List of leaders of the Soviet Union - wikipedia List of leaders of the Soviet Union Leader of the Soviet Union Union coat of arms Mikhail Gorbachev, the final leader of the Soviet Union Residence Grand Kremlin Palace, Moscow Appointer A leader would not be able to rule, or hold on to power, without support in the Politburo, Central Committee or the Secretariat of the Central Committee Formation 30 December 1922 ( founding of the Soviet Union ) First holder Vladimir Lenin ( as Premier ) Final holder Mikhail Gorbachev ( as President ) Abolished 25 December 1991 ( end of communist rule ) 26 December 1991 ( end of the Soviet Union ) Under the 1977 Constitution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( USSR ), the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, was the head of government and the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was the head of state. The office of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers was comparable to a prime minister in the First World whereas the office of the Chairman of the Presidium was comparable to a president in the First World. In the Soviet Union 's seventy - year history there was no official leader of the Soviet Union office, but during most of that era there was a de facto top leader who usually led the country through the office of Premier or the office of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ( CPSU ). In the ideology of Vladimir Lenin, the head of the Soviet state was a collegiate body of the vanguard party ( see What Is To Be Done ? ). Following Joseph Stalin 's consolidation of power in the 1920s, the post of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party became synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union because the post controlled both the Communist Party and the Soviet Government. The post of the General Secretary was abolished in 1952 under Stalin and later re-established by Nikita Khrushchev under the name of 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 ( CPSU ), the office of the General Secretary was the highest in the Soviet Union until 1990. 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 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. Contemporaneously to 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. 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 collapsed before this was actually tested. After the failed August coup, the Vice President was replaced by an elected member of the State Council of the Soviet Union. Contents 1 Summary 2 List of leaders 3 List of troikas 4 Statistics 5 See also 6 Notes 7 Bibliography 8 External links Summary This article is part of a series on the Politics of the Soviet Union Leadership Leaders President ( list Vice President ) Collective leadership State Council Presidential Council Communist Party Congress Central Committee History General Secretary Politburo Secretariat Orgburo Legislature Congress of Soviets ( Central Executive Committee ) Supreme Soviet Soviet of the Union Soviet of Nationalities Presidium Congress of People 's Deputies Speaker 1989 Legislative election Governance Constitution Official names 1924 1936 1977 Government Ministries State Committees Executive Officer Premiership Cabinets Council of People 's Commissars Council of Ministers Cabinet of Ministers Judiciary Law Supreme Court Military Collegium People 's Court Procurator General Ideology Soviet democracy Marxism -- Leninism Leninism Stalinism Khrushchevism De-Stalinization Society Economy Agriculture Consumer goods Five - Year Plan Kosygin reform New Economic Policy Science and technology Era of Stagnation Material balance planning Transport Culture Demographics Education Family Phraseology Religion Repression Censorship Censorship of images Great Purge Gulag system Collectivization Human rights Ideological repression Suppressed research Political abuse of psychiatry Political repression Population transfer Propaganda Red Terror Other countries Atlas 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. At the age of 53, his health declined from effects of two bullet wounds, later aggravated by three strokes which culminated with his death in 1924. Irrespective of his health status in his final days, Lenin was already losing much of his power to Joseph Stalin. Alexei Rykov succeeded Lenin as Chairman of the Sovnarkom and although he was de jure the most powerful person in the country, the Politburo of the Communist Party began to overshadow the Sovnarkom in the mid-1920s. By the end of the decade, Rykov merely rubber stamped the decisions predetermined by Stalin and the Politburo. Stalin 's early policies pushed for rapid industrialisation, nationalisation of private industry and the collectivisation of private plots created under Lenin 's New Economic Policy. 