The Soviet Political Elite 1917–1922

The ‘October Revolution’ gave Russia a new political elite, manifesting very limited continuity with the elite that preceded it. This article has focused on the characteristics of this elite not at the top leadership level but at the level of the few hundred who were most significantly politically at the national stage and the few thousand who were most significant politically in the provinces. The data show that the Revolution dramatically widened access to the political elite for the following overlapping categories of the population, whose access had been limited or minimal before 1917: (a) members of revolutionary parties; (b) very young adults; (c) persons drawn from lower social strata, notably workers and peasants; (d) the poorly-educated; (e) non-Russians; (f) women.