Government of the Soviet Union
Encyclopedia
The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) ' onMouseout='HidePop("99699")' href="/topics/Romanization_of_Russian">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.
The Council of People's Commissars, the Soviet Government, was transformed into the Council of Ministers in March 1946 in all level of governance. At the same time The People's Commissariats were transformed into Ministries
. 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. 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
, 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.
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. 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. 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. 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.
Kosygin resigned in 1980, to be succeeded by his First Deputy Chairman Nikolai Tikhonov
. 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
. 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.
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.
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, 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:
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. The All-Union Council also had the power to suspend all mandates and decrees issued by itself or organisations subordinate to it. The Council coordinated and directed the work of the union republics and union ministries, state committees and other organs subordinate to it. 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.
's reshuffling and reorganisation shut down several ministries and replaced them with the Supreme Soviet of the National Economy
to decentralise decision-making. 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. 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
.
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.
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
. 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. 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. 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.
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.
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. 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.
(KGB). 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. Khrushchev's successors abandoned this policy and dissolved the newly established State Committees.
Romanization of Russian
Romanization of the Russian alphabet is the process of transliterating the Russian language from the Cyrillic alphabet into the Latin alphabet...
: Sovet Ministrov SSSR; sometimes abbreviated to Sovmin or referred to as the Soviet of Ministers), was the de jure
De jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
comprising the highest executive and administrative body of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
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
Ministries of the Soviet Union
-Ministries:- Other agencies under the Cabinet of Ministers :-See also:* Council of People's Commissars, head of government from 1917-1946* Council of Ministers, head of government from 1946-1991* Cabinet of Ministers, head of government in 1991...
. 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
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
of the Communist Party of Soviet Union (CPSU), which was de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
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
Premier of the Soviet Union
The office of Premier of the Soviet Union was synonymous with head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics . Twelve individuals have been premier...
. Following Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
's removal from the post of Party First Secretary
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the title given to the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. With some exceptions, the office was synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union...
and Premier by Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in...
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
State Committee of the Soviet Union
A State Committee of the Soviet Union was subordinate to the Soviet Government, meaning the Council of People's Commissars , Council of Ministers or the Cabinet of Ministers .-List of committees:All-Union State Committee...
chairmen, Soviet Republican
Republics of the Soviet Union
The Republics of the Soviet Union or the Union Republics of the Soviet Union were ethnically-based administrative units that were subordinated directly to the Government of the Soviet Union...
Council of Ministers chairmen and other unspecified personnel were members of the Presidium.
History
| Chairmen | Term |
|---|---|
| Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee... |
1946–1953 |
| Georgy Malenkov Georgy Malenkov Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov was a Soviet politician, Communist Party leader and close collaborator of Joseph Stalin. After Stalin's death, he became Premier of the Soviet Union and was in 1953 briefly considered the most powerful Soviet politician before being overshadowed by Nikita... |
1953–1955 |
| Nikolai Bulganin Nikolai Bulganin Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin was a prominent Soviet politician, who served as Minister of Defense and Premier of the Soviet Union . The Bulganin beard is named after him.-Early career:... |
1955–1958 |
| Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964... |
1958–1964 |
| Alexei Kosygin | 1964–1980 |
| Nikolai Tikhonov Nikolai Tikhonov Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tikhonov was a Soviet Russian-Ukrainian statesman during the Cold War. He served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1980 to 1985, and as a First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, literally First Vice Premier, from 1976 to 1980... |
1980–1985 |
| Nikolai Ryzhkov Nikolai Ryzhkov Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov was a Soviet official who became a Russian politician following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He served as the last Chairman of the Council of Ministers or Premier of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991... |
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. At the same time The People's Commissariats were transformed into Ministries
Ministries of the Soviet Union
-Ministries:- Other agencies under the Cabinet of Ministers :-See also:* Council of People's Commissars, head of government from 1917-1946* Council of Ministers, head of government from 1946-1991* Cabinet of Ministers, head of government in 1991...
. Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's death sparked a power struggle within the Soviet leadership between the Government apparatus led by Georgy Malenkov
Georgy Malenkov
Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov was a Soviet politician, Communist Party leader and close collaborator of Joseph Stalin. After Stalin's death, he became Premier of the Soviet Union and was in 1953 briefly considered the most powerful Soviet politician before being overshadowed by Nikita...
as Premier, and the Party apparatus led by Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
as First Secretary. 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
Nikolai Bulganin
Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin was a prominent Soviet politician, who served as Minister of Defense and Premier of the Soviet Union . The Bulganin beard is named after him.-Early career:...
, who in turn was removed and replaced by Khrushchev because of his support for the Anti-Party Group
Anti-Party Group
The Anti-Party Group was a group within the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union that unsuccessfully attempted to depose Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary of the Party in May 1957. The group, named by that epithet by Khrushchev, was led by former Premiers Georgy Malenkov and...
, which had tried to oust Khrushchev in 1957.
Following Khrushchev's removal from power, the collective leadership
Collective leadership
Collective leadership or Collectivity of leadership , was considered an ideal form of governance in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics...
led by Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in...
