List of leaders of the Soviet Union

During its 69-year history, the Soviet Union usually had a de facto leader who would not necessarily be head of state but
would lead while holding an office such as premier or general secretary. Under the 1977 Constitution, the chairman of the
Council of Ministers, or premier, was the head of government[1] and the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was
the head of state.[2] The office of the chairman of the Council of Ministers was comparable to a prime minister in the First
World[1] whereas the office of the chairman of the Presidium was comparable to a president.[2] In the ideology of Vladimir
Lenin, the head of the Soviet state was a collegiate body of the vanguard party (as described in What Is To Be Done?).

Following Joseph Stalin's consolidation of power in the 1920s,[3] the post of the general secretary of the Central Committee of
the Communist Party became synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union,[4] because the post controlled both the
Communist Party and the Soviet government[3] both indirectly via party membership and via the tradition of a single person
holding two highest posts in the party and in the government. The post of the general secretary was abolished in 1952 under
Stalin and later re-established by Nikita Khrushchev under the name of the first secretary. In 1966, Leonid Brezhnev reverted
the office title to its former name. Being the head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union,[5] the office of the general
secretary was the highest in the Soviet Union until 1990.[6] The post of general secretary lacked clear guidelines of
succession, so after the death or removal of a Soviet leader the successor usually needed the support of the Political Bureau
(Politburo), the Central Committee, or another government or party apparatus to both take and stay in power. The President of
the Soviet Union, an office created in March 1990, replaced the general secretary as the highest Soviet political office.[7]

Contemporaneously to the establishment of the office of the president, representatives of the Congress of People's Deputies
voted to remove Article 6 from the Soviet constitution which stated that the Soviet Union was a one-party state controlled by
the Communist Party which in turn played the leading role in society. This vote weakened the party and its hegemony over
the Soviet Union and its people.[8] Upon death, resignation, or removal from office of an incumbent president, the Vice
President of the Soviet Union would assume the office, though the Soviet Union dissolved before this was actually tested.[9]
After the failed coup in August 1991, the vice president was replaced by an elected member of the State Council of the Soviet
Union.[10]

Summary
Vladimir Lenin was voted the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union (Sovnarkom) on 30
December 1922 by the Congress of Soviets.[11] At the age of 53, his health declined from the effects of two bullet wounds,
later aggravated by three strokes which culminated with his death in 1924.[12] Irrespective of his health status in his final days,
Lenin was already losing much of his power to Joseph Stalin.[13] Alexei Rykov succeeded Lenin as chairman of the
Sovnarkom, and although he was de jure the most powerful person in the country, in fact, all power was concentrated in the
hands of the "troika" – the union of three influential party figures: Grigory Zinoviev, Joseph Stalin, and Lev Kamenev. Stalin
continued to increase his influence in the party, and by the end of the 1920s, he became the sole dictator of the USSR,
defeating all his political opponents. The post of general secretary of the party, which was held by Stalin, became the most
important post in the Soviet hierarchy.

Stalin's early policies pushed for rapid industrialisation, nationalisation of private industry[14] and the collectivisation of private
plots created under Lenin's New Economic Policy.[15] As leader of the Politburo, Stalin consolidated near-absolute power by
1938 after the Great Purge, a series of campaigns of political murder, repression and persecution.[16] Nazi Germany invaded
the Soviet Union in June 1941,[17] but by December the Soviet Army managed to stop the attack just shy of Moscow. On
Stalin's orders, the Soviet Union launched a counter-attack on Nazi Germany, which finally succeeded in 1945.[18] Stalin died
in March 1953[19] and his death triggered a power struggle in which Nikita Khrushchev after several years emerged
victorious against Georgy Malenkov.[20]