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. Nazi German troops invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, 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. Stalin died in March 1953 and his death triggered a power struggle in which Nikita Khrushchev after several years emerged victorious against Georgy Malenkov. 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 destabilising. A group known as Anti-Party Group tried to oust Khrushchev from office in 1957, but it failed. As Khrushchev grew older, his erratic behavior became worse, usually making decisions without discussing or confirming them with the Politburo. Leonid Brezhnev, a close companion of Khrushchev, was elected 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. The Soviet Union in the post-Khrushchev 1960s was governed by a collective leadership. Henry A. 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. 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. Yuri Andropov ( aged 68 at the time ) succeeded Brezhnev in his post as General Secretary in 1982. In 1983, Andropov was hospitalised 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. 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. At the age of 54, Mikhail Gorbachev was elected to the General Secretariat by the Politburo on 11 March 1985. 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 a warming of relationships with the West. These twin policies were known as perestroika ( literally meaning `` reconstruction '', but it varies ) and glasnost ( `` openness '' and `` transparency '' ), respectively. 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 coup of 1991 led by Gennady Yanayev. List of leaders The following list includes only those persons who held the top leadership position of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ( CPSU ) from its founding in 1922 until the party 's demise as the official `` leading power '' of the Union in 1991 and in the few months aftwerward, lead the government. † denotes leaders who died in office. Name ( Birth -- Death ) Portrait Period Congress Notes Vladimir Lenin ( 1870 -- 1924 ) 30 December 1922 ↓ 21 January 1924 † 11th -- 12th Congress Chairman of the Council of People 's Commissars ( Sovnarkom ) and informal leader of the Bolsheviks since their inception. Lenin was leader of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ( RSFSR ) from 1917 and leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( USSR ) from 1922 until his death. Joseph Stalin ( 1878 -- 1953 ) 21 January 1924 ↓ 5 March 1953 † 13th -- 19th Congress General Secretary from 3 April 1922 until the post of General Secretary was abolished in October 1952. Stalin initially ruled as part of a Triumvirate with Lev Kamenev and Grigory Zinoviev until this broke down in April 1925. Stalin served as Premier from 6 May 1941 until his death on 5 March 1953. Stalin also held the post of the Minister of Defence from 19 July 1941 until 3 March 1947 and Chairman of the State Defense Committee during the Great Patriotic War and became the only officer to hold the office of People 's Commissar of Nationalities from 1921 -- 1923. Georgy Malenkov ( 1902 -- 1988 ) 5 March 1953 ↓ 8 September 1953 19th Congress Succeeded to all of Stalin 's titles, but he was forced to resign most of them within a month. Malenkov through the office of Premier was locked in a power struggle against Khrushchev. Nikita Khrushchev ( 1894 -- 1971 ) 8 September 1953 ↓ 14 October 1964 20th -- 22nd Congress Served as the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party ( from September 1953 ) and Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 27 March 1958 to 14 October 1964. While