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
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the title given to the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. With some exceptions, the office was synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union...
and Chairman
Premier of the Soviet Union
The office of Premier of the Soviet Union was synonymous with head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics . Twelve individuals have been premier...
of the Council of Ministers. 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. In the later part of the Brezhnev Era
History of the Soviet Union (1964–1982)
The history of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982, referred to as the Brezhnev Era, covers the period of Leonid Brezhnev's rule of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics . This period began with high economic growth and soaring prosperity, but ended with a much weaker Soviet Union facing social,...
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
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was a Soviet governmental institution – a permanent body of the Supreme Soviets . This body was of the all-Union level , as well as in all Soviet republics and autonomous republics...
of the Supreme Soviet. Nikolai Podgorny
Nikolai Podgorny
Nikolai Viktorovich Podgorny was a Soviet Ukrainian statesman during the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, or leader of the Ukrainian SSR, from 1957 to 1963 and as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 1965 to 1977...
'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.
Kosygin resigned in 1980, to be succeeded by his First Deputy Chairman Nikolai Tikhonov
Nikolai Tikhonov
Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tikhonov was a Soviet Russian-Ukrainian statesman during the Cold War. He served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1980 to 1985, and as a First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, literally First Vice Premier, from 1976 to 1980...
. After five-years service, under the rules laid down by Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in...
, Yuri Andropov
Yuri Andropov
Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was a Soviet politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 12 November 1982 until his death fifteen months later.-Early life:...
and Konstantin Chernenko
Konstantin Chernenko
Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko was a Soviet politician and the fifth General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He led the Soviet Union from 13 February 1984 until his death thirteen months later, on 10 March 1985...
Tikhonov was compelled to retire by Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
on 27 September 1985. Tikhonov was succeeded by Nikolai Ryzhkov
Nikolai Ryzhkov
Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov was a Soviet official who became a Russian politician following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He served as the last Chairman of the Council of Ministers or Premier of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991...
. 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
Valentin Pavlov
Valentin Sergeyevich Pavlov was a Soviet official who became a Russian banker following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Born in the city of Moscow, then part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Pavlov began his political career in the Ministry of Finance in 1959...
. The Council of Ministers was dissolved and replaced with the newly established Cabinet of Ministers.
Duties, functions and responsibilities
The Council of Ministers was the head of the government's executive branch. Formed at a joint meeting of the Soviet of the UnionSoviet of the Union
Soviet of the Union , was one of the two chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, elected on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot in accordance with the principles of Soviet democracy, and with the rule that there be one deputy for...
and the Soviet of Nationalities
Soviet of Nationalities
The Soviet of Nationalities , was one of the two chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, elected on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot in accordance with the principles of Soviet democracy...
, it consisted of a Chairman
Premier of the Soviet Union
The office of Premier of the Soviet Union was synonymous with head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics . Twelve individuals have been premier...
, several First Deputies, Deputies, ministers
Ministries of the Soviet Union
-Ministries:- Other agencies under the Cabinet of Ministers :-See also:* Council of People's Commissars, head of government from 1917-1946* Council of Ministers, head of government from 1946-1991* Cabinet of Ministers, head of government in 1991...
, Chairmen of the state committees and the Chairmen of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Republics
Soviet republic (system of government)
A Soviet Republic is a system of government in which the whole state power belongs to the Soviets . Although the term is usually associated with communist states, it was not initially intended to represent only one political force, but merely a form of democracy and representation.In the classic...
. 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.
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
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was a Soviet governmental institution – a permanent body of the Supreme Soviets . This body was of the all-Union level , as well as in all Soviet republics and autonomous republics...
and regularly reported to the Supreme Soviet on its work, 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:
- Management of the national economy and socio-cultural construction and development
- Formulation and submission of the five-year plan for "economic and social development" to the Supreme Soviet along with the state budget.
- Defence of the interests of state, socialist property, public order and to protect the rights of Soviet citizens
- Ensuring state security
- General leadership over the Soviet armed forcesSoviet Armed ForcesThe Soviet Armed Forces, also called the Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Armed Forces of the Soviet Union refers to the armed forces of the Russian SFSR , and Soviet Union from their beginnings in the...
and determination of how many citizens were to be drafted into service - Provision of general leadership in connection with Soviet foreign relations and tradeForeign trade of the Soviet UnionSoviet foreign trade played only a minor role in the Soviet economy. In 1985, for example, exports and imports each accounted for only 4 percent of the Soviet gross national product. The Soviet Union maintained this low level because it could draw upon a large energy and raw material base, and...
, economic, scientific-technical and cultural cooperation of the USSR with foreign countries as well as the power to confirm or denounce international treaties signed by the USSR. - Creation of necessary organisations within the Council of Ministers in the fields of economics, socio-cultural development and defense.
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. The All-Union Council also had the power to suspend all mandates and decrees issued by itself or organisations subordinate to it. The Council coordinated and directed the work of the union republics and union ministries, state committees and other organs subordinate to it. 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.
