Party Week

the mass admission of workers and peasants into the RCP(B) in the autumn of 1919 during one of the most difficult periods of the Civil War and the military intervention of 1918–20.

Party Week was first conducted in the Petrograd organization of the RCP(B) from August 10 to 17, then in the Moscow provincial organization from September 20 to 28. Based on the initial experiences of Party Week, a plenary session of the Central Committee of the RCP(B) on September 26 resolved to conduct Party Week in all cities and villages and in the army. The Central Committee’s letter of September 30 to all party organizations, “About Party Week,” indicated that during Party Week only workers, Red Army members, sailors, and peasants should be admitted into the party. Questions of admission into the party and the duration of Party Week in individual areas were decided by local party organizations. As a result of Party Week more than 200,000 people (more than 50 percent of them workers) joined the party in the 38 provinces of the European part of the RSFSR, and approximately 70,000 people joined from the active Red Army units.