GPW

• Led to the creation of GoKO- a State Defence Committee or war cabinet- made up of Stalin, Molotov, Beria, Malenkov and Voroshilov. This led to the decrease in importance in the role of the Politburo
• Though the GoKo was disbanded at the end of the war, the practice of a small 'inner circle' of decision-makers continued. They met outside the main Politburo meetings
• Ministries increased in importance during the war at the expense of party organisations. This also continued post-war
• In June 1941, GoKO was set up
• Meetings of the Politburo became less important and by 1944 the Central Committee met only once in January
• ' the principal of political control over the armed forces which had been laid down by Lenin at the start of the Civil war was applied from the beginning to the end of WWII