Abstract <p>The article is devoted to the analysis of the transformation of the mechanism of political decision-making in the Soviet Union in the last months of the reign of I.V. Stalin. Based on documents from the Russian State Archive of Contemporary History (RGANI), the author examines the structural and functional changes in the apparatus of the Central Committee of the CPSU after the 19th Party Congress. The article pays special attention to the reorganization of the highest party organs, the strengthening of the party apparatus’ control over state structures, including state security agencies, as well as personnel changes in the top leadership and their institutional consequences. According to the author, the reforms carried out reflected the tendency towards systematization of party management and created institutional preconditions for the transition to collective leadership.</p>