democratic centralism. The primary party bodies were the Politburo, the highest decision-making organ; the Secretariat, the controller of party bureaucracy; and the Central Committee, the party's policy forum. Party membership reached more than 19 million (9.7 percent of the adult population) in 1987 and was dominated by male Russian professionals. Party members occupied positions of authority in all officially recognized institutions throughout the country. Single party rule combined with democratic centralism, which in practice consisted of a hierarchal structure which with the aid of a secret police organization enforced decisions made by the ruling party as well on the personnel of all governmental institutions, including the courts, the press, cultural and economic organizations and labor unions. The Soviet Union is considered by many to have been a totalitarian state for much of its existence. Critics include Western authors such as Robert Conquest and Russian critics such as Alexander Yakovlev. Ideology Education and political discourse proceeded on the assumption that it was possible to mold people using collectivist institutional forms into an ideal Soviet man or woman (see new Soviet man). The validity of ideas, public discourse, and institutional form were evaluated in terms of the official ideology of Marxism–Leninism as interpreted by the Communist Party. See also Economy of the Soviet Union History of the Soviet Union List of governments of the Soviet Union List of heads of state of the Soviet Union Premier of the Soviet Union References - Soviet Union Further reading Alexander N. Yakovlev, Anthony Austin, Paul Hollander, Century of Violence in Soviet Russia, Yale University Press (September, 2002), hardcover, 254 pages, .