Khrushchev denounced Stalin on two occasions, first in 1956 and then in 1962. His policy of de-Stalinisation earned him
many enemies within the party, especially from old Stalinist appointees. Many saw this approach as destructive and
destabilizing. A group known as Anti-Party Group tried to oust Khrushchev from office in 1957, but it failed.[21] As
Khrushchev grew older, his erratic behaviour became worse, usually making decisions without discussing or confirming them
with the Politburo.[22] Leonid Brezhnev, a close companion of Khrushchev, was elected the first secretary the same day of
Khrushchev's removal from power. Alexei Kosygin became the new premier, and Anastas Mikoyan kept his office as
chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. On the orders of the Politburo, Mikoyan was forced to retire in 1965, and
Nikolai Podgorny took over the office of chairman of the Presidium.[23] The Soviet Union in the post-Khrushchev 1960s was
governed by a collective leadership.[24] Henry Kissinger, the American National Security Advisor, mistakenly believed that
Kosygin was the leader of the Soviet Union and that he was at the helm of Soviet foreign policy because he represented the
Soviet Union at the 1967 Glassboro Summit Conference.[25] The "Era of Stagnation", a derogatory term coined by Mikhail
Gorbachev, was a period marked by low socio-economic efficiency in the country and a gerontocracy ruling the country.[26]
Yuri Andropov (aged 68 at the time) succeeded Brezhnev in his post as general secretary in 1982. In 1983, Andropov was
hospitalized and rarely met up at work to chair the politburo meetings due to his declining health. Nikolai Tikhonov usually
chaired the meetings in his place.[27] Following Andropov's death fifteen months after his appointment, an even older leader,
72-year-old Konstantin Chernenko, was elected to the general secretariat. His rule lasted for little more than a year until his
death thirteen months later on 10 March 1985.[28]

At the age of 54, Mikhail Gorbachev was elected to the general secretariat by Politburo on 11 March 1985.[29] In May 1985,
Gorbachev publicly admitted the slowing down of the economic development and inadequate living standards, being the first
Soviet leader to do so while also beginning a series of fundamental reforms. From 1986 to around 1988, he dismantled central
planning, allowed state enterprises to set their own outputs, enabled private investment in businesses not previously permitted
to be privately owned, and allowed foreign investment, among other measures. He also opened up the management of and
decision-making within the Soviet Union and allowed greater public discussion and criticism, along with the warming of
relationships with the West. These twin policies were known as perestroika (literally meaning "reconstruction", though it
varies) and glasnost ("openness" and "transparency"), respectively.[30] The dismantling of the principal defining features of
Soviet communism in 1988 and 1989 in the Soviet Union led to the unintended consequence of the Soviet Union breaking up
after the failed August 1991 coup led by Gennady Yanayev.[31]

List of leaders
The following list includes persons who held the top leadership position of the Soviet Union from its founding in 1922 until
its 1991 dissolution.

Note: that † denotes leaders who died in office.

 Name Political
Portrait Period Congress(es) Premier President Policies
(Lifespan) office

