Universities of Marxism-Leninism

educational institutions on the highest level of the system of party education.

Most students in universities of Marxism-Leninism are employed in party and soviet organizations, in various branches of the economy, or in various cultural occupations. They pursue their studies, which last from two to three years, while continuing their normal work. Appointments to the staffs of universities of Marxism-Leninism are made by the committees of the CPSU with which the universities are associated. Students—whether party or Komsomol members or people who do not belong to the party—are accepted on the recommendation of primary party organizations. Most students already have a higher education.

The academic year in universities of Marxism-Leninism begins on October 1 and ends in June. The universities have three departments: a general department, a department for people occupying leading positions in the party and the economy, and a department for propagandists. The curriculum includes the history of the CPSU, political economy, dialectical and historical materialism, scientific communism, and current problems of the CPSU’s economic policy. Pertinent aspects of industrial management, party and Soviet construction, literature, and art are also dealt with. Other subjects include social psychology, the foundations of Soviet legislation, Soviet foreign policy, and contemporary international relations. Universities of Marxism-Leninism carry out their work in accordance with plans approved by the Central Committee of the CPSU. Students at the universities attend lectures and seminars and carry out independent study of the classic works of Marxism-Leninism, party documents, and educational literature. Upon completion of their studies, the students are awarded diplomas.

The first universities of Marxism-Leninism were founded in 1938 in order to provide cadres with ideological and theoretical training and to further their Marxist-Leninist education. In 1940 there were approximately 40 universities of Marxism-Leninism with a total enrollment of 12,000. By 1956 the number of these universities had increased to 288, with 149,000 students enrolled. During the 1974–75 academic year, there were 352 universities of Marxism-Leninism with a total enrollment of approximately 334,000 students, of whom 209,661 were members of the CPSU.