Ministries
In 1946, the All-Union Council of People's Commissars became the Council of Ministers , whilst People's Commissars and People's Commissariats became Ministers and Ministries. 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. Nikita KhrushchevNikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
's reshuffling and reorganisation shut down several ministries and replaced them with the Supreme Soviet of the National Economy
Supreme Soviet of the National Economy
Supreme Soviet of the National Economy, Superior Soviet of the People's Economy, Vesenkha was the superior state institution for management of the economy of the RSFSR and later of the Soviet Union...
to decentralise decision-making. 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
1965 Soviet economic reform
The 1965 Soviet economic reform, widely referred to simply as the Kosygin reform or Liberman reform, was a reform of economic management and planning, carried out between 1965 and 1971...
to decentralise economic decision-making. The industrial ministries administered the bulk of Soviet industry although on some occasions constructions projects and local consumer good industries
Consumer goods in the Soviet Union
The industry of the Soviet Union was usually divided into two major categories. Group A was "heavy industry," which included all goods that serve as an input required for the production of some other, final good...
were controlled by regional soviets
Soviet (council)
Soviet was a name used for several Russian political organizations. Examples include the Czar's Council of Ministers, which was called the “Soviet of Ministers”; a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia; and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union....
.
The most powerful ministry was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its former heads were notables such as Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
, Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
and Andrei Gromyko
Andrei Gromyko
Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko was a Soviet statesman during the Cold War. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet . Gromyko was responsible for many top decisions on Soviet foreign policy until he retired in 1987. In the West he was given the...
. 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
Andrei Grechko
Andrei Antonovich Grechko was a Soviet general, Marshal of the Soviet Union and Minister of Defense.-Biography:Born in a small town near Rostov-on-Don, the son of Ukrainian peasants, he joined the Red Army in 1919, where he was a part of the legendary “Budyonny Cavalry”...
, along with Gromyko, being elected full Politburo members in April 1973.
Presidium
According to historian L. G. Churchward, author of Contemporary Soviet Government, the Presidium was established in March 1953 as part of the post-StalinJoseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
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
Mikhail Pervukhin
Mikhail Gyeorgievich Pervukhin was a Soviet official during the Stalin Era, Khrushchev Era and the early Brezhnev Era. He served as a First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, literally First Vice-Premier of the Soviet Union, from 1955 to 1957....
. During a trip to the Soviet Union, political scientist Robert C. Tucker
Robert C. Tucker
Robert Charles Tucker was an American political scientist.Born in Kansas City, Missouri, he was a Sovietologist at Princeton University. He served as an attaché at the American Embassy in Moscow from 1944–1953. He received his PhD degree from Harvard University in 1958; his doctoral dissertation...
asked Mansur Mirza-Akhmedov, the Chairman
Prime Minister of Uzbekistan
According to the Constitution of Uzbekistan, the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan and the deputy ministers are appointed by the President.-Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars:*Fayzulla Khodzhayev...
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
Premier of the Soviet Union
The office of Premier of the Soviet Union was synonymous with head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics . Twelve individuals have been premier...
, two first deputy chairmen, four deputy chairmen, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Agriculture. 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. British historian Leonard Schapiro
Leonard Schapiro
Leonard Bertram Naman Schapiro was a British academic and scholar of Russian politics. He taught for many years at the London School of Economics, where he was Professor of Political Science with Special Reference to Russian Studies...
, 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.
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
Soviet (council)
Soviet was a name used for several Russian political organizations. Examples include the Czar's Council of Ministers, which was called the “Soviet of Ministers”; a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia; and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union....
. Article 132 of the 1977 Soviet Constitution
1977 Soviet Constitution
At the Seventh Session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Ninth Convocation on October 7, 1977, the third and last Soviet Constitution, also known as the "Brezhnev Constitution", was unanimously adopted...
states that the "Chairman and the First Deputy and Deputy Chairmen" were members, but according to historians Jerry F. Hough
Jerry F. Hough
Jerry F. Hough is the James B. Duke Professor of Political Science at Duke University. Hough has taught at Duke since 1973; he previously taught at the University of Toronto and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and he has served as a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution....
and Merle Fainsod, other members could also participate in the Presidium's meetings.
First World
First World
The concept of the First World first originated during the Cold War, where it was used to describe countries that were aligned with the United States. These countries were democratic and capitalistic. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the term "First World" took on a...
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
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , abbreviated in Russian as ЦК, "Tse-ka", earlier was also called as the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party ...
Secretariat and the Presidium of the Council of Ministers. 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.
State Committee
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. At times the distinction between a ministry and a committee could be obscure as in the case of the Committee for State SecurityKGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
(KGB). During Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
's major reshuffle and reorganisation of duties, functions and responsibilities of the central ministries
Ministries of the Soviet Union
-Ministries:- Other agencies under the Cabinet of Ministers :-See also:* Council of People's Commissars, head of government from 1917-1946* Council of Ministers, head of government from 1946-1991* Cabinet of Ministers, head of government in 1991...
, 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. Khrushchev's successors abandoned this policy and dissolved the newly established State Committees.
See also
- Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers
- First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers
- Executive Officer of the Council of Ministers
- Council of People's Commissars
- Cabinet of Ministers (Soviet Union)
External links
- Headquarters of the Council of Ministers — satellite photo