vacationing in Abkhazia, Khrushchev was called by Leonid Brezhnev to return to Moscow for a special meeting of the Presidium to be held on 13 October 1964. At the most fiery session since the so - called `` anti-party group '' crisis of 1957, he was fired from all his posts. He was largely left in peace in retirement, but he was made a `` non-person '' to the extent that his name was removed even from the thirty - volume Soviet Encyclopedia. He died in 1971. He was seen overseas as a reformer of a `` petrified structure '' and described his main contribution as removing the fear that Stalin had brought, but many of his reforms were later reversed. Leonid Brezhnev ( 1906 -- 1982 ) 14 October 1964 ↓ 10 November 1982 † 23rd -- 26th Congress Served as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Brezhnev was later renamed General Secretary and was co-equal with premier Alexei Kosygin until the 1970s. To consolidate his power, he later assumed the title of Chairman of the Presidium. At his death in 1982, he received a state funeral. Yuri Andropov ( 1914 -- 1984 ) 10 November 1982 ↓ 9 February 1984 † -- General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Presidium from 16 June 1983 until 9 February 1984. Konstantin Chernenko ( 1911 -- 1985 ) ( de jure ) 9 February 1984 ↓ 10 March 1985 † -- General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Presidium from 11 April 1984 to 10 March 1985. Mikhail Gorbachev ( 1931 -- ) As Gen. Secretary : 10 March 1985 ↓ 19 August 1991 As President : 21 August 1991 ↓ 26 December 1991 27th -- 28th Congress Served as General Secretary from 11 March 1985 and resigned on 24 August 1991, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 1 October 1988 until the office was renamed to the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet on 25 May 1989 to 15 March 1990 and President of the Soviet Union from 15 March 1990 to 25 December 1991. The day following Gorbachev 's resignation as President, the Soviet Union was formally dissolved. Gennady Yanayev ( 1937 -- 2010 ) ( usurper ) 19 August 1991 ↓ 21 August 1991 -- Tried to seize power during the two days of the failed 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt with the State Committee on the State of Emergency. List of troikas On four occasions -- the 2 -- 3 year period between Vladimir Lenin 's incapacitation and Joseph Stalin 's dictatorship ; the three months immediately following Stalin 's death ; the interval between Nikita Khrushchev 's fall and Leonid Brezhnev 's consolidation of power ; and the ailing Konstantin Chernenko 's tenure as General Secretary -- a form of collective leadership known as the troika ( `` triumvirate '' ) governed the Soviet Union, with no single individual holding leadership alone. Members ( Birth -- Death ) Tenure Notes May 1922 ↓ April 1925 When Vladimir Lenin suffered his first stroke in May 1922, a troika was established to govern the country in his place, although Lenin briefly returned to the leadership from 2 October 1922 until a severe stroke on 9 March 1923 ended Lenin 's political career. The troika consisted of Lev Kamenev, Joseph Stalin and Grigory Zinoviev. The troika broke up in April 1925, when Kamenev and Zinoviev found themselves in a minority over their belief that socialism could only be achieved internationally. Zinoviev and Kamenev joined forces with Leon Trotsky 's Left Opposition in early 1926. Later, Kamenev, Zinoviev and Trotsky would all be murdered on Stalin 's orders. Lev Kamenev ( 1883 -- 1936 ) Joseph Stalin ( 1878 -- 1953 ) Grigory Zinoviev ( 1883 -- 1936 ) 13 March 1953 ↓ 26 June 1953 This troika consisted of Georgy Malenkov, Lavrentiy Beria and Vyacheslav Molotov and ended when Malenkov and Molotov joined Nikita Khrushchev in the arrest and execution of Beria. Lavrentiy Beria ( 1899 -- 1953 ) Georgy Malenkov ( 1902 -- 1988 ) Vyacheslav Molotov ( 1890 -- 1986 ) 14 October 1964 ↓ 16 June 1977 Following Khruschev 's ouster, a troika took power consisting of Leonid Brezhnev as First Secretary, Alexei Kosygin as Premier and Nikolai Podgorny who ascended to the post of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on 9 December 1965. During Brezhnev 's gradual consolidation of power, the troika was dissolved when