Mikhail Kalinin

**Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin** (, ; 19 March 1875 – 3 June 1946) was a Russian politician revolutionary who was the head of state of the Soviet Union. First as the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets from 1919 to 1938, then as the first president of the Soviet Union from 1938 to 1946. He is the longest-serving head of state in the country, serving for 27 years.

Although Kalinin was the president, he did not hold any real power especially under Joseph Stalin, whom Kalinin had a very close relationship with. Kalinin was seen as a puppet of Stalin and that Stalin held the real power behind the scenes. In 1946, Kalinin retired from politics and died later that same year. The city of Tver was also known as Kalinin until 1990, when its historic name was restored, one year before the eventual fall of the Soviet Union.

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **native name lang**: ru
- **image**: Калинин М. И. (1920) (cropped).jpg
- **caption**: Kalinin in 1920
- **order**: 1st
- **office**: President of the Soviet Union
- **vicepresident**: Nikolai Shvernik
- **term start**: 17 January 1938
- **term end**: 19 March 1946
- **predecessor**: _Office established_; _Himself_ (as Chairman of the Central Executive Cqommittee of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets)
- **successor**: Nikolai Shvernik
- **office1**: List of leaders of the Russian SFSR#Heads of state, Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, Central Executive Committee of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets
- **term start1**: 30 March 1919
- **term end1**: 15 July 1938
- **predecessor1**: Yakov Sverdlov
Mikhail Vladimirsky (acting)
- **successor1**: _Office abolished_; _Himself_ (as President)
- **office2**: Full member of the 15th Politburo of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), 15th, 16th Politburo of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), 16th, 17th Politburo of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), 17th, 18th Politburo of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), 18th Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Politburo
- **term start2**: 1 January 1926
- **term end2**: 3 June 1946
- **office3**: Member of the Orgburo
- **term start3**: 16 March 1921
- **term end3**: 2 June 1924
- **office4**: Candidate member of the 8th Politburo and the 8th Secretariat of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), 8th, 9th Politburo and the 9th Secretariat of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), 9th, 10th Politburo and the 10th Secretariat of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), 10th, 11th Politburo of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), 11th, 12th Politburo of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), 12th, 13th Politburo of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), 13th, 14th Politburo of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), 14th Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Politburo
- **term start4**: 25 March 1919
- **term end4**: 1 January 1926
- **birth name**: Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin
- **birth place**: Kashinsky District, Verkhnyaya Troitsa, Tver Governorate, Russian Empire
- **death place**: Moscow, Soviet Union
- **resting place**: Kremlin Wall Necropolis, Moscow
- **spouse**: Ekaterina Kalinina, Ekaterina Ivanovna Lorberg-Kalinina
- **occupation**: Politician, Civil service, Civil servant
- **signature**: БСЭ1. Автограф. Автографы. 11.svg