POLITBURO
1917 - 1991

The politburo was the governing body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

The head of the Communist Party was the Central Committee. The head of the Central Committee was the Politburo.

Members of the first politburo were Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin. Other well-known members in later years were Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin.

Other communist countries have (or had) politburos as well, China for example.

See more under Communism