Leninism
1st–
30 December 1922[32] Chairman • Russian Civil
↓ 10th[a] of Himself
Mikhail
War (1917–23)
11th Kalinin
Vladimir 21 January 1924†[13] Sovnarkom • War
Lenin 12th communism
(1870– (1918–21)
1924)[32] Ever since the Bolsheviks' inception, Lenin had served as their de facto leader • New
since November 7, 1917.[32] After the Russian Revolution, Lenin became leader of Economic
the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) from 1917 and leader Policy (1921–
28)
of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1922 until his death.[33]
General
13th Secretary
14th of the
Alexei
Communist Mikhail
21 January 1924[13] 15th Rykov
Party Kalinin
↓ 16th Vyacheslav
(1922–1952) Nikolay
5 March 1953†[34] 17th Chairman
Molotov
Shvernik
Joseph Himself
18th of the
Stalin
Council of
(1878– 19th Ministers
1953)[13] Stalinism
Following the death of Lenin, Stalin initially ruled as part of a troika alongside • Socialism in
Grigory Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev. [35][34] However, by April 1925, this one country
arrangement broke down as Stalin consolidated power to become the Soviet • Collectivization
(1928–40)
Union's absolute dictator. He also held the post of the Minister of Defence from 19
July 1941 to 3 March 1947 and chaired the State Defense Committee during World • Forced
industrialization
War II.[36]
(1929–41)
Chairman Nikolay • Great Terror
[38][39]
5 March 1953 of the Shvernik (1936–38)
↓ — Himself
Council of Kliment
14 September 1953 Ministers Voroshilov
Georgy
Malenkov After Stalin's death, Malenkov ruled as part of a troika alongside Lavrentiy Beria
(1902– and Vyacheslav Molotov,[40] Despite initially succeeding Stalin in all his titles and
1988)[37] positions, he was forced to relinquish most of them within a month by the
Politburo.[41] The troika would ultimately break down when Beria was arrested later
that year. [42] Shortly thereafter, he found himself locked in a power struggle
against Nikita Khrushchev that led to his removal as Premier in 1955.[43]
Kliment
First Georgy
14 September 1953 Voroshilov
20th Secretary Malenkov
↓ Leonid Khrushchev
21st of the Nikolai
Brezhnev
14 October 1964[44] Communist Bulganin
Anastas
Thaw
22nd Party Himself • De-
Nikita Mikoyan Stalinization
Khrushchev (1956–64)
In January 1955, Nikita Khrushchev emerged as first among equals within the
(1894– • Anti-religious
Presidium of the Party's Central Committee by securing Malenkov's removal as
1971)[42] Chairman of that body and the Council of Ministers. After nearly being ousted in campaign
(1958–64)
the "anti-party group" crisis of 1957, he consolidated his power even further by
• Sino-Soviet
naming himself Chairman of the Council of Ministers on 27 March 1958.
split (1956–66)
Ultimately, after alienating colleagues through years of disruptive shake-ups of the
country's infrastructure and brinksmanship on the world stage, he was fired from
all his posts at a special meeting of the Presidium on 13 October 1964.

General Anastas Era of

23rd Alexei Stagnation
14 October 1964[44] Secretary Mikoyan
24th Kosygin • Collective
↓ of the Nikolai
Nikolai leadership
10 November 1982†[45] 25th Communist Podgorny
Tikhonov • Kosygin
Leonid 26th Party Himself
reforms (1965–
Brezhnev 70)
(1906– In October 1964, Brezhnev replaced Khrushchev as First Secretary of the
• Brezhnev
1982)[44]
Communist Party. Despite being the head of the nation's ruling Party, he initially
Doctrine (1968–
led the Soviet Union as part of a troika alongside Premier Alexei Kosygin and
81)
Presidium Chairman Nikolai Podgorny. However, by the 1970s, Brezhnev
• Cold War
consolidated power to become the regime's undisputed leader. In 1977, Brezhnev
détente (1969–
officially replaced Podgorny as Chairman of the Presidium.[23] At his death in 79)
1982, he received a state funeral. • 1973
economic
reform
• 1979
 economic
General reform
10 November 1982[46] Secretary
Nikolai
Yuri ↓ — of the Himself
Tikhonov
Andropov 9 February 1984†[47] Communist
(1914– Party
1984)[46]
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party[25] and
Chairman of the Presidium from 16 June 1983 to 9 February 1984.[48]

General
9 February 1984[49] Secretary
Nikolai
↓ — of the Himself
Tikhonov
10 March 1985† Communist
Konstantin
Party
Chernenko
(1911–
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party[50] and
1985)[49]
Chairman of the Presidium from 11 April 1984 to 10 March 1985.[51] However, due
to his health and lack of support within the regime, he governed the country for
most of his tenure as part of a troika alongside Andrei Gromyko and Dmitry
Ustinov.

Nikolai
President
Tikhonov
(1990–1991)
Nikolai
10 March 1985[22] General Andrei
27th Ryzhkov
↓ Secretary Gromyko Perestroika
Valentin
25 December 1991[53] 28th of the
Pavlov
Himself • Glasnost
Communist • Uskoreniye
Ivan
Mikhail Party •
Silayev
Gorbachev Democratization
(1931– Served as General Secretary from 11 March 1985[51] and resigned on 24 August • New political
2022)[52] 1991,[54][b] Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 1 October[50] thinking
1988 until the office was renamed to the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet on 25 • 500 Days
May 1989 to 15 March 1990[51] and President of the Soviet Union from 15 March program
(planned)
1990[55] to 25 December 1991. Deposed on 19 August 1991, reinstated on 22
August.[56][53] The day following Gorbachev's resignation as president, the Soviet
Union was formally dissolved.[57] Gorbachev was the only head of the USSR to
have been born during its existence.

