Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR and the Central Committee of the CP(b)U “On the Abolition of the Current Order of Social and Welfare Services for Leading Soviet and Party Workers of the Ukrainian SSR”
January 14, 1948
In accordance with the directive from the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) dated December 23, 1947, the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR and the Central Committee of the CP(b)U hereby decree:
- Effective January 1, 1948, the existing system of providing free food and other allowances in the form of monetary and food quotas for industrial goods to leading Soviet and Party workers is hereby abolished.
- Cease the use of funds from the social and domestic services improvement budget for the provision of free food at datchas and for other types of complimentary distribution of food and goods to leading Soviet and Party workers.
- Introduce temporary allowances—in addition to regular salaries—of 2 to 3 times the official salary per month for leading Soviet and Party workers in the Ukrainian SSR who had previously received free food.
- Approve the lists of leading Soviet and Party workers in the Ukrainian SSR, along with their respective temporary allowance amounts, as specified in Annexes 1, 2, 3, and 4.
- Approve the lists of leading workers from central republican economic and cooperative organizations in the Ukrainian SSR, including the allowances provided to them, according to Annex 5.
- Authorize heads of cooperative and economic organizations in the Ukrainian SSR to include allocations for temporary allowances in the 1948 budget, following the lists approved in paragraph 5 of this resolution.
- Direct the Ministry of Finance of the Ukrainian SSR to include in the 1948 budget allocations for temporary allowances for leading Soviet and Party workers, as per the estimates of the Department of Affairs of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR and the estimates of regional executive committees. The Department of Affairs of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR is to allocate funds for temporary allowances based on the approved lists, using a special budget estimate. Oblast executive committees are to include these allocations in their local budgets and disburse them according to the special estimates outlined in approved Annexes 3, 4.
- The Department of Affairs of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR and the Department of Affairs of the Central Committee of the CP(b)U are required to review the expenditures for maintaining the datchas within 20 days, implement the strictest cost-saving measures, and submit proposals for funding the maintenance of the datchas in 1948.
- Limit medical meal provision from the Medical and Sanatorium Department canteen to one managerial employee per eligibility, with conditions as follows:
a) Medical meals for executives receiving temporary allowances will be provided at 50% of their cost.
b) Meals for those not receiving temporary allowances will be provided at 20% of their cost.Direct the Ministry of Finance of the Ukrainian SSR to allocate necessary funds for maintaining the Medical and Sanatorium Department canteen, as per the estimates of the Medical and Sanatorium Department of the Ministry of Health of the Ukrainian SSR. - Convert the canteen serving the deputy chairmen of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR and secretaries of the CP(b)U into an economically self-sufficient model, charging full price for meals.
- Prohibit any increases in the allowance amounts specified in this decree or changes to the approved lists in paragraphs 4 and 5 without explicit authorization from the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR and the Central Committee of the CP(b)U.
- Specify that the allowances outlined in this resolution are to be distributed as follows:
– Leading Party workers (Annex 1) by the Central Committee of the CP(b)U
– Leading Soviet and economic workers (Annexes 2 and 5) by the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR. - Heads of economic organizations listed in Annex 5 must transfer the designated monthly sums for the payment of temporary allowances to the Department of Affairs of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR. Open all special food and commodity stores and warehouses that had previously served leading Soviet and Party workers for free trade, both in the central and regional areas.
Signed:
D. Korotchenko, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR
N. Khrushchev, Secretary of the Central Committee of the CP(b)U.
On December 23, 1947, the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) issued a directive to the heads of republican governments, Central Committees of Communist Parties, and regional executive and party bodies. This directive proposed changes to the existing system of providing benefits to officials. Instead of rationing, monetary compensation equivalent to 2-3 times their salary was to be given, and special food and industrial stores were to be opened to the general public. The directive was unusual, as it combined mandatory language—“it is necessary to cancel…”—with a softer, more suggestive tone: “We suggest you…” This phrasing symbolically implied a degree of freedom in decision-making. On January 14, 1948, the Ukrainian government and the Central Committee of the Communist Party issued a joint resolution that mirrored these changes, implementing them from January 1, 1948.
A letter from the Soviet government and the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) explained the reasoning behind this shift in compensation, linking it to the December 1947 abolition of the card system and the need to align with new realities in the support of officials. Unlike traditional legal acts, which typically consist of motivational and normative sections, the Ukrainian resolution lacked the former. It did not explain the need to replace rations with financial payments, neither did it reference any legal regulations governing this change, stating only that the “current procedure” was being discontinued.
The resolution itself was structured in a general framework, outlining broad changes while providing specific details in annexes. To avoid unwanted public attention regarding the list of recipients and the scale of financial benefits, these payments were handled through a separate budget.