List of leaders of the Soviet Union |
An approximately chronological listing of Soviet leaders (heads of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Soviet Union). The formal head of the government was the Premier of the Soviet Union. This was the most
important position in Lenin's time. After Lenin's death the most important position ultimately became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
who headed the Politburo.
| Name |
Title |
Period |
| Vladimir Ilych Lenin |
Chairman of the Council of People's
Commissars*. Informally, leader of the Bolsheviks since the very
beginning. |
October 26, 1917 - January 21, 1924 |
| Joseph Stalin |
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union |
April 3, 1922 - March 5, 1953 |
| Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the
USSR |
May 6, 1941 - March 5, 1953 |
| Georgy Malenkov |
First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union |
March 6, 1953 - March 13, 1953 |
| Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the
USSR |
March 5, 1953 - February 8, 1955 |
| Nikita Khrushchev |
First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union |
September 7, 1953 - October 14, 1964 |
| Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the
USSR |
March 27, 1958 - October 14, 1964 |
| Leonid Brezhnev |
First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union |
October 14, 1964 - April 8, 1966 |
| General Secretary |
April 8, 1966 - November 10, 1982 |
| Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the
USSR |
June 16, 1977 - November 10, 1982 |
| Yuri Andropov |
General Secretary |
November 12, 1982 - February 9, 1984 |
| Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the
USSR |
June 16, 1983 - February 9, 1984 |
| Konstantin
Chernenko |
General Secretary |
February 13, 1984 - March 10, 1985 |
| Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the
USSR |
April 11, 1984 - March 10, 1985 |
| Mikhail Gorbachev |
General Secretary |
March 11, 1985 - August 24, 1991 |
| Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the
USSR |
May 25, 1989** - March 15, 1990 |
| President of the Soviet Union |
March 14, 1990 - December 25, 1991 |
(*)The Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics was only created in 1922. From 1918 to 1922 the state was known as the Russian Socialist
Federated Soviet Republic (the RSFSR continued after 1922 as one of 15 republics in the USSR). From the February Revolution in 1917 the state was the Russian
Republic though it was often referred to as Soviet Russia after the October Revolution in 1917 when the Council of People's Commissars was formed.
(**)Date of election to the new position of Chairman of the Supreme Soviet;had been Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme
Soviet since late 1988.
The post of General Secretary was created in April 1922 but did not come to signify the party leader or leader of the country until after Stalin won the struggle with
Trotsky to succeed Lenin. The title was First Secretary between 1952 and April 1966. The "Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme
Soviet" was the equivalent of President of the state while "Chairman of the Council of Ministers" and "Chairman of the Council of
People's Commissars" were equivalent to Premier or Prime Minister. On March 14,
1990, the newly created (1989) Congress of People's Deputies voted to end the
Communist party's control over the government and elected Gorbachev President of the Soviet Union.
Related articles
|