List of troikas
On four occasions—the 2–3-year period between Vladimir Lenin's incapacitation and Joseph Stalin's leadership; the three
months following Stalin's death;[39] the interval between Nikita Khrushchev's fall and Leonid Brezhnev's consolidation of
power;[23] and the ailing Konstantin Chernenko's tenure as General Secretary[58]—the Soviet Union was governed by a
council known as a troika (i.e."triumvirate"),[59] whereby policymaking depended on the consensus of three chief figures
within the Politburo.
 Members
Tenure Notes
(Lifespan)

When Vladimir Lenin suffered his first

stroke in May 1922, a troika was
formed to temporarily rule in his place
consisting of Deputy Premier Lev
Kamenev, General Secretary Joseph
Stalin and Comintern Chairman Grigory
Zinoviev. In March 1923, the three
May 1922[60] assumed permanent control over the
↓ country after Lenin suffered another
April 1925[61] stroke leaving him unable to govern.
However, by April 1925, the triumvirate
broke up due to Kamenev's and
Zinoviev's opposition to Stalin's
Lev Joseph Grigory "Socialism in One Country" policy.
Kamenev Stalin Zinoviev After Stalin consolidated power in the
1930s, Kamenev and Zinoviev were
(1883–1936)[62] (1878–1953)[13] (1883–1936)[63]
ultimately murdered in the Great Purge.

After Stalin's death on 5 March 1953, a

troika assumed power consisting of
Council of Ministers Chairman Georgy
Malenkov, Minister of Internal Affairs
Lavrentiy Beria and Foreign Minister
13 March 1953[39] Vyacheslav Molotov.[40] It dissolved
↓ after Beria was arrested and dismissed
26 June 1953[64] from the leadership on 26 June
1953.[42] Thereafter, a power struggle
ensued between Malenkov and the
Lavrentiy Georgy Vyacheslav First Secretary of the Communist
Beria Malenkov Molotov Party, Nikita Khrushchev, that ended
(1899–1953)[39] (1902–1988)[39] (1890–1986)[39] decisively in the latter's favor by 1955.

Upon Khrushchev's ouster in 1964, he

was replaced by a troika comprising
Leonid Brezhnev as First/General
Secretary, Alexei Kosygin as Premier
and CC Secretary Nikolai Podgorny
who went on to become Chairman of
14 October 1964[44] the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in
↓ 1965. However, as Brezhnev
16 June 1977[23] increasingly consolidated power, the
triumvirate's effectiveness as a
guarantor of collective leadership
Leonid Alexei Nikolai steadily declined.[65] It was ultimately
Brezhnev Kosygin Podgorny dissolved in 1977 after Brezhnev took
(1906–1982)[44] (1904–1980)[44] (1903–1983)[44] Podgorny's place as head of state.[23]
Despite succeeding Yuri Andropov as
the nominal leader of the Soviet Union,
Konstantin Chernenko was unable to
concentrate policymaking in his hands
due to his poor health[67][68] and lack
of popularity among the party
13 February 1984[66] elite.[69][70] This compelled him to
↓ govern as part of troika alongside
20 December 1984 Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko and
Defense Minister Dmitry Ustinov.[71]
This arrangement lasted until Ustinov's
Konstantin Andrei Dmitry death in December 1984 which made
Chernenko Gromyko Ustinov way for Mikhail Gorbachev's rise to
(1911–1985)[49] (1909–1989)[73] (1908–1984)[74] power in March 1985.[72]

See also
Index of Soviet Union-related articles
List of heads of state of the Soviet Union
List of presidents of the Russian Federation
Premier of the Soviet Union
Vozhd
 President of Russia

Notes
a. As a revolutionary, then as leader of Soviet Russia.
b. On 14 March 1990, the provision on the CPSU monopoly on power was removed from Article 6 of the
Constitution of the USSR. Thus, in the Soviet Union, a multi-party system was officially allowed and the
CPSU ceased to be part of the state apparatus.

