NATIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE ELITE IN THE COUNCIL OF PEOPLE’S COMMISSARS OF THE MORDOVIAN ASSR DURING THE AUTONOMOUS REPUBLIC FORMATION

The article examines the personnel composition of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Mordovian ASSR in the mid-1930s. It was during the period of Mordovia’s national statehood formation that a high percentage of representatives of the titular nation in the Soviet and party authorities was observed. The example of the supreme body of state administration of the autonomous republic shows the influence of indigenisation process in the administrative apparatus on the upper level of the regional Soviet and economic elite of functionaries, which managed to form in the post-revolutionary decade and a half. Data on individual members of the CPC, including their origin, age, and previous activities, are provided. A significant influence of the national factor in selecting executive officers is noted, which was of greater importance than the level of education and previous work experience. At the same time, promotion of the national cadres in accordance with political requirements did not always take into account objective circumstances, and a rapid rise of untrained people often led to a decrease in the quality of the Soviet bureaucracy. The article is based on previously unpublished documents from the collections of the Central State Archive of the Republic of Mordovia, as well as data obtained from open sources.