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The '''Politburo''' (<u>polit</u>ical <u>bur</u>eau) is the highest ruling body in Socialist entities including the former [[USSR]][http://www.encyclopediaproject.net/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev#Early_life_and_political_career] It is an [[oligarchy]]. In Soviet politics, there were three competing centers of power: the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] ([[CPSU]]), the Committee for State Security or [[KGB]], and the Soviet Military.  The people of the [[Soviet Union]] were excluded from participation in the political process and without political [[rights]].

The '''Politburo''' (<u>polit</u>ical <u>bur</u>eau) is the highest ruling body in Socialist entities including the former [[USSR]][http://www.encyclopediaproject.net/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev#Early_life_and_political_career] It takes the place of a legislature, supreme court, executive, and God under Socialist theory.

 

In Soviet politics, there were three competing centers of power: the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] ([[CPSU]]), the Committee for State Security or [[KGB]], and the Soviet Military.  The people of the [[Soviet Union]] were excluded from participation in the political process and without political [[rights]].

The CPSU dominated political control, yet could not govern alone. The KGB, described as "the sword and shield of the Party" controlled the apparatus of the state security [[Police state|police]] and its Corrective Labor Camps, or [[Gulag]]s, for dissenters and other persons who may have had some difficulty cooperating with the Soviet regime.  The Soviet Military, a large force in numbers though not ideologically driven as Party members were, represented the only real threat to Communist domination and control of the Soviet system.  Thus KGB also functioned as a counterbalance to keep the Soviet Military in check.  And the mass of Soviet people were excluded from any meaningful role in political affairs.

The CPSU dominated political control, yet could not govern alone. The KGB, described as "the sword and shield of the Party" controlled the apparatus of the state security [[Police state|police]] and its Corrective Labor Camps, or [[Gulag]]s, for dissenters and other persons who may have had some difficulty cooperating with the Soviet regime.  The Soviet Military, a large force in numbers though not ideologically driven as Party members were, represented the only real threat to Communist domination and control of the Soviet system.  Thus KGB also functioned as a counterbalance to keep the Soviet Military in check.  And the mass of Soviet people were excluded from any meaningful role in political affairs.