References

Citations
1. Armstrong 1986, p. 169.
2. Armstrong 1986, p. 165.
3. Armstrong 1986, p. 98.
4. Armstrong 1986, p. 93.
5. Ginsburgs, Ajani & van den Berg 1989, p. 500.
6. Armstrong 1986, p. 22.
7. Brown 1996, p. 195.
8. Brown 1996, p. 196.
9. Brown 1996, p. 275.
10. Gorbachev, M. (5 September 1991). ЗАКОН Об органах государственной власти и управления Союза
ССР в переходный период (http://www.sssr.su/zopp.html) [Law Regarding State Governing Bodies of the
USSR in Transition] (in Russian). Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Retrieved 2015-07-14.
11. Lenin 1920, p. 516.
12. Clark 1988, p. 373.
13. Brown 2009, p. 59.
14. Brown 2009, p. 62.
15. Brown 2009, p. 63.
16. Brown 2009, p. 72.
17. Brown 2009, p. 90.
18. Brown 2009, p. 148.
19. Brown 2009, p. 194.
20. Brown 2009, pp. 231–33.
21. Brown 2009, p. 246.
22. Service 2009, p. 378.
23. Brown 2009, p. 402.
24. Bacon & Sandle 2002, p. 13.
25. Brown 2009, p. 403.
26. Brown 2009, p. 398.
27. Zemtsov 1989, p. 146.
28. Brown 2009, p. 481.
29. Brown 2009, p. 487.
30. Brown 2009, p. 489.
31. Brown 2009, p. 503.
32. Brown 2009, p. 53.
33. Sakwa 1999, pp. 140–143.
34. Service 2009, p. 323.
35. Service 2009, pp. 231–32.
36. Green & Reeves 1993, p. 196.
37. "Georgi Malenkov Dies at 86; Stalin Successor" (https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/02/obituaries/georgi-male
nkov-dies-at-86-stalin-successor.html). The New York Times. 2 February 1988. ISSN 0362-4331 (https://ww
w.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2023-08-27.
38. Service 2009, p. 331.
39. Service 2009, p. 332.
40. Marlowe 2005, p. 140.
41. Cook 2001, p. 163.
42. Taubman 2003, p. 258.
43. Hill 1993, p. 61.
44. Service 2009, p. 377.
45. Service 2009, p. 426.
46. Service 2009, p. 428.
47. Service 2009, p. 433.
48. Paxton 2004, p. 234.
49. Service 2009, p. 434.
50. Europa Publications Limited 2004, p. 302.
51. Paxton 2004, p. 235.
52. Service 2009, p. 435.
53. Paxton 2004, p. 237.
54. Service 2009, p. 503.
55. Paxton 2004, p. 236.
56. "Указ Президента СССР от 25.12.1991 N УП-3162 "О сложении Президентом СССР полномочий
Верховного Главнокомандующего Вооруженными Силами СССР и упразднении Совета обороны при
Президенте СССР" " (http://www.libussr.ru/doc_ussr/usr_19889.htm).
57. Gorbachev 1996, p. 771.
58. Saxon, Wolfgang (12 March 1984). "Succession In Moscow: Siberian Peasant Who Won Power; Konstantin
Chernenko, A Brezhnev Protege, Led Brief Regime" (https://www.nytimes.com/1985/03/12/world/succession-
moscow-siberian-peasant-who-won-power-konstantin-chernenko-brezhnev.html). The New York Times.
59. Tinggaard & Svendsen 2009, p. 460.
60. Reim 2002, pp. 18–19.
61. Rappaport 1999, pp. 141 & 326.
62. Rappaport 1999, p. 140.
63. Rappaport 1999, p. 325.
64. Andrew & Gordievsky 1990, pp. 423–24.
65. Bacon & Sandle 2002, pp. 13–14.
66. Service 2015, p. 105.
67. Miles 2020, p. 100 "[As the leader of the Soviet Union] Chernenko delegated increasing amounts of
responsibility and decision-making to his inner circle because of his health. Gorbachev, for example, chaired
politburo meetings in Chernenko's (frequent) absence. In public, inspired by his initials K.U.Ch., Soviet
citizens had taken to calling him kucher, or 'coachman,' to evoke the image of an old man struggling to
control his team of horses."
68. Mitchell 1990, pp. 121–122 "It was well recognized that Chernenko would be a stopgap leader, probably
weaker than any previous one. The condition of his health pointed in this direction, and further assurance
was provided by the giving of additional power to the two likeliest candidates for long-term leadership,
hemming in Chernenko in his exercise of authority over the party apparat[us] in a way not experienced by
