Apparatchik
| Russian term | |
| Translit | apparatchik |
|---|---|
| English | functionary |
Apparatchik (Russian: аппара́тчик, Russian pronunciation: [ɐpɐˈratɕɪk] plural apparatchiki) is a Russian colloquial term for a full-time, professional functionary of the Communist Party or government; i.e., an agent of the governmental or party "apparat" (apparatus) that held any position of bureaucratic or political responsibility, with the exception of the higher ranks of management. James Billington describes one as "a man not of grand plans, but of a hundred carefully executed details."[1] It often is considered a derogatory term.[2]
Members of the "apparat" were frequently transferred between different areas of responsibility, usually with little or no actual training for their new areas of responsibility. Thus, the term apparatchik, or "agent of the apparatus" was usually the best possible description of the person's profession and occupation.[3]
Not all apparatchiks held lifelong positions. Many only entered such positions in middle age.[4]
Today this term is also used in contexts other than Soviet Union. For example, it is often used to describe people who cause bureaucratic bottlenecks in otherwise efficient organizations.[citation needed] It is also frequently used to describe individuals, appointed to positions in any government, on the basis of ideological or political loyalty rather than competence.[citation needed]
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[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ James H. Billington, Fire in the minds of men, Transaction Publishers, 1999, p. 455, ISBN 0765804719, 9780765804716
- ^ Raymond Pearson, The rise and fall of the Soviet Empire, Palgrave Macmillan, p. xx, 1998, ISBN 0312174071
- ^ Roland Huntford, The new totalitarians, Chapter 7 "The Rule of the Apparatchiks," Stein and Day, 1972, p. 135, ISBN 0812814088, 9780812814088.
- ^ David Stuart Lane, Cameron Ross, The transition from communism to capitalism: ruling elites from Gorbachev to Yeltsin, Palgrave Macmillan, 1999, p. 25-26, ISBN 0312216122, 9780312216122
[edit] Further reading
- Zbigniew Brzezinski, Samuel P. Huntington, Political power: USA/USSR, Viking Press, 1964, p. 142, 150, 172.
[edit] External links
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Look up apparatchik in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- Robert Shea, Empire of the Rising Scum, essay on apparatchiks by author/journalist on BobShea.net personal web site.
