The first ruler of the young Country of Soviets, which arose as a result of the October 1917 coup, was the head of the RCP (b) - the Bolshevik party - Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin), who led the "revolution of workers and peasants." All subsequent rulers of the USSR served as general secretary of the central committee of this organization, which, starting in 1922, became known as the CPSU - the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Note that the ideology of the system ruling in the country denied the possibility of holding any popular elections or voting. The change of the top leaders of the state was carried out by the ruling elite either after the death of its predecessor, or as a result of coups, accompanied by a serious internal party struggle. The article will list the rulers of the USSR in chronological order and mark the main stages of the life path of some of the most striking historical figures.
Ulyanov (Lenin) Vladimir Ilyich (1870–1924)
One of the most famous figures in the history of Soviet Russia. Vladimir Ulyanov stood at the origins of its creation, was the organizer and one of the leaders of the event that gave rise to the world's first communist state. Leading the coup in October 1917, aimed at overthrowing the interim government, he took the post of chairman of the Council of People's Commissars - the post of head of a new country formed on the ruins of the Russian Empire.
His merit is the 1918 peace treaty with Germany, which marked the end of Russia's participation in the First World War, as well as the NEP - the new economic policy of the government, which was supposed to lead the country out of the abyss of general poverty and hunger. All the rulers of the USSR considered themselves “faithful Leninists” and in every possible way praised Vladimir Ulyanov as a great statesman.
It should be noted that immediately after the "reconciliation with the Germans", the Bolsheviks, under the leadership of Lenin, unleashed internal terror against dissent and the legacy of tsarism, which claimed millions of lives. The NEP’s policy also did not last long and was canceled shortly after his death on January 21, 1924.
Dzhugashvili (Stalin) Joseph Vissarionovich (1879–1953)
Joseph Stalin in 1922 became the first general secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. However, until the death of V.I. Lenin, he remained on the sidelines of the leadership of the state, inferior in popularity to his other comrades-in-arms, who also aimed at the rulers of the USSR. Nevertheless, after the leader of the world proletariat passed away, Stalin eliminated his main opponents in a short time, accusing them of betraying the ideals of the revolution.
By the beginning of the 1930s, he became the sole leader of the peoples, capable of stroke the pen to decide the fate of millions of citizens. His policy of forced collectivization and dispossession, which came to replace the NEP, as well as mass repressions against people dissatisfied with the current government, claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens. However, the period of Stalin's rule is not only noticeable in the bloody trail, it is worth noting the positive aspects of his leadership. In a short time, the Soviet Union turned from a country with a third-rate economy into a powerful industrial power that triumphed in the battle against fascism.
After the end of World War II, many cities of the western part of the USSR, destroyed almost to the foundation, were quickly restored, and their industry worked even more efficiently. The rulers of the USSR, who held the highest post after Joseph Stalin, denied his leading role in the development of the state and characterized his reign as a period of cult of the leader’s personality.
Khrushchev Nikita Sergeevich (1894–1971)
A native of a simple peasant family, N. S. Khrushchev became at the helm of the party shortly after the death of Stalin, which occurred on March 5, 1953. During the first years of his reign, he waged an undercover fight against G. M. Malenkov, who served as chairman of the Council of Ministers and was actual the head of state.
In 1956, Khrushchev read out a report on the Stalinist repressions at the Twentieth Party Congress, condemning the actions of his predecessor. The reign of Nikita Sergeevich was marked by the development of the space program - the launch of an artificial satellite and the first manned flight into space. His new housