Northwestern Bureau Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party

(Bolshevik), an organ of the party Central Committee for directing local party organizations in the provinces of Petrograd, Novgorod, Pskov, Murmansk, Cherepovets, and Olonets (the last province being abolished in 1922) and in the Karelian Workers’ Commune (known as the Karelian ASSR from 1923).

In April 1921 in Petrograd, the Central Committee of the RCP(B) created the Northern Bureau of the Central Committee, consisting of five members; in October 1921 the bureau was renamed the Northwestern Bureau of the Central Committee. The bureau was the authorized representative of the Central Committee and was responsible for the organization of work in the provinces. Its members were chosen from among members of the Central Committee or responsible local party leaders, and all were individually confirmed by the Central Committee. The bureau assisted party organizations in consolidating their ranks, eliminating shortcomings, and resolving contradictions and discord in the work of economic, administrative, and military agencies. It also handled the records and assignments of cadres, assisted in their perfection, and guided educational work. It kept the Central Committee regularly informed of the state of affairs in the areas under its jurisdiction and reported to the Central Committee on its own work. At the first Leningrad oblast party conference (Nov. 15–19, 1927), the bureau was disbanded and replaced by the Leningrad oblast committee of the ACP(B).