any previous general secretary."
69. Bialer 1986, p. 103 "While in office Chernenko labored under major constraints. He was supposed to lead a
Politburo that only fifteen months before had rejected him in favor of Andropov. The new members of the
Politburo and the score of high officials who joined the central Party apparatus after Brezhnev's death were
all Andropov loyalists. They shared their patron's position on the issues. Almost all belonged to the younger
generation. Many had replaced Brezhnev loyalists who were close to Chernenko. Moreover, Chernenko did
not enjoy the respect of the older generation, all of whom had had more illustrious careers and more
independent positions than he. They controlled major bloc of bureaucratic support from the hierarchies they
supervised. Nor was Chernenko personally respected by the younger generation. For them he represented
the past, and particularly the years of paralysis at the end of Brezhnev's rule...[¶] Most important, however,
Chernenko's power and his independence were sharply circumscribed by the widely recognized fact that he
was a transitional leader who was keeping the seat of the general secretary warm for the real successor to
come. The lame-duck nature of Chernenko's leadership meant that officials were not likely to become
preoccupied with an effort to please him, or to identify themselves with him."
70. Mitchell 1990, pp. 121–122 "[...] Chernenko's lack of political support...[was] an insuperable obstacle. The
Brezhnevites might rally around him to save their political skin, but his personal 'organizational tail' was
weaker than Andropov's, consisting of no more than the Moldavian party and the General Department of the
Central Committee."
71. Saxon, Wolfgang (12 March 1984). "Succession In Moscow: Siberian Peasant Who Won Power; Konstantin
Chernenko, A Brezhnev Protege, Led Brief Regime" (https://www.nytimes.com/1985/03/12/world/succession-
moscow-siberian-peasant-who-won-power-konstantin-chernenko-brezhnev.html). The New York Times.
72. Thatcher, Gary (24 December 1984). "Moscow's 'Safe Choice' Kremlin Reaffirms Preference for Seasoned
Officials by Naming Sokolov to Top Soviet Defense Post" (https://www.csmonitor.com/1984/1224/122436.htm
l). The Christian Science Monitor.
73. Zemtsov 1989, p. 184.
74. Zemtsov 1989, p. 185.

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Service, Robert (2015). The End of the Cold War: 1985-1991 (1st ed.). New York: Public Affairs. ISBN 978-
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Taubman, William (2003). Khrushchev: The Man and His Era (https://archive.org/details/khrushchevmanhis0
0taub). W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0393051445.
Tinggaard Svendsen, Gert; Svendsen, Gunnar Lind Haase (2009). Handbook of Social Capital: The Troika of
Sociology, Political Science and Economics. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 978-1845423230.
Zemtsov, Ilya (1989). Chernenko: The Last Bolshevik: The Soviet Union on the Eve of Perestroika (https://arc
hive.org/details/chernenkolastbol00zemt). Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-0887382604.
Zubok, V.M. (2002). A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin To Gorbachev. Chapel
Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-5958-2.

External links
Succession of Power in the USSR (https://web.archive.org/web/20131107050501/http://repository.library.geo
rgetown.edu/handle/10822/552670) from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives (http://www.li
brary.georgetown.edu/digital/krogh)
Heads of State and Government of the Soviet Union (1922–1991) (http://www.archontology.org/nations/ussr)

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