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 structure of power in the Soviet Union consisted of three main branches that gave rise to three top positions. The first position of importance was that of the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, informally translated as President of the Soviet Union. Theoretically it was the highest position, since the Supreme Soviet was an interim organ of the Congress of Soviets, the latter being the supreme power of people, according to the Constitution of the Soviet Union. The 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. In practice, the leader of the Communist Party used to occupy another position, which led to confusion in the West as to what is the number one person in the USSR: Lenin, Stalin, Malenkov and Khrushchev preferred the post of the premier, while Brezhnev and the successors preferred that of the president. Soviet leaders 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 its tentative predecessor was 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. Leaders of post-Soviet independent states For details of the leaders of the 15 independent states that replaced the Soviet Union, see the following articles: Armenia - President of Armenia Azerbaijan - President of Azerbaijan Belarus - Leaders of Belarus Estonia - Politics of Estonia Georgia - President of Georgia Kazakhstan - President of Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan - Askar Akayev Latvia - List of Presidents of Latvia Lithuania - List of Lithuanian rulers Moldova - President of Moldova Russia - President of Russia Tajikistan - List of Presidents of Tajikistan Turkmenistan - Saparmurat Niyazov Uzbekistan - Islam Karimov Ukraine - President of Ukraine Related articles List of Leaders of Russia History of the Soviet Union Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. 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