p Comrades, in the implementation of the Party’s policy, one of the most important places is occupied by the primary Party organisations. In our Party we now have over 370,000 primary organisations, or 45,000 more than on the eve of the 23rd Congress. During the period under review the CC CPSU, the Central Committees of the Communist Parties of the Union republics and the territorial and regional Party committees accorded these basic Party units constant attention. The work of a number of primary Party organisations functioning at enterprises and establishments in various branches of the national economy and state administration was discussed in the CC CPSU. The decisions adopted on these questions were the result of a study of local experience, of living practice. They helped the Party organs and the primary organisations to take presentday requirements more fully into consideration and concentrate on resolving the main tasks. This is all the more important because we still have organisations that work poorly, do not display the needed initiative and reconcile themselves to shortcomings.

p Steps have been taken to improve the structure of the primary organisations. For example, Party committees have been set up in the railway junctions and integrated Party organisations have been formed in production 433 amalgamations and trusts. By way of an experiment, enlarged Party committees have been elected in some primary organisations that have more than a thousand Communists.

p It is necessary to continue enhancing the influence of the primary Party organisations on the work of factories and offices. In this connection the numerous suggestions from Communists and Party committees that the provision in the CPSU Rules on the right to control the activities of the management should be specified merit attention. Here the question is that besides the Party organisations in production this right should be enjoyed by the primary Party organisations at research institutes, educational establishments and cultural and medical institutions. (Applause.) As regards the Party organisations at central and local government and economic institutions and departments, they must control the activity of the apparatus fulfilling the directives of the Party and the Government. (Applause.)

p It goes without saying that in exercising control account must be taken of the specifics of the given enterprise or institution. For example, the Party organisations at ministries evidently cannot directly influence the activities of the enterprises and institutions within the jurisdiction of the given ministry. But it is the direct duty of the Party organisation to control the organisation of the work in the ministry itself and the observance of Party "and state discipline by its personnel.

p The work aimed at improving the structure and activity of local Party organisations continued during the period under review. Nine regional Party committees were formed, chiefly in the Central Asian republics, and 21 town, 38 urban district and 291 rural district committees were set up. The formation of new Party organisations and their leading organs made it possible to intensify the Party’s influence in a number of important sectors. Their apparatus was formed chiefly from the existing personnel. In this connection I should like to say that whereas during the past 14 years the CPSU membership doubled, increasing from 7 to 14 million, the staff of the Party apparatus was reduced by more than 20 per cent.

p At present in the CPSU there are 14 Central Committees of the Communist Parties of the Union republics, 6 territorial committees, 142 regional committees, 10 area 434 committees, 760 town committees, 448 urban district committees and 2,810 rural district committees.

p There are full grounds for declaring that if always and in everything our Party comes forward as a close-knit, monolithic force, acts confidently in the country and on the international scene and successfully copes with the tasks confronting it, this is due to a huge extent to the fact that the republican, territorial, regional, area, town and district Party organisations steadily implement the Party’s policy and are a reliable mainstay of the CC CPSU. (Stormy, prolonged applause.)

p Comrades, during the preparations for this Congress the Communists put forward many suggestions aimed at further strengthening all links of the Party, removing shortcomings in its work and improving inner-Party life. A considerable number of these suggestions must be utilised directly on the spot. Some concern the Party as a whole and should be examined at this Congress. I have mentioned one of them in connection with the question of enhancing the role of primary Party organisations. Permit me now to dwell on another suggestion.

p Many comrades feel that regular congresses of the CPSU should be convened not once in four years but once in five years. (Cries of "Hear, hear!”) It seems to us that there are grounds for raising this question. By convening congresses once every five years the CPSU would be in a position to sum up the results and chart the tasks of each five-year period in accordance with our practice of planning economic development. (Applause.)

p It is suggested that congresses of the Communist Parties of the Union republics should likewise be convened every five years. As regards territorial, regional, area, town and district Party conferences, they could be held twice in the five-year period between congresses, in other words, once in two or three years. Moreover, it would evidently be expedient to establish the same periodicity also for election meetings and conferences in primary Party organisations that have their own committees. (Applause.) In all the other primary and shop Party organisations election meetings should be held annually as before.

p If these suggestions are approved by the Congress delegates they could be entered into the Rules of the CPSU. (Applause)

p Comrades, the raising of the level of leadership bearing on all aspects of social life, and of the organisational and political work among the masses is inseparably linked with an improvement of the selection, placing and training of cadres. In this respect our Party now has immense possibilities. The political consciousness, education and professional training of workers, collective farmers and intellectuals have risen to a higher level. It is from them, from the thick of the people, that the Party promotes talented and able leaders for all sectors of communist construction. Over 80 per cent of the present secretaries of the Central Committees of the Communist Parties of the Union republics, and of the territorial and regional committees, of the chairmen of the Councils of Ministers and of the territorial and regional executive committees, and nearly 70 per cent of the ministers and chairmen of the state committees of the USSR began their careers as workers or peasants. Among the directors of the largest industrial enterprises in the country more than half were once workers.