he succeeded Podgorny in 1977 as Presidium Chairman. However, the collective leadership continued to exist in a different shape after Podgorny 's ouster in the party leadership throughout the rest of Brezhnev 's rule. Leonid Brezhnev ( 1906 -- 1982 ) Alexei Kosygin ( 1904 -- 1980 ) Nikolai Podgorny ( 1903 -- 1983 ) 13 February 1984 ↓ 20 December 1984 Despite succeeding Yuri Andropov as General Secretary, Konstantin Chernenko was unable to secure full control over the regime 's apparatus due to his poor health and lack of a mandate from the nomenklatura. This resulted in a collective leadership giving Defense Minister Dmitry Ustinov and Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko a monopoly over the Soviet Union 's military and foreign policy respectively while leaving Chernenko in charge of the nation 's domestic policies. From this point forward, these three figures dominated Politburo decision - making until Ustinov 's death in December 1984. Konstantin Chernenko ( 1911 -- 1985 ) Andrei Gromyko ( 1909 -- 1989 ) Dmitry Ustinov ( 1908 -- 1984 ) Statistics # Leaders Date of birth Age at ascension ( first term ) Time in office ( total ) Age at retirement ( last term ) Date of death Longevity Lenin, Vladimir Vladimir Lenin 18700422 April 22, 1870 ( April 22, 1870 ) 52 252 52 years, 252 days 01 022 1 years, 22 days 53 274 53 years, 274 days 19240121 January 21, 1924 7004196310000000000 ♠ 19,631 53 years, 274 days Stalin, Joseph Joseph Stalin 18781218 December 18, 1878 ( December 18, 1878 ) 45 034 45 years, 34 days 29 043 29 years, 43 days 74 077 74 years, 77 days 19530305 March 5, 1953 7004271050000000000 ♠ 27,105 74 years, 77 days Malenkov, Georgy Georgy Malenkov 19020108 January 8, 1902 ( January 8, 1902 ) 51 056 51 years, 56 days 01 340 1 years, 340 days 53 031 53 years, 31 days 19880114 January 14, 1988 7004314170000000000 ♠ 31,417 86 years, 6 days Khrushchev, Nikita Nikita Khrushchev 18940415 April 15, 1894 ( April 15, 1894 ) 60 299 60 years, 299 days 09 249 9 years, 249 days 70 182 70 years, 182 days 19710911 September 11, 1971 7004282720000000000 ♠ 28,272 77 years, 149 days 5 Brezhnev, Leonid Leonid Brezhnev 19061219 December 19, 1906 ( December 19, 1906 ) 57 300 57 years, 300 days 18 027 18 years, 27 days 75 326 75 years, 326 days 19821110 November 10, 1982 7004277200000000000 ♠ 27,720 75 years, 326 days 6 Andropov, Yuri Yuri Andropov 19140615 June 15, 1914 ( June 15, 1914 ) 68 150 68 years, 150 days 01 089 1 years, 89 days 69 239 69 years, 239 days 19840209 February 9, 1984 7004254410000000000 ♠ 25,441 69 years, 239 days 7 Chernenko, Konstantin Konstantin Chernenko 19110924 September 24, 1911 ( September 24, 1911 ) 72 142 72 years, 142 days 01 026 1 years, 26 days 73 167 73 years, 167 days 19850310 March 10, 1985 7004268310000000000 ♠ 26,831 73 years, 167 days 8 Gorbachev, Mikhail Mikhail Gorbachev 19310302 March 2, 1931 ( March 2, 1931 ) 54 009 54 years, 9 days 06 287 6 years, 287 days 60 298 60 years, 298 days Living 7004320170000000000 ♠ 32,017 7004320170000000000 ♠ 87 years, 240 days ( living ) 9 Yanayev, Gennady Gennady Yanayev 19370826 August 26, 1937 ( August 26, 1937 ) 53 358 53 years, 358 days 00 002 0 years, 2 days 53 360 53 years, 360 days 20100924 September 24, 2010 7004266920000000000 ♠ 26,692 73 years, 29 days 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 Notes ^ Jump up to : Armstrong 1986, p. 169. ^ Jump up to : Armstrong 1986, p. 165. ^ Jump up to : Armstrong 1986, p. 98. Jump up ^ Armstrong 1986, p. 93. Jump up ^ Ginsburgs, Ajani & van den Berg 1989, p. 500. Jump up ^ Armstrong 1989, p. 22. Jump up ^ Brown 1996, p. 195. Jump up ^ Brown 1996, p. 196. Jump up ^ Brown 1996, p. 275. Jump up ^ Gorbachev, M. ( 5 September 1991 ). ЗАКОН Об органах государственной власти и управления Союза ССР в переходный период ( Law Regarding State Governing Bodies of the USSR in Transition ) ( in Russian ). Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Retrieved 14 July 2015. Jump up ^ Lenin 1920, p. 516. Jump up ^ Clark 1988, p. 373. ^ Jump up to : Brown 2009, p. 59. Jump up ^ Gregory 2004, pp. 58 -- 59. Jump up ^ Brown 2009, p. 62. Jump up ^ Brown 2009, p. 63. Jump up ^ Brown 2009, p. 72. Jump up ^ Brown 2009, p. 90. Jump up ^ Brown 2009, p. 148. Jump up ^ Brown 2009, p. 194. Jump up ^ Brown 2009, pp. 231 -- 33. Jump up ^ Brown 2009, p. 246. ^ Jump up to : Service 2009, p. 378. ^ Jump up to : Brown 2009, p. 402. Jump up ^ Bacon & Sandle 2002, p. 13. ^ Jump up to : Brown 2009, p. 403. Jump up ^ Brown 2009, p. 398. Jump up ^ Zemtsov 1989, p. 146. Jump up ^ Brown 2009, p. 481. Jump up ^ Brown 2009, p. 487. Jump up ^ Brown 2009, p. 489. Jump up ^ Brown 2009, p. 503. ^ Jump up to : Brown 2009, p. 53. Jump up ^ Sakwa 1999, pp. 140 -- 143. ^ Jump up to : Service 2009, p. 323. Jump up ^ Service 1986, pp. 231 -- 32. Jump up ^ Green & Reeves 1993, p. 196. Jump up ^ Service 2005, p. 154. ^ Jump up to : Service 2009, p. 331. ^ Jump up to : Service 2009, p. 332. Jump up ^ Cook 2001, p. 163. Jump up ^ Hill 1993, p. 61. ^ Jump up to : Taubman 2003, p. 258. ^ Jump up to : Service 2009, p. 377. Jump up ^ Service 2009, p. 376. Jump up ^ Schwartz 1971. Jump up ^ Taubman 2003, p. 13. Jump up ^ Service 2009, p. 426. ^ Jump up to : Service 2009, p. 428. Jump up ^ Service 2009, p. 433. Jump up ^ Paxton 2004, p. 234. ^ Jump up to : Service 2009, p. 434. ^ Jump up to : Europa Publications Limited 2004, p. 302. ^ Jump up to : Paxton 2004, p. 235. Jump up ^ Service 2009, p. 435. ^ Jump up to : Gorbachev 1996, p. 771. Jump up ^ Service 2009, p. 503. Jump up ^ Paxton 2004, p. 236. Jump up ^ Paxton 2004, p. 237. Jump up ^ Tinggaard & Svendsen 2009, p. 460. Jump up ^ Anderson, Annelise & Anderson, Martin. Reagan 's Secret War : The Untold Story of His Fight to Save the World From Nuclear Disaster., First Edition, Crown Publishers, New York, 2009, p. 156 - 57 Jump up ^ Reim 2002, pp. 18 -- 19. ^ Jump up to : Rappaport 1999, pp. 141 & 326. Jump up ^ Rappaport 1999, p. 140. Jump up ^ Rappaport 1999, p. 325. Jump up ^ Andrew & Gordievsky 1990, pp. 423 -- 24. Jump up ^ Marlowe 2005, p. 140. Jump up ^ Baylis 1989, p. 98. Jump up ^ Service, Robert. The End of the Cold War : 1985 - 1991., First Edition, Public Affairs, New York, 2015, p. 105 Jump up ^ Saxon, Wolfgang. Succession In Moscow : Siberian Peasant Who Won Power ; Konstantin Chernenko, A Brezhnev Protege, Led Brief Regime. The New York Times, New York, 1984 - 03 - 12 Jump up ^ Kenez, Peter. A History of the Soviet Union From the Beginning to the End., Cambridge University Press, New York, 1999, p. 244 Jump up ^ Mitchell, R. Judson. Getting to the Top in the USSR : Cyclical Patterns in the Leadership Succession Process. First Edition, Hoover Institution Press, Stanford, 1990, p. 121 - 22 Jump up ^ Zubok, V.M. A Failed Empire : The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin To Gorbachev, Second Edition, The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 2002, p. 276 Jump up ^ Bialer, Seweryn. The Soviet Paradox : External Expansion, Internal Decline. I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, London, 1986, p. 105. Jump up ^ Zemtsov 1989, p. 184. Jump up ^ Zemtsov 1989, p. 185. Bibliography Andrew, Christopher ; Gordievsky, Oleg ( 1990 ). KGB : The Inside Story of Its Foreign Operations from Lenin to Gorbachev. 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Europa Publications Limited ( 2004 ). Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia. Routledge. ISBN 978 - 1857431872. Ginsburgs, George ; Ajani, Gianmaria ; van den Berg, Gerard Peter ( 1989 ). Soviet Administrative Law : Theory and Policy. Brill Publishers. ISBN 978 - 0792302889. CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) Gorbachev, Mikhail ( 1996 ). Memoirs. University of Michigan : Doubleday. ISBN 978 - 0385480192. Green, William C. ; Reeves, W. Robert ( 1993 ). The Soviet Military Encyclopedia : P -- Z. University of Michigan : Westview Press. ISBN 978 - 0813314310. Gregory, Paul ( 2004 ). The Political Economy of Stalinism : Evidence from the Soviet Secret Archives. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978 - 0521533676. Hill, Kenneth ( 1993 ). Cold War chronology : Soviet -- American relations, 1945 -- 1991. University of Michigan : Congressional Quarterly. ISBN 978 - 0871879219. Lenin, Vladimir ( 1920 ). Collected Works. 31. p. 516. Marlowe, Lynn Elizabeth ( 2005 ). 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Question: who was the leader of the soviet union in 1967 and 1968
Answer: Leonid Brezhnev