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Совет Министров СССР |
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| The former headquarters of the Council of Ministers | |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1946 |
| Preceding agency | Council of People's Commissars |
| Dissolved | 1991 |
| Superseding agency | Cabinet of Ministers |
| Jurisdiction | Union of Soviet Socialist Republics |
| Headquarters | Kremlin Senate, Moscow |
The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: Совет Министров СССР, tr.: Sovet Ministrov SSSR; sometimes abbreviated to Sovmin or referred to as the Soviet of Ministers), was the de jure government comprising the highest executive and administrative body of the Soviet Union from 1946 until 1991.
In 1946 the Council of People's Commissars was transformed into the Council of Ministers, with People's Commissariats turned into Ministries. The council issued declarations and instructions based on and in accordance with applicable laws, which had obligatory jurisdictional power over the territories of all republics within the Union. However, the most important state issues were handled through joint declarations with the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Soviet Union (CPSU), which was de facto more powerful than the Council of Ministers. In 1991 the Council of Ministers was dissolved, and replaced by the newly established Cabinet of Ministers, which itself disappeared only months later when the Soviet Union disintegrated.
There were seven chairmen of the Council of Ministers, in effect Premier of the Soviet Union. Following Nikita Khrushchev's removal from the post of Party First Secretary and Premier by Leonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin, a Central Committee plenum forbade any individual to hold the posts of First Secretary and Premier concurrently. The Presidium of the Council of Ministers was the collective decision-making body of government. The Chairman of the Council of Ministers, his First Deputy Chairmen, Deputy Chairmen, ministers, State Committee chairmen, Soviet Republican Council of Ministers chairmen and other unspecified personnel were members of the Presidium.
Contents |
| Chairmen | Term |
|---|---|
| Joseph Stalin | 1946–1953 |
| Georgy Malenkov | 1953–1955 |
| Nikolai Bulganin | 1955–1958 |
| Nikita Khrushchev | 1958–1964 |
| Alexei Kosygin | 1964–1980 |
| Nikolai Tikhonov | 1980–1985 |
| Nikolai Ryzhkov | 1985–1991 |
The Council of People's Commissars, the Soviet Government, was transformed into the Council of Ministers in March 1946 in all level of governance.[1] At the same time The People's Commissariats were transformed into Ministries.[2] Joseph Stalin's death sparked a power struggle within the Soviet leadership between the Government apparatus led by Georgy Malenkov as Premier, and the Party apparatus led by Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary.[3] Malenkov lost the power struggle, and in 1955 he was demoted from his office as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. He was succeeded in his post by Nikolai Bulganin,[4] who in turn was removed and replaced by Khrushchev because of his support for the Anti-Party Group, which had tried to oust Khrushchev in 1957.[5]
Following Khrushchev's removal from power, the collective leadership led by Leonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin held a Central Committee plenum which forbade any single individual to hold the two most powerful posts in the country: First Secretary and Chairman of the Council of Ministers.[6] Kosygin, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, was in charge of economic administration while Brezhnev, the General Secretary, took care of other domestic matters.[7] In the later part of the Brezhnev Era the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers lost its position as the second-most powerful in the Soviet Union to the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.[8] Nikolai Podgorny's removal as head of state in 1977 had the effect of reducing Kosygin's role in day-to-day management of government activities as Brezhnev strengthened his control over the government apparatus.[9]
Kosygin resigned in 1980, to be succeeded by his First Deputy Chairman Nikolai Tikhonov.[10] After five-years service, under the rules laid down by Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko Tikhonov was compelled to retire by Mikhail Gorbachev on 27 September 1985. Tikhonov was succeeded by Nikolai Ryzhkov.[11] Ryzhkov was a half-hearted reformer, and was skeptical towards the de-nationalisation and the monetary reform of 1989, however, he did support the creation of a "regulated market" economy. In 1991 Ryzhkov was succeeded as Premier by Valentin Pavlov. The Council of Ministers was dissolved and replaced with the newly established Cabinet of Ministers.[12]
| Soviet Union |
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Atlas |
The Council of Ministers was the head of the government's executive branch.[13] Formed at a joint meeting of the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities, it consisted of a Chairman, several First Deputies, Deputies, ministers, Chairmen of the state committees and the Chairmen of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Republics. The Chairman of the Council of Ministers could also recommend people who he found suitable for membership of the Council of Ministers to the Supreme Soviet. The Council of Ministers laid down its functions on each first-convocation of a newly elected Supreme Soviet.[14]
Responsible and accountable to the Supreme Soviet and in the period between convocations of the Supreme Soviet, the Council of Ministers was accountable to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and regularly reported to the Supreme Soviet on its work,[15] as well as being tasked with resolving all state administrative duties within the jurisdiction of the USSR to the degree that it did not come under the competence of the Supreme Soviet or the Presidium. Within its limits, the Council of Ministers had responsibility for:[16]
