page_title: Sergo Ordzhonikidze
section_title: Rabkrin and Control Commission
hierarchical_section_title: Sergo Ordzhonikidze / Rabkrin and Control Commission
caption_attribution_description: English: XIV party Conference. From left to right: Mikhail Lashevich, Mikhail Frunze, Vlas Chubar, Alexei Rykov, Klim Voroshilov, Joseph Stalin, Mykola Skrypnyk, Andrei Bubnov and Sergo Ordzhonikidze Русский: Группа товарищей позирует для памятного снимка на XIV партконференции, апрель 1925 г. На снимке слева направо Михаил Лашевич, Михаил Фрунзе, Влас Чубарь, Алексей Рыков, Климент Ворошилов, Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин, Николай Скрыпник, Андрей Бубнов, Серго Орджоникидзе, Иосиф Уншлихт. Deutsch: Mitglieder der Führungsriege der KPdSU(b) posieren für ein Erinnerungsfoto auf der XIV. Parteikonferenz. Von links nach rechts Michael Laschewitsch , Michail Frunse , Vlas Chubar , Alexei Rykow , Kliment Woroschilow , Stalin und Nikolai Skrypnyk , Andrei Bubnow , Sergo Ordschonikidse abgebildet . Español: XIVª Conferencia del PCUS, abril 1925. De izquierda a derecha: Mijaíl Lashévich, Mijaíl Frunze, Vlas Chubar, Alekséi Rýkov, Kliment Voroshílov, Iósif Stalin, Mykola Skrýpnyk, Andréi Búbnov, Sergó Ordzhonikidze, Józef Unszlicht.
context_page_description: Sergo Konstantinovich Ordzhonikidze, born Grigol Konstantines dze Ordzhonikidze, was a Georgian Bolshevik and Soviet politician.
  Born and raised in Georgia, Ordzhonikidze joined the Bolsheviks at a young age, and quickly rose within the ranks to become an important figure. Arrested and imprisoned several times by the Russian police, he was in Siberian exile when the February Revolution began in 1917. Returning from exile, Ordzhonikidze took part in the October Revolution that brought the Bolsheviks to power. During the subsequent Civil War he played an active role as the leading Bolshevik in the Caucasus, overseeing the invasions of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia. He backed their union into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, which helped form the Soviet Union in 1922, and served as the First Secretary of the TSFSR until 1926.
  Promoted to lead the Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate, Ordzhonikidze moved to Moscow and joined the inner circle of top Bolsheviks. Tasked with overseeing Soviet economic production, Ordzhonikidze led a massive overhaul of Rabkrin and its associated bodies, noting inefficiencies within the Supreme Soviet of the National Economy.
context_section_description: In 1926 Ordzhonikidze was named the head of the Central Control Commission of the Communist Party and of the Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate (known by its Russian acronym Rabkrin). Though initially reluctant to take up the positions, as it meant a move to Moscow, Ordzhonikidze was forced to do so by Stalin, who told him to either accept the post or become First Secretary of the North Caucasus, which would have been a downgrade in status and prestige. Historian Oleg V. Khlevniuk speculated that Ordzhonikidze was not interested in taking over Rabkrin as it meant leaving the quiet of a low-key post in the Caucasus and getting intimately involved in the drama and politics at the highest levels. 
  As the head of Rabkrin, Ordzhonikidze replaced Valerian Kuybyshev, who took over the Supreme Soviet of the National Economy (known as Vesenkha, after its Russian acronym, VSNKh). At the same time as this appointment, Ordzhonikidze was named a candidate member of the Politburo, the executive committee of the Communist Party, though technically his position as head of the Central Control Commission should have precluded that, as there was supposed to be a separation between the two offices.
  The purpose of Rabkrin was meant to ensure the Soviet economy worked properly, in that it oversaw planning and implementation, budgetary considerations, and administrative policies. Under Kuybyshev, Rabkrin had become rather ineffective and was primarily focused on administrative theory rather than firm action, in part because the economic situation of the Soviet Union had improved by 1926. Initially unfamiliar with the field, Ordzhonikidze quickly educated himself on the best means to utilize Rabkrin and re-oriented its focus towards industry, specifically overseeing the workings of Vesenkha. In a speech he gave to Rabkrin officials shortly after taking over, Ordzhonikidze stated they had two main duties: to fight bureaucratization of the state and economic apparatus and to "review the whole complex of the state system".
  Between 1927 and 1930, Rabkrin launched hundreds of investigations into the workings of the Soviet economy. Historian Sheila Fitzpatrick has noted that during this period it looked at "the oil industry, the chemical industry (twice), precious metals, capital construction in industry, repair and re-equipment of industry, planning in industry, delivery of imported equipment, use of foreign experts, the design bureau of the metallurgical industry, diesels, coal, steel, textiles Vesenkha's major industrial trusts, in addition to drafting a radical reform structure of industrial administration". Reports would be presented to the highest authorities, and frequently included the Politburo and Central Committee. At the other end Ordzhonikidze was sought out by factory managers, who would present grievances and petitions in hopes of getting help from Rabkrin.
  Ordzhonikidze revitalized Rabkrin; it became a powerful tool within the Soviet Union, and by the end of the 1920s was the centre of state industrial policy-making, usurping that role from Vesenkha. This role became more prominent during the first five-year plan, an economic development plan that began in 1929. While Vesenkha was tasked with implementing the high targets of the plan, Rabkrin oversaw everything and ensured that industrial production was increased while keeping costs down. This caused friction between the two bodies, Vesenkha complaining that they could not work with such interference, made worse by Rabkrin investigations of alleged wreckers and counter-revolutionaries. These disputes reached a peak at the 16th Party Congress in June 1930, where Ordzhonikidze gave a speech outlining Kuybyshev and Vesenkha's failures in industry.
caption: Sergo Ordzhonikidze (right) at the 14th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party in 1925
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