent revolution perversion of the true Communist system, having overthrown the corrupt dictator almost akin to Trotskyism in its Fulgencio Batista, the new government misguidedness. Under his rule, Yugoslavia under Fidel Castro has so far failed to remains the lost lamp of the Revolution, align itself with first, second, or third attempting to somehow reconcile the world. Batista was a yes man willing to sell inherently exploitative economic systems the soul of Cuba to America, and for that of the West with the egalitarian future we we believe that the nation is in a good strive for. While it may be too late to position to align itself with the truths of bring Yugoslavia back into the fold, we Communism. We must reach out to them must make sure that this budding and help shape their destiny. They movement of so-called “Non-Aligned represent a trying but telling litmus test of
Nations” does not evolve into a pawn of our ability to sway the fragile, young the West or die a sputtering death in a nations of the Third World. Do we barren middle ground. As history as possess strength of character and trueness shown, the West has no qualms about the of ideology to sway nations to the manipulation of the innocent, and those Worker’s Cause, or will we lack the nations will tell any lie to force the fortitude and courage to throw back the
8 JCC PMUNC 2015 advance of those ideologies that would wheel of progress against itself. The soon see the worker in chains again, as Hungarian rebellion of 1956 was primarily much a serf as in the reign of Tsar a result of this systemic subterfuge,
Alexander II or an American slave though it is with pleasure that we can beneath the yoke of “Liberté”. recall our united response to this
capitalist-imperial threat (a precedence I
The Eastern Bloc hope will not be called upon again,
although I sleep well knowing that the
It is possible that you have heard the precedence exists). rumors that the Soviet Government and
Politburo are unpopular among the Moving forward, however, we must make
Eastern Bloc; I can assure you this is sure to continue integration of the patently untrue. That said, there is a Republics and strengthen our ties with growing problem with a small group of other members of the Warsaw Pact. At faux-intelligentsia who seek to rile home, the other soviets look to the nationalist passion and extinguish the example set by, above all else, the flames of class warfare (sensing, of course, Supreme Soviet. While some have levelled the inevitable victory of the Proletariat.) the claim that Russians are too well
These bourgeois and petty-bourgeois represented in positions of power, we
“thinkers” have been moderately must remind the people that nationality is successful in corrupting the youthful and merely a descriptor, and that notions of impressionable minds of local students; nationalism should not serve to separate they also seek to rally the worker in a fight us or inhibit our unity as Communists. against the Worker, thereby turning the The memories of the masses can be
9 JCC PMUNC 2015 chronically short; we should not forget example that the other Warsaw Pact that less than a generation ago we fought countries will be proud of. And where against the fascist nationalists that sought necessary, we must purge those elements to destroy us all alike. We remain multi- that would replace progress with cultural, but united in our common regressive oppression, for the very good pursuit of Revolution. of our joint Nation of Workers which
transcends any modern notion of
Abroad, our allies have begun to fall boundary or contained nation-state. victim to western propaganda. From across the divide (so ridiculously denoted The Chinese Communists
‘the Iron Curtain’ by the capitalist dogs) it can be easy to imagine that life is better or In the Far East, the great dragon grows freer ‘over there’. But what freedom can restless. It was just two years ago that there be other than man’s right to toil for Comrade Khrushchev and Comrade Mao the good of himself and his neighbor? began their open feud, each denouncing
What justice can exist other than the the other as deviant and revisionist. historic justice of the lowest rungs of Despite our sure knowledge that Comrade society rising to take their rightful places Khrushchev is a fine example of pure as the guides and beneficiaries of the great Communist ideology, it would be masses of capital which they themselves foolhardy not to admit that as China produce? Reformation is a beautiful grows in power, so too does the dream, but we must not allow reformation importance of our relationship with them. to block the progress that we have made Comrade Mao ascribes to a traditional but over the past half century. We must set an antiquated view of communism; we must
