Ministry of Communications (Soviet Union)

Ministry of Communications of the USSR
Министерство связи СССР
Official emblem of the Ministry of Communications of the USSR on a Soviet Union stamp (1972). The Ministry of Communications was responsible for issuing postage stamps in the USSR
Agency overview
Formed	15 March 1946
Preceding agencies	People's Commissariat for Post and Telegraph of the RSFSR (since 8 November 1917) People's Commissariat for Posts and Telegraphs of the USSR (since 17 January 1932)
Dissolved	26 December 1991
Superseding agency	Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation
Jurisdiction	Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Headquarters	Moscow Kremlin in Moscow, RSFSR, Soviet Union
Annual budget	varied

The Ministry of Communications of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: Министерство связи СССР) was the central state administration body on communications in the Soviet Union from 1946 to 1991. It had authority over the postal, telegraph and telephone communications as well as public radio, technical means of radio and television broadcasting, and the distribution of periodicals in the country.

Contents 1 History 2 Departments 3 Ministers 4 Publications 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links

History

The Ministry of Communications of the USSR was established on 15 March 1946, replacing the People's Commissariat of Communications of the USSR (formerly People's Commissariat for Post and Telegraph). It was originally set up as an all-Union ministry, and in December 1954 transformed into a Union-Republican one.^[1]

The Ministry of Communications of the USSR was responsible for the maintenance and further development of all types of communications in general use, and technical means of radio and television broadcasting. It was also in charge of the periodicals distribution as well as the provision of technological progress in the industry, the quality of communication services, and the most complete and continuous needs of the country media and communication services. Additionally, the Ministry was responsible for issuing postage stamps and postal stationery (envelopes, postcards, etc.), which were used in the postal system of the Soviet Union.

The Ministry was terminated on 26 December 1991 due to the abolition of the Soviet Union. All Ministry assets, premises and other facilities in the territory of the Russian Federation were delegated to the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation.

Departments

The Ministry included two major departments^[1][2]:

• General Directorate of Post, whose administrative tasks were organization and management of the postal system in the USSR, and
• General Directorate of Periodicals Distribution 'Soyuzpechat' (later, the Central Retail and Subscription Agency 'Soyuzpechat' and since 1994, JSC 'Agency Rospechat') that was also in charge of organizing trade of philatelic materials (through its unit, the Central Philatelic Agency 'Soyuzpechat').

Ministers

Over the years, the Ministry was headed by Ministers of Communications of the USSR as follows:

• Konstantin Yakovlevich Sergeichuk (19 March 1946 - 30 March 1948)
• Nikolai Dem'yanovich Psurtsev (March 30, 1948 - 3 September 1975)
• Nikolai Vladimirovich Talyzin (September 3, 1975 - October 24, 1980)
• Vasily A. Shamshin (24 November 1980 - 7 June 1989)
• Erlen Kirikovich Pervyshin (17 July 1989 - 26 December 1990)
• Gennady G. Kudryavtsev (2 March 1991 - 26 November 1991)

Publications

Under the auspices of the USSR Ministry of Communications and 'Soyuzpechat', the following periodicals and publications were issued:

• magazine 'Herald of Communications' (Russian: «Вестник связи»),^[3]
• magazine 'Philately of the USSR' (Russian: «Филателия СССР»), jointly with the All-Union Society of Philatelists,^[4]
• stamp catalogs, and price sheets of stamps of the USSR and other philatelic materials.

See also

• Ministries of the Soviet Union
• People's Commissariat for Post and Telegraph
• Soviet Union stamp catalogue

Notes

References

• Davydov, G.B. (1969—1978). "СССР. Связь [USSR. Communications]" (in Russian). Большая советская энциклопедия [Great Soviet Encyclopedia]. Moscow: Soviet Encyclopedia. http://www.cultinfo.ru/fulltext/1/001/008/106/988.htm. Retrieved 27 September 2010. 

External links

• Governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from 1917–1964 and 1964–1991

Agencies and offices of the Union government of the Soviet Union All-Union President and Vice President of the Soviet Union (list) Presidential Council State Council Security Council Premiers Ministries Agricultural Products Procurement Agriculture and Food Assembling and Special Construction Armament Automobile and Agricultural Machine Building Aviation Industry · Building Materials Industry Chemical Industry Chemical and Oil Machinery Building · Coal Industry Cellulose and Paper Industry Civil Aviation Coal Industry Commerce Communications Communication Equipment Industry Construction Construction of Fuel Industry Construction of Heavy Industry Construction of Oil and Gas Industry Construction of Petrochemical Machinery Construction of Power Plants Construction of Road Building and Communal Machines Construction of Tool-Machines Cotton Culture Defense Defense Industry Economy Education Electrical Engineering Electrical Power and Electrification Electronics Industry Electrotechnical Industry Environmental Protection Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ferrous Metallurgy Finance Fish Industry Foreign Economic Relations Forestry Forestry Industry Fruits and Vegetables Gas Industry General Machine Building Geology · Grain Products Health Housing and Architecture Heavy Machine Building Heavy and Transport Machines Construction High Education Industrial Construction Installation and Special Construction Work Instrument-Making, Automation and Control Systems Interior Iron and Steel Justice Light Industry Tool and Tool Building Industry Land Reclamation and Water Resources Machine Building Machine Building for Animal Husbandry and Fodder Products Machine Building for Light and Food Industry Machine Tool and Tool Building Industry Machinery for Stock Raising and Feeding Manufacture of Communication Media Meat and Dairy Industry Medical Industry Medical and Microbiologiacal Industry Medium Machine Building Merchant Marine Mineral Fertilizer Production Metallurgy Non-Ferrous Metallurgy Nuclear Power Industry Oil Industry Oil and Gas Industry · Oil Processing and Petrochemical Industry Power and Electrification Pulp and Paper Industry Radio Industry Railways Rubber Industry Shipbuilding State Farms State Security Technical Cultivation Textile Industry Timber Industry Timber, Paper and Wood Processing Industry Tool and Tool Building Industry Trade, Home Tractors and Agricultural Machines Transport Construction Urban Construction without Portfolio Regional ministries Construction in the Eastern Regions Construction in the Far East and Transbaikal Regions Construction in the Northern and Western Regions Construction in the Southern Regions Construction in the Urals and West Sibirian Regions State Committees and commissions Building Materials Cinematography Construction Defense Defense Technology Fuel Industry Labour and Social Problems Logistics People's Control Prices Publishing Metallurgy State of Emergency Science and Technology Standards and Product Quality Management State Planning State Security Statistics Television and Radio Timber and Paper Industry Transport Construction