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; Predsedatel' Soveta Narodnykh Komissarov SSSR) (1923-1946) and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (Председатель Совета Министров СССР; Predsedatel' Soveta Ministrov SSSR) (1946-1991), who was the head of government in the Soviet Union.
However, the most important decisions were passed jointly with the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, the latter being more influential in such cases. 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 referred to by the title, despite the fact he was never legally the "premier".
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR :
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- Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (July 6, 1923 - January 21, 1924); also Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR (November 8, 1917 [O.S. October 26] - 1924)
- Alexey Ivanovich Rykov (February 2, 1924 - December 19, 1930)
- Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov (December 19, 1930 - May 6, 1941)
- Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin (May 6, 1941 - March 15, 1946)
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR :
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- Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin (March 19, 1946 - March 5, 1953)
- Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov (March 6, 1953 - February 8, 1955)
- Nikolay Alexandrovich Bulganin (February 8, 1955 - March 27, 1958)
- Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (March 27, 1958 - October 15, 1964)
- Alexey Nikolayevich Kosygin (October 15, 1964 - October 23, 1980)
- Nikolay Alexandrovich Tikhonov (October 23, 1980 - September 27, 1985)
- Nikolay Ivanovich Ryzhkov (September 27, 1985 - December 26, 1990)
Prime Minister of the USSR :
Chairman of the Committee on Operative Management of the National Economy (from 20 Sep 1991, Chairman of the Interrepublican Economic Committee; from 14 Nov 1991, Chairman of the Interstate Economic Committee - Prime Minister of the Economic Commonwealth) :