p During the period under review many new people have been promoted to Party, government and economic work in the centre and in the localities, and the cadres have been renewed or augmented with fresh blood.

p The secretaries of some territorial and regional committees, the chairmen of some regional executive committees and other functionaries from republican, territorial and regional organs have been promoted to posts in central bodies such as ministers, chairmen of state committees and other leading positions. In recent years the CC has also taken steps to send Party and government functionaries to reinforce the cadres working abroad.

p Many new comrades with an excellent political and specialist training have been promoted to the leadership of Party and government bodies in the localities, including the posts of first secretaries of the Central Committees of the republican Communist Parties, and of territorial and regional committees. Moreover, the Central Committee has consistently followed the line of promoting local functionaries; people from the centre were appointed to these posts only in exceptional cases. This practice of selecting and placing cadres is receiving the approval and support of Party organisations and all Communists. (Applause)

p The aim of our cadre policy is to promote young, 436 promising functionaries while maintaining a considerate attitude to veteran cadres and making the maximum use of their experience and knowledge. This is a mandatory condition of the consistency of the Party political line and of its revolutionary traditions. In the work with cadres the practice today is to combine trust and respect for people with principled exactingness. This produces a businesslike, comradely atmosphere and allows cadres to display their capabilities more fully.

p Life is continuously making greater demands on cadres. We need people who combine a high level of political consciousness with a sound professional training, people who can knowledgeably tackle the problems of economic and cultural development and are well-versed in modern methods of management.

p In cadres the Party has always highly valued such a quality as the feeling for the new. To have this feeling means to see the prospects of development, to look into the future and find the surest ways of resolving problems as they arise. This quality is particularly important today, when swift and far-reaching changes are taking place in social life and production.

p The organisation and education of people occupy a prominent place in the work of our leading cadres. Even if a leader is vested with the powers stemming from oneman authority, he cannot depend solely on the force of orders. It is no accident that our Party constantly stresses the need for an organic link between managerial and educational work. It demands that leading cadres should constantly think of the educational effects of the economic and administrative decisions adopted by them..

p It sometimes happens that a leading cadre suddenly gets the idea that all the secrets of life are open to him, that he knows everything. That is when he begins issuing instructions on all questions, ordering people about, instead of skilfully using the experience and knowledge of others. We have long had skilled cadres capable of correctly resolving the problems within their competence. We must put more trust in them and, correspondingly, more must be asked of them.

p The combination of collective leadership with personal responsibility for the assigned work is an indispensable condition of the growth and education of cadres, of the 437 correct organisation of our entire work. While promoting the collegial principle in the leadership we must, at the same time, remember that one of the basic principles of management, as it was formulated by V. I. Lenin and as our Party understands it, is that "a definite person is fully responsible for some specified work".  [437•1  (Applause.) Wellorganised control of the fulfilment of the directives of the Party and the government plays an important role in enhancing the personal responsibility of cadres.

p One of our key tasks is to enhance the discipline and responsibility of cadres. We have in mind discipline founded not on fear, not on methods of ruthless administration which deprive people of confidence and initiative, and engender a play for safety and dishonesty. What we have in mind is discipline founded on a high level of consciousness and responsibility of people. As regards cadres who violate discipline, fail to draw conclusions from criticism and behave incorrectly, the necessary measures must be taken against them. (Applause.) In our country leading posts are not reserved to anybody for ever. Socialist discipline is the same for all members of society; it is mandatory for one and all. (Applause.)

p A substantial step towards improving the work with cadres was the creation of a large network of permanently operating courses for the training and re-training of Party and government functionaries. During the period under review these courses were finished by nearly 200,000 persons. Refresher institutes, departments and courses have been set up for economic executives and specialists. An Institute for National Economic Management in which the leading cadres of our industry, including ministers, will improve their knowledge, has recently been opened. In our country the retraining of cadres has never before been conducted on such a scale and it has never involved so many people.

p But independent work, naturally, has been and remains the basic method of study. To keep pace with life all our cadres must constantly study, raise their ideological and theoretical level and master the achievements of science and advanced practice.

At all stages of the struggle for the building of the new society our cadres have always been equal to the task and 438 justified the trust placed in them. We are firmly confident that they will continue to implement the Party’s policy skilfully and perseveringly and serve the people with dedication. (Stormy applause.)