Supreme policy-making body of the
The first Politburo, created in 1917 to provide leadership during the Bolshevik uprising, was dissolved when the coup was accomplished. The party congress of 1919 instructed the Central Committee to elect a new Politburo, which soon overshadowed the Central Committee in power. In 1952 it was replaced by a larger Presidium of the Central Committee; after Joseph Stalin 's death, stress was placed on "collective leadership" to correct for his abuses. The name Politburo was revived in 1966. Its members included the general secretary of the Communist Party, the minister of defense, the head of the {{link=KGB">KGB , and the heads of the most important republics or urban party branches. It was dissolved with the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.