10 JCC PMUNC 2015 convince him and the Chinese Party that it Soviet progress) is to them nothing more is better to play the long game of history, than revisionist history of a great rather than to prematurely throw Communist leader. And our historical ourselves on foreign bayonets. issues (such as Tsarist annexation of
Communism will be victorious, and we Chinese land and support for Tibetan will carve out the ideal plan for that rebels) remain bad tastes in the mouths of victory, as dictated by Lenin and Marx the Chinese communists. While this before him. Nevertheless, the next several program of Soviet deficiencies is self- years will be critical in determining the evidently wrong, crafted by a provincial fate of the Second World. There is still nationalism and poor understanding of time to warm the Sino-Soviet relationship, the true guiding principles of the hopefully before the two great communist Revolution, they are the main talking nations are irreparably cut off from one points of any discussion between us. another, intellectually and politically. Surely we must do something; the Second
World must not be split, nor should
Our analysts have determined a number Communism be allowed to be perverted of points on which our party has split with once again as in the Titoist doctrines of theirs (reflecting our own the South Slavs. acknowledgment of the push and change of history.) Firstly, our emphasis on De-Stalinization and Domestic Reform keeping the peace seems to the Maoists a rejection of the inevitable state of warfare It is with great sadness that we recall the that Communism inherently demands. excess of the Stalin administration. As
Our de-Stalinization (a critical part of Khrushchev critically stated in his speech,
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Stalin is a blight that ought to be purged NKVD, they continue to play a vital role from the annals of proper communism, in maintaining the integrity of our and his supporters with him. That said, communist thought by finding and there are those who would have us reeducating those who have fallen victim moderate our reprobation, who see to Western lies. We find ourselves in the
Stalinist thought as the true successor to unfortunate situation of balancing the original Marxist-Leninist doctrine, despite need for repayment after Stalin’s crimes recognizing the errors of Stalin himself. with the political reality of moving people
There are even those among the common past the crimes of the past. And we face
Proletariat who still see him as a hero, growing pressure to liberalize, and to at even despite his many crimes against the very least increase our program of
Worker and the Party. And despite our rehabilitation, in recognition of Stalin’s current efforts of De-Stalinization, not madness. every supporter is a madman, nor every proponent unworthy of participation in The trick, however, is that the more our realization of History’s conclusion (in independence we grant the masses, the the form of this temporary Communist looser we grip the reigns of progress and state.) the Worker becomes so much more free
to stray. While this concern may seem un-
In other words, we must continue our communist, consider the context—we efforts of De-Stalinization while face an unrelenting barrage of propaganda simultaneously maintaining unity in the from the Western nations, and it is party. While the newly formed KGB is important that we steel the people for the intended to excise the extremes of the long psychological battle against the
12 JCC PMUNC 2015 temptations of a gilded oligarchic system common, however, is a belief that the that can only one day fail. It is not a USSR is threatened by a deep stagnation lacking of Communism that drives us, but that could result in the end of the very moral poverty of our enemies. Communism. To some, these concerns
They know no limit, they understand no seem overblown; after all, the USSR is in a shame. No lie or slander is too low for period of great stability and technological them, no twisting of ideology off limits. advance, and is seemingly surging ahead
While we are mere tools of the Worker, it of the USA in certain technical fields. rests on the Party to steady the hammer These men, nonetheless, maintain their that builds and the scythe that culls the views, citing a weaker national industry sick wheat from the crop. We must and claiming that the USSR will need to continue to step towards the glittering do more than de-Stalinize to keep up with future that the people demand, but also and eventually conquer the capitalist remember that no conflict is pretty, let nations of the West. While they see the alone the final, all-encompassing conflict USSR as the necessary leader of global that signals the death knell of the Communism, they are generally unwilling
Bourgeois systems. to respect what they see as deviant forms,
such as the budding Maoist thought in
Committee Members China.
