Pravda is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the country with a circulation of 11 million. The newspaper began publication on 5 May 1912 in the Russian Empire, but was already extant abroad in January 1911. It emerged as the leading government newspaper of the Soviet Union after the October Revolution. The newspaper was an organ of the Central Committee of the CPSU between 1912 and 1991.
First issue, 5 May 1912 (22 April 1912 OS)
First published Pravda dated 5 May 1912 (22 April 1912 OS)
A delegate at Bolshevik 17th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party holding a Pravda newspaper in 1934
A soldier reading Pravda during the Second World War, late 1941
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the highest organ of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between two congresses. According to party statutes, the committee directed all party and governmental activities. The Party Congress elected its members.
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
CPSU Central Committee staff headquarters in 1920s-1991, current Administration of the President of Russia at Staraya Square.
The victors of the 15th Congress; Rykov (left), Mykola Skrypnik (center) and Stalin (right)
Stalin on 1937 portrait. Under his rule the Central Committee lost effective control over policymaking.
