People's Commissariat for Posts and Telegraphs, and known as the Narkompochtel, was set up on 7 November [O.S. 25 October] 1917, following the Bolshevik seizure of Power in Russia.
The first commissar was Nikolai Glebov-Avilov, who sat on Sovnarkom.
During the October Revolution of 1917 Council of People's Commissars took control of the former Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs which had been taken over by the workers who had formed a soviet. On 9 November [O.S. 27 October] 1917, the People's Commissar for Posts and Telegraphs issued a decree dissolving the former administration, which also concluded "I declare that no so-called initiatory groups or committees for the administration of the department of Posts and Telegraphs can usurp the functions belonging to the central power and to me as People's Commissar".[1][2][3]
| People's Commissar for Posts and Telegraphs | Term of office |
|---|---|
| Nikolai Glebov-Avilov | 8 November 1917 - 23 December 1917 |
| Prosh Proshyan | 23 December 1917 - 11 March 1918 |
| Vadim Podbelsky | 11 March 1918- 1 March 1920 |
| Artemi Lyubovitsh | 1 March 1920 - 1 January 1921 |
| Valerian Dovgalevski | 1 January 1921 - 25 May 1925 |
| Ivan Smirnov | 25 May 1925 - 1 January 1927 |
| Artemi Lyubovitsh | 1 January 1927 - 17 January 1928 |
| Nikolai Antipov | 17 January 1928 - 30 March 1931 |
| Alexey Rykov | 30 March 1931 - 17 January 1932 |
On 17 January 1932 the Commissariat was renamed the People's Commissariat for Communications of the USSR.[4]
| People's Commissar for Communications | Term of office |
|---|---|
| Alexey Rykov | 17 January 1932 - 26 September 1936 |
| Genrikh Yagoda | 26 September 1936 - 5 April 1937 |
| Innokenti Khalepski | 5 April 1937 - 17 August 1937 |
| Matvei Berman | 17 August 1937 - 1 July 1938 |
| (vacant) | 1 July 1938 - 7 May 1939 |
| Ivan Peresypkin | 10 May 1939 - 20 July 1944 |
| Konstantin Sergeychuk | 20 July 1944 - 15 March 1946 |
In 1946 it was replaced by the Ministry of Communications of the USSR.[5]