Liberals Alexei Kosygin—First Deputy Premier of the
As a bloc, the liberals are neither all alike, Soviet Union nor do they all share the same exact vision A man with a long track record of of the future. What they do have in service, Kosygin is well known
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and well respected. Originally a maintains relations with industrial
mid-level bureaucrat, he and agricultural leaders
distinguished himself as an throughout the Russian Soviet.
effective organizer of people and
goods during the Great Patriotic Otto Wilhelm Kuusinen—Secretary of the
War, and was able to rise to Central Committee, Editor and Academic
several ministerial positions in the A Finn who joined the USSR
years that followed. Despite a following the military defeat of the
brief fall from grace towards the communists within his country of
end of Stalin’s rule, Kosygin later birth, Kuusinen is nominally only
formed a solid bond with a minor member of the Politburo,
Khrushchev that catapulted him but practically serves as a major
through the ranks (including a ideologue within the Soviet Union.
stint as head of Gosplan) to his As editor of The Fundamentals of
current position, where he Marxism-Leninism, Kuusinen
functions as part minister of argues for a revised and revitalized
foreign affairs and part symbol of communism that allows more
the USSR abroad. He is a staunch cultural freedom and better
communist but also exceedingly incorporates the many constituent
liberal, and supports the warming Soviet cultures. Radically, he has
of relations between East and even come to reject the
West. In addition to being one of dictatorship of the proletariat as a
the few Soviet men with path of continued progress. While
international recognition, he this is extreme, he nonetheless
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occupies a position of respect not willing to give him a chance. This
only among liberals, but also attitude has not won him any allies
among his fellow members of the among the conservative politicians
Academy of Sciences of the USSR. in the USSR, but this has not
stopped him from slowly wrestling
Andrei Gromyko—Minister of Foreign Affairs; control of the state organs related of the Order of the Red Banner to foreign affairs from the hands
If Kosygin could be said to be of less forward thinking men.
recognized abroad, Gromyko is
legitimately known and well Vladimir Semichastny—Former First Secretary
respected. A fixture in Soviet of the Central Committee and Komsomol
geopolitics since the end of the Currently a man without a sure
war, he had the distinct honor of place in the government at the
being the first representative of current moment, Semichastny
the Soviet Union in the United remains at the table of power due
Nations, where he made sure to to connections. Well-liked by
exercise the power of the Soviet Khrushchev and other upper
veto with great vigor. A practical echelon politicians, Semichastny is
man, his ideology extends only so being groomed to take over as an
far as it can serve his nation; he intelligence minister sometime in
has been known to reject the the future, perhaps even of the
extremism of conservatives both KGB itself, (if indeed Shelepin
eastern and western, and has never moves on to greater things.) He
failed to dialogue with those still exercises great influence
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within Komsomol, the youth arm and the stricter interpretation of
of the Communist Party, and his Dictatorship [of the Proletariat] used by
visions for the future are mostly Stalin and continued by some of his
predicated on a reform of national remaining supporters.
image. If the Soviet Union is to
succeed, it must rebrand itself and Anastas Mikoyan—First Deputy Chairman of
its more visible state organs as a the Council of Ministers and Hero of Socialist
response to the despicable (if Labor
effective) propaganda of the West, Another Soviet “international
particularly if the USSR hopes to man,” Mikoyan has served for
peacefully hold onto the Pact decades as a political liaison both
nations. inside and outside the Soviet
Union. Initially serving as a party
Khrushchev’s Supporters coordinator under Stalin, Mikoyan
While tempting to call Khrushchev’s oversaw the reorganization and supporters moderates, if they are integration of a number of fringe moderate, it is only because they most parties in the other soviets. closely identify Khrushchev himself as Eventually falling from grace in being moderate. All seek to find their Stalin’s eyes (likely due to his place in the current system as it stands unwillingness to purge respected now. Accordingly, most agree that de- friends and allies), Mikoyan
Stalinization was and is the correct path advanced with the times and for the USSR, and they tend to pursue a found a new place in the post- middle ground between radical change Stalin government as an advisor to
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Khrushchev and an international Though his agricultural campaigns
diplomat. Straightforward and eventually failed, the initial results
amicable, Mikoyan is well liked in were positive enough to propel
the West and retains significant him into the reaches of the
respect among the governments of Politburo. He is currently,
the entire Eastern Bloc as an nominally, the head of state in the
honorable man, known for a sense USSR, and he has extensive
of morality and justice. contacts in the space and nuclear
programs.