The Council of Ministers could also issue decrees and resolutions and later on verify their execution. All organisations were obliged to follow the decrees and resolutions issued by the All-Union Council of Ministers.[17] The All-Union Council also had the power to suspend all mandates and decrees issued by itself or organisations subordinate to it.[18] The Council coordinated and directed the work of the union republics and union ministries, state committees and other organs subordinate to it.[19] The competence of the Council of Ministers and its Presidium with respect to their procedures and activities and the council's relationships with subordinate organs were defined in the Soviet constitution by the Law on the Council of Ministers of the USSR.[20]
In 1946, the All-Union Council of People's Commissars became the Council of Ministers (Russian: Совет Министров, tr.: Sovet Ministrov SSSR), whilst People's Commissars and People's Commissariats became Ministers and Ministries.[21] Ministers were important figures in day-to-day decision-making, with 73 percent of them elected full-members of the Central Committee at the 25th Party Congress.[22] Nikita Khrushchev's reshuffling and reorganisation shut down several ministries and replaced them with the Supreme Soviet of the National Economy to decentralise decision-making.[23] This reorganisation was abandoned by the Soviet Government following Khrushchev's ousting in 1964. In the October 1965 convocation of the Supreme Soviet this decision became official. Twenty-eight industrial ministries, eleven All-union and seventeen Union ministries were reestablished. However, decentralisation of the Soviet economy continued, with Premier Alexei Kosygin initiating economic reform in 1965 to decentralise economic decision-making.[24] The industrial ministries administered the bulk of Soviet industry although on some occasions constructions projects and local consumer good industries were controlled by regional soviets.[25]
The most powerful ministry was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its former heads were notables such as Leon Trotsky, Vyacheslav Molotov and Andrei Gromyko. As the Soviet military started to play an increasingly important role in everyday governance, the role of the Ministry of Defense also expanded, with Andrei Grechko, along with Gromyko, being elected full Politburo members in April 1973.[26]
According to historian L. G. Churchward, author of Contemporary Soviet Government, the Presidium was established in March 1953 as part of the post-Stalin transition. The Presidium was described by Soviet textbooks and officials as an internal organ of the government. There are few sources which indicate that the Presidium had any leverage, or even importance, in day-to-day policy-making between 1956 to 1960. Soviet works from that period make no mention of a Presidium of the Council of Ministers. Professor T.H. Rigby believes that the duties and responsibilities of the Presidium were largely taken over by the Current Affairs Commission of the Council of Ministers and from 1956 possibly by the State Economic Commission of the Council of Ministers with both Commissions chaired by Mikhail Pervukhin.[27] During a trip to the Soviet Union, political scientist Robert C. Tucker asked Mansur Mirza-Akhmedov, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, if the Presidium still functioned as an inner policy-making body. The answer he received was yes, and that the Presidium consisted of the chairman, two first deputy chairmen, four deputy chairmen, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Agriculture.[28] Churchward noted in his 1975 book that it was impossible to determine the importance of the Presidium in comparison with other organs of the Council of Ministers.[29] British historian Leonard Schapiro, writes in his book The Government and Politics of the Soviet Union, that the Presidium worked somewhat as an "Inner Cabinet" for policy-making. However, Schapiro was not sure of the Presidium's membership or if the Presidium had held any meetings.[30]
Throughout its existence, The Presidium of the Council of Ministers was a shadowy institution. For years Soviet textbooks were unable to verify the Presidium's membership; some textbooks saying that only the "chairman, the first deputy chairmen and deputy chairmen" were members. Another Soviet textbook stated that its members were the "chairman, the deputy chairmen" and some other government members. A Soviet scholar believed it constituted the Minister of Finance, the Chairman of the People's Control Committee and the first secretary of the executive committee of regional soviets. Article 132 of the 1977 Soviet Constitution states that the "Chairman and the First Deputy and Deputy Chairmen" were members, but according to historians Jerry F. Hough and Merle Fainsod, other members could also participate in the Presidium's meetings.[31]
First World observers knew nothing of the Presidium's activities and functions, or even the frequencies of its meetings. Historians Hough and Fainsod believed there to be a "great overlap" between the responsibilities and functions of the Central Committee Secretariat and the Presidium of the Council of Ministers.[32] The 1977 Soviet Constitution referred to the Presidium as a "permanent" organ of the Council of Ministers. It was established to secure good economic leadership and take on other administrative responsibilities. The few documents published show that the Presidium focused on economic planning and decision-making as well as making important decisions at a level below those of Politburo significance.[33]
Ministries and State Committees differed in that a State Committee was usually responsible for several branches as opposed to the one specific area of a Ministry, with the chairman of a State Committee responsible for the appointment of new personnel.[34] At times the distinction between a ministry and a committee could be obscure as in the case of the Committee for State Security (KGB).[35] During Nikita Khrushchev's major reshuffle and reorganisation of duties, functions and responsibilities of the central ministries, several State Committees were formed to "co-ordinate production, to plan distribution, and utilisation of resources" and to co-ordinate, encourage and supervise technological development within the respective branch of that particular State Committee.[36] Khrushchev's successors abandoned this policy and dissolved the newly established State Committees.[36]