  the communist party of the soviet union (), abbreviated in english as cpsu, was the founding and ruling political party of the union of soviet socialist republics (ussr). the cpsu was the sole governing party of the soviet union until 1990 when the supreme soviet of the soviet union annulled the law which granted the cpsu a monopoly over the political system. the party was founded in 1912 by the bolsheviks, the majority faction of the russian social democratic labour partya revolutionary group led by vladimir lenin which seized power in the aftermath of the october revolution of 1917. the party was dissolved on 29 august 1991 as a result of the failed coup d'Ã©tat earlier that month. the cpsu was organized around the idea of democratic centralism, a principle conceived by lenin that entails democratic and open discussion of policy issues and the requirement of unity in upholding agreed policies. the highest body within the cpsu was the party congress, which convened every five years. when the congress was not in session, the central committee was the highest body. because the central committee met twice a year, most day-to-day duties and responsibilities were vested in the [[politburo of the communist party of the soviet union|p
1912_establishments_in_Russia Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union Communist_parties_in_the_Soviet_Union Eastern_Bloc Parties_of_single-party_systems Political_parties_disestablished_in_1991 Political_parties_established_in_1912 Soviet_internal_politics