Leonid Brezhnev—Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet Nikolai Podgorny—First Secretary of the
In many ways Khrushchev’s Central Committee of the Communist Party of
golden boy, Brezhnev is a talented Ukraine
and powerful politician. A Ukrainian politician with
Historically, when things don’t go extensive connections in the
his way, he usually exerts enough Soviet heavy industrial sectors,
influence to have the connection Podgorny is a direct rival to
between those things and himself Brezhnev, although they formally
erased. Starting as a retired both serve Khrushchev directly.
political commissar, he rocketed He is mainly concerned with
his way through the Ukrainian revitalizing the national economy,
system into the Supreme Soviet, and especially the economy of his
where he was given assignments in native Ukraine. Generally liberal,
Kazakhstan to prove himself. he sees eye to eye with the liberal
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bloc on many things, though is access to a number of political
not quite so radical in his actions. exiles who may be willing to help
Step by step, little by little, him if he can pull a few strings in
Podgorny seeks to better the life their favor.
of himself and the common man
alike. Conservatives
The conservatives, by and large, are the
Nikolay Shvernik—Chairman of the Central staunch defenders of “True
Control Commission and ‘Shvernik’ Commission Communism.” Many of them are former
An older man, Shvernik is much Stalinists who successfully distanced
less concerned with political themselves from the man while defending
advancement than other members the strength of his policies, or at very least
of this committee, having already his ideology. As a rule, the conservatives
served as head of state under reject the notion that the Soviet Union
Stalin and having regained his seat must change its overall course, and some
on the Politburo following a go so far as to suggest that even the
period of exclusion. His role is repudiation of Stalin goes too far. There
mostly that of ideologue- must be order in the ranks, so that
bureaucrat, as he is principally Communism might present a steady and
responsible for maintaining party even face to the world.
discipline as well as the choosing
of suitable candidates for
rehabilitation who were previously
purged by Stalin. This gives him
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having somehow carved a
Mikhail Suslov—Chief Ideologue of the Party permanent place in the and Hero of Socialist Labor government for himself. If
There is no individual citizen of nothing else, when Suslov speaks,
the USSR more ideologically people listen. Not always those in
influential than Suslov. A strong the room, but there are many ears
opponent of dictatorial rule but a in the whole of the USSR.
staunch believer in the
righteousness of the difficult path Alexander Shelepin—Chairman of the
toward the final stages of Committee for State Security (KGB)
Communism, he frequently A former disciple of Stalin
pushes back against the efforts himself, Shelepin is unscrupulous
and desires of the current and unhesitating. He is willing to
Khrushchev administration. For forge documents, destroy records,
Suslov, relations with the US are and replace underlings at a
mere distractions, and efforts to moment’s notice—though all for
reform the USSR (beyond the good of the party, of course.
attempts to correct the course of He is principally responsible for
the initial path laid out by Lenin) the restructuring of the KGB to
are attempts to doom the great remove any remnant, non-party
experiment itself. Stubborn, members left over from the
ornery, and unpopular with many NKVD, replacing them instead
of the career politicians, he with loyal party members pulled
nonetheless defies all logic by from various communist youth
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organizations. He makes no secret to serve as a symbol of
of his desire to continue to rise representation for the poorer,
within the party system, but central Asian soviets.
maintains a strict communist
ideology in public. He has also Roman Rudenko—Procurator General of the
helped to organize support for Soviet Union
communist dissidents abroad, in The highest legal representative of
an attempt to continue the global the USSR, Rudenko became
revolution. famous for his brutal treatment of
collaborators and fascists
Nuritdin Mukhitdinov—Secretary of the following the end of the Great
Presidium responsible for Central Asia Patriotic War. Having served in
A staunch Stalinist who opposes the Nuremburg Trials, his
many of the actions and proposals credentials and contacts (even in
of the Khrushchev administration, the West) are impeccable. A
Mukhitdinov is notable for his former solider, he also maintains a
status as one of the few non- plethora of contacts in the KGB
European leaders amongst the from his time working closely with
upper echelons of the USSR. In the NKVD, though Shelepin’s
fact, it is this distinction that restructuring did hurt his once
preserves his spot on this incredible influence. His status
committee; despite his pro-Stalin would be unquestionable in the
views, he remains wildly popular USSR but for his conservative
in his native Uzbek, and continues pro-Stalin stance and hatred of
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perceived anti-communist liberals. as with the training of Pact forces, who
Nevertheless, as Procurator often fail to meet Soviet standards.
General, he is still an invaluable
source of legal legitimacy for any Rodion Malinovsky—Minister of Defense and
administration or state organ. Marshal of the Soviet Union
A veteran of World War I and one
Military Bloc of the generals who prevented the
While sometimes accused of being Nazis from encircling Stalingrad, apathetic to the wider issues of the Soviet Malinovsky is effective and
Union, the members of the Military Bloc bipartisan. While he generally are grounded and focused. Where others aligns himself with Khrushchev, see ideological threats, these men see he rejects the notion of using military risks. While others dream of nuclear force in all but the most supreme military technologies, these dire of circumstances. His generals tend to think more in terms of credentials, his reputation, and his numbers and manpower. This sometimes position as Minister of Defense puts them at odds with the incredibly arguably make him one of the ideological administrations of the most powerful people in the entire
Politburo, but they serve as a vital world. Luckily for the world, balancing force to the excess of central Malinovsky is a man of even bureaucracy. They are primarily concerned temper. His enduring political with the threat of being left behind by US passion is the establishment of military technology and spending, as well autonomy for the Soviet military,
free of interference from civilian
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politicians and inter-party
scheming. Dmitry Ustinov—Chairman of Military-
Industrial Commission (VPK)
Andrei Grechko—Commander in Chief of Too young to have served in the
Warsaw Pact Countries and Marshal of the First World War or the Civil War,
Soviet Union Ustinov earned a reputation for
A quieter, more soft-spoken man excellence in wartime logistics
than his colleague Malinovsky, during the Great Patriotic War.
Grechko is a Ukrainian general Over the years, he leveraged this
who, even as a youth, saw the into his current position, which
value of communism, choosing to gives him the ability to assert
fight for the Red Army in the Civil influence in any department or
War. He has since risen to the organization related to the
position of First Deputy Defense armament and supply of the USSR
Minister, and commands the and her allies. In many ways, he
Warsaw Pact armies in joint serves as a bridge between the
operations. Along with career generals such as Grechko
Malinovsky, he seeks to further and Malinovsky, the military
modernize and professionalize the industries of the Eastern Bloc, and
Soviet military, recognizing that the political committees and
reliance on rocket technology is processes of the Supreme Soviet.
insufficient for anything but An ally of both aforementioned
assuring the irradiation of most of generals (whom he at least
the civilized world. nominally served under during the
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war), Ustinov provides a practical believed to have recommended
and political force to the Military him for his current position, but it
Bloc. He is also well known for his is unknown if he has the same
personal initiative in the political leanings. As head of
acquisition and reverse Gosplan, he plays an invaluably
engineering of German military important role in setting the
tech. quotas and requirements for the
Soviet command economy. While
Unknown Factors the Politburo is in charge of
Outside of all politics and scheming, there drafting the goals of each five year is always one constant: money. The plan, Gosplan is responsible for following men are certainly not well the implementation—meaning known, nor are they powerful in the Novikov holds great, if indirect, traditional political sense, but their economic power within the USSR. expertise could not be easily replaced, and they hold as much practical sway (if not Vasily Garbuzov—Minister of Finance more), as the greatly revered generals and Although many financial decisions the surly ideologues of this committee. flow outside the control of the
Minister of Finance, the power of
Vladimir Novikov—Chairman of the State the purse eventually conquers all.
Planning Committee (Gosplan) All foreign trade and investment
Little is known about Novikov, flows through this office
politically. He has known (including investment from other
connections to Kosygin, who is countries in the Eastern Bloc), and
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Garbuzov is responsible for
ensuring that the financial
requirements for enacting
Gosplan’s 5 Year Plans are met. It
is not a glamorous position, nor
has it historically translated to
strong political power, but
Garbuzov has only just risen to
the office, and may yet make his
mark.
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