Council of Ministers (Soviet Union)

The Council of Ministers of the USSR (Russian Совет министров [ Soviet ministrow ], short Совмин [ Sowmin ] ) was the government of the Soviet Union ( until 1922 Soviet Russia). The government was called from the October 8, 1917 the Council of People's Commissars, Russian Совет народных комиссаров, СНК [ Soviet narodnych komissarow ], short СовНарКом [ Sovnarkom ] and was renamed Stalin March 16, 1946 in the Council of Ministers.

Meaning and purpose

According to the Constitution of the USSR of 1977, the Council was the highest executive and administrative organ of state authority of the USSR. He was the country's government.

Was formally elected to the Council of Ministers of the USSR Supreme Soviet. It was him and his presidency accountable. The actual power in the Union and in the countries of the Union was in the hands of the only approved Communist Party, the CPSU (1917: Social Democratic Workers' Party of Russia, from 1918 to 1925 Communist Party of Russia ( B)). The decisions of the Politburo of the CPSU as a political collective body or the General Secretary of the Party and of the Secretariat of the Central Committee had the decisive political importance for the cabinet or for a single minister.

The Constitution of the USSR of December 5, 1936 originally provided only eight people police stations for the entire USSR and 10 federated nation commissioners for the Union and individual European countries. 1951 there were 32 Ministers for the Union and 21 for the Union States. Later, there were over 80 members of the Cabinet.

The control by the party, the security police, the plan ( including by Gosplan, Gosekomsowjet, Economic Council ) and the financial plan as well as in the area of ​​legal and human control had a significant role in the system of government.

Each had their own union republic Council of Ministers with their republic ministries and branches of the State Committee and the other central authorities. Below the level of the Republic, there was the administrative levels of the autonomous republics, oblasts or krais, the cities and the rural districts, and finally the smaller cities and towns. All had their administrative structures, which were placed under the next higher administrative or governmental level, and finally the Party of Union Republics, or the USSR.

Overall, the system of government an almost impenetrable network of ministries, commissions, committees, controls with differentiated professional and territorial responsibilities with the finally top political decision by the party. Jurisdictional disputes between the ministries, the people's business councils, administrative bodies and the Soviets were common.

In 1990, the Council of Ministers as a " Cabinet of Ministers " to President Mikhail Gorbachev was subordinated directly.

Composition

The Council of Ministers consisted of

  • The Chairman ( General and named in the media as Prime Minister ). From 1917 to 1924, from 1941 to 1953 and from 1958 to 1964, the task of the party leader and head of government lay in one hand.
  • The or the First Vice-Chair ( at times up to 5, a total of about 30), who were responsible for specific task areas such as foreign policy, trade, etc..
  • The Vice-Chair ( at times up to 9, a total of 80 ) who were also responsible for specific areas of responsibility.
  • The Ministers (sometimes up to 60 ) who were responsible for many highly differentiated tasks (eg electronic industry or construction and civil engineering machinery). A distinction was made between Union Minister and Union-Republican ministries. Among the most important ministers, ministers for matters of the exterior, the interior included (resolved between 1960-1968 ), defense, finance, foreign trade.
  • The chairman of commissions, committees or heads of offices (1965 were the 41 representatives ) for state control, for State Security ( KGB, NKVD or NNWS ), for the State bank, for statistical purposes, for production or for specific subject areas ( eg. of Defense technology, etc.).
  • The functionaries of the state planning and economic councils (sometimes by 15 representatives ) ( since 1929 also called Gosplan ), eg for the state plan and for the People's Economic Planning.
  • The Chairmen of the Councils of Ministers of Union Republics 15

At times, also had other representatives of the state cabinet rank, such as the secretary of the Supreme Soviet.

The Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, 1946 Ministers of the USSR

The First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers

  • Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov (1941-1946, 1954-1957)
  • Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin (1954-1955)
  • Pavlovich Beria Lawrenti (1953 )
  • Lazar Kaganovich Moissejewitsch (1954-1957)
  • Anastas Mikoyan Hovhannessi (1955-1964)
  • Mikhail Georgijewitsch Pervukhin (1955-1957)
  • Maxim Sacharowitsch Saburoff (1955-1957)
  • Nikolai Alexandrovich Dygai (1958-1959)
  • Frol Romanovich Kozlov (1958-1960)
  • Dmitri Fyodorovich Ustinov (1963-1965)
  • Alexei Nikolayevich Kosygin (1960-1964)
  • Kirill trofimovich Mazurov (1965-1978)
  • Dmitri Stepanovich Polyansky (1965-1973)
  • Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tikhonov (1976-1980)
  • Ivan Vasilyevich Arkhipov (1980-1986)
  • Geidar Alijewitsch Aliyev (1982-1987)
  • Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (1983-1985)
  • Boris Yevdokimovich Shcherbina (1984-1989)
  • Nikolai Vladimirovich Talysin (1985-1988)
  • Vsevolod Serafimovitch Murachowski (1985-1989)
  • Yuri Dmitrievich Masljukow (1988-1991)
  • Lew Worononin Alexeyevich (1989-1990)
  • Vladilen Valentinovich Nikitin (1989-1990)
  • Vladimir Makarovich Velichko (1991 )

The Foreign Minister (before March 16, 1946 People's Commissar )

The Minister of the Interior (before March 16, 1946 People's Commissars ), and the chief of the security forces

  • Felix Dzerzhinsky (1917-1920), State Security ( Cheka )
  • Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov ( 1936-37 ) † only State Security ( NKVD )
  • Vsevolod Nikolayevich Merkulov (1938-1941) †, only State Security ( NKVD )
  • Viktor Semenovich Abakumov (1945-1951) †, only State Security ( NKVD )
  • Semyon Denisovich Ignatiev (1951-1953), only State Security ( NKVD )
  • Ivan Aleksandrovich Serov (1954-1958), only State Security ( KGB)
  • Alexander Nikolayevich Shelepin (1958-1962), only State Security ( KGB)
  • Vladimir Efimovich Semitschastny (1962-1967), only State Security ( KGB), from 1960 to 1968 there was Interior Minister only in the Union Republics
  • Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov (1967-1982), only State Security ( KGB)
  • Viktor Mikhailovich Chebrikov (1982-1988), only State Security ( KGB)
  • Vladimir Alexandrovich Kryuchkov (1988-1991), only State Security ( KGB)
  • Vadim Viktorovich Bakatin ( August-December 1991), only State Security ( KGB)

Note: See also at KGB ( Committee for State Security ), the Soviet secret.

The defense minister (before March 16, 1946 People's Commissars )

The Minister of Finance (before March 16, 1946 People's Commissars )

The chairman of Gosplan

Gosplan was the Committee for Economic Planning of the Soviet Union. The main responsibilities lay in the creation of the Five-Year Plan of the USSR. The chairman of Gosplan were members of the respective Government of the USSR and its importance for since 1938, almost without exception also Deputy or First Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars and the Council of Ministers. The list of the directors see Gosplan.

Council of People's Commissars Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Secretariat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Commissar#People.27s Commissar People's Economic Council Vladimir Lenin Alexei Rykov Nikolai Tikhonov Nikolai Ryzhkov Mikhail Pervukhin Maksim Saburov Frol Kozlov Dmitriy Ustinov Kirill Mazurov Dmitry Polyansky Andrei Gromyko Yuri Maslyukov Adolph Joffe Andrey Vyshinsky Eduard Shevardnadze Alexander Bessmertnykh Boris Pankin Genrikh Yagoda Semyon Ignatyev Alexander Shelepin Nikolai Shchelokov Vladimir Kryuchkov Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Timoshenko Georgy Zhukov Rodion Malinovsky Andrei Grechko Grigori Sokolnikov
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