Resolution of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine “On the Note of the Party Control Committee under the Central Committee of the CPSU ‘On Gross Violations of State Discipline and the Abuse of Official Position by Many Senior Officials of Party, Soviet, and Economic Bodies in the Construction of Personal Dachas in Kherson,” May 15, 1970
After reviewing the note from the Party Control Committee of the CPSU Central Committee, the materials of an additional inspection conducted by the Party Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, and the explanations provided by Comrade Kochubei, the first secretary of the Kherson oblast party committee, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine observes: In recent years, Kherson has seen widespread gross violations in the allocation of land for collective gardens, the organization of gardening associations, and the use and development of garden plots.
Rather than establishing gardening associations at production enterprises and organizations as mandated by government resolution, more than half of these associations have been affiliated with various institutions. Only 42% of their members are workers. Numerous instances of land squatting, resale of garden plots with buildings, and enrollment of individuals already possessing private plots and houses into gardening associations have been documented.
Contrary to the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the CPSU dated December 30, 1960, which prohibited the construction of summer houses, many garden plots in Kherson have been developed into large brick houses, often equipped with heating. Significant quantities of scarce materials such as bricks, slate, timber, and metal pipes, intended for residential and industrial construction, were illegally obtained from city enterprises for use in collective gardens.
Senior officials from party, Soviet, trade union, and economic organizations in the city and oblast flagrantly violated regulations by constructing large brick dachas. Some officials not only illegally acquired materials from subordinate enterprises but also misused machinery, transportation, labor, and city construction organizations to build their personal dachas. These violations implicate numerous individuals, including the secretary of the party oblast committee, com. N, heads of departments of the blast committee, coms. N, N, the head of the city executive committee, com. N, the director of the production association […], com. N, the director of the […] plant, com. N, directors of factories […], the head of the oblast department […], com. N and others.
The first secretary […], com. N, the first secretary […], com. N, the chairman of […], com. N, the prosecutor […], com. N and his two deputies, the chairman of […], com. N and three members of the court, and other responsible employees also built their own summer houses on garden plots.
The oblast, city, and district Soviets of Workers’ Deputies in Kherson neglected their responsibility to enforce the Council of Ministers’ resolution of August 7, 1969. They failed to address violations and bring garden construction in line with approved standards.
Gross violations in land allocation, the organization of gardening associations, and widespread abuses in the construction of garden plots in Kherson occurred largely because certain leaders of oblast and city party, Soviet, trade union, and administrative bodies became preoccupied with building their own summer cottages. This distraction caused them to lose their objectivity and integrity in addressing the violations and abuses within collective gardening. They failed to respond to workers’ reports of misconduct and adopted a lenient attitude toward those who breached party and state discipline.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine resolves:
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- To reprimand Comrade Kochubei A. S., first secretary of the Kherson oblast party committee, for his lack of integrity in addressing the gross violations and abuses in collective gardening. He is strictly warned of his personal responsibility for rectifying these issues.
- To mandate the Kherson oblast party committee and oblast executive committee to enforce strict compliance with the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR dated August 7, 1969 “On the state of affairs in collective gardening of workers and employees.” To eliminate the violations committed by many senior officials of party, Soviet, economic and trade union bodies in Kherson and the oblast during the construction of their own summer houses on plots allocated for collective gardens.
- To issue reprimands to the secretary, com. N, for abusing their positions to construct garden houses and for failing to control collective gardening abuses.
- To issue reprimands to the following CPSU members for violations related to the construction of their personal summer houses on plots designated for collective gardens, as well as for failing to exercise adequate oversight to prevent abuses in collective gardening in Kherson: Com. N – Prosecutor […] and com. N – Chairman […].
- To acknowledge that, following an inspection, the Kherson Oblast Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine addressed the issue of significant violations and abuses within the city’s gardening societies and adopted a resolution on April 3, 1970:
for abusing their positions in the construction of personal houses on garden plots, com. N was expelled from the CPSU and removed from his role as director of the production association […]. A strict reprimand, with a formal note added to their records, was issued to com. N, director of […], and com. N, director of […]. The matter of dismissal was raised regarding com. N, director of […], and com. N, director of […] at the plant. Additionally, a severe reprimand, with a note in the record, was issued to com. N, general director of the production association […].
the head of the Kherson City Executive Committee, com. Yakovenko P.A., was reprimanded for failing to exercise control over the establishment of gardening associations, improper land use, and neglecting to address abuses in the construction of garden structures. Similarly, the head of the party committee at […], com. N, was reprimanded for violating established norms in the construction of his own garden house.
the bureau of the Kherson City Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine and its First Secretary, com. Balabai O.P., were called out for their lenient attitude toward communists who had violated state regulations on land use for gardening and the construction of houses.
6. To agree to uphold the decision of the Kherson Oblast Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, dated April 3, 1970, to issue a severe reprimand with an entry in the record card to the head of the […] Ministry of Internal Affairs, a member of the CPSU, com. N, for exploiting his official position for personal gain in the construction of garden houses and for the inadequate organization of efforts to combat the theft of socialist property.
To consider it necessary to strengthen the leadership of the oblast department of internal affairs*.
7. To instruct the Ukrprofrada (com. Klymenko V.K.) to enhance control over the activities of trade union organizations in the republic to ensure full compliance with the government’s requirements regarding collective gardening.
The oblast committees of the Communist Party of Ukraine and oblast executive committees were instructed to strengthen both party and state control over the implementation of decisions aimed at restoring order in collective gardening.
8. The Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR should review and decide on the prohibition of further land allocation for collective gardening across the board, as well as on the gradual dissolution of gardening societies located within cities, as the areas designated for them are developed for urban construction.
* The following is crossed out: “To instruct the oblast committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR to submit a specific proposal to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine.”
The satisfaction of Soviet citizens’ basic needs led to a growing demand for an improved quality of life, with one key indicator being access to comfortable recreation. Members of the nomenklatura became active participants in the establishment of “gardening societies,” which involved allocating land plots to factory workers for gardening and horticulture. However, the widely publicized “Kherson case” revealed that their interest lay less in gardening and more in personal comfort. Instead of allowing the construction of simple “summer-type buildings,” the nomenklatura opted for “permanent brick large summer cottages, often equipped with heating.” These practices not only violated the 1960 government decree banning the construction of such dachas but also involved the illegal use of scarce materials, as well as the misuse of official vehicles and subordinate workers.
In Kherson, high-ranking officials, including the oblast committee secretary, two department heads, the head of the city executive committee, directors of a production association, factory heads, the prosecutor and his deputies, members of the court, the head of the party committee, the police chief, and others, were implicated in building dachas along the riverbank—a popular public recreation area. Despite the scale of the violations, most of those involved received only reprimands. This case clearly illustrates the collective (in)responsibility among officials from various authorities, including law enforcement, who were united in their enthusiasm for dacha construction. The official resolution mentioned only “party responsibility” (reprimands and warnings), with no legal consequences for the violators of “party and state discipline.”
When the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine reviewed the implementation of this resolution two years later, it was discovered that many dacha owners had “reassigned” ownership of the properties to relatives or friends to avoid accountability. In response, in addition to issuing further party reprimands and involving “administrative bodies” in inspections, the long-serving first secretary of the oblast committee, 63-year-old A. Kochubei, who had held the position since 1962, was forcibly retired. Despite these measures, “dacha violations” persisted.