Premier of the Soviet Union
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Premier of the Soviet Union is the commonly used English term for the offices of Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR (Председатель Совета Народных Комиссаров СССР) (1923-1946) and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (Председатель Совета Министров СССР) (1946-1991), who was the head of government in the Soviet Union.
However, the real power in the USSR was in the Politburo. After Lenin's death the key position in the Politburo and the country was the General Secretary. Some Soviet leaders held both positions at the same time.
In the western press it was common to always refer to the General Secretary of the Party as the "premier of the Soviet Union" regardless of whether or not the man actually held the office or not. For example Leonid Brezhnev was often refered to by the title, despite the fact he was never legally the "premier".
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR
- Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1923-1924); also Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR (1917-1924)
- Alexey Ivanovich Rykov (1924-1930)
- Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov (1930-1941)
- Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin (1941-1946)
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR
- Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin (1946-1953)
- Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov (1953-1955)
- Nikolay Alexandrovich Bulganin (1955-1958)
- Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (1958-1964)
- Alexey Nikolayevich Kosygin (1964-1980)
- Nikolay Alexandrovich Tikhonov (1980-1985)
- Nikolay Ivanovich Ryzhkov (1985-1991)
Prime Minister of the USSR
- Valentin Pavlov (January 14, 1991-August 22, 1991)
- Ivan Silayev (August 24, 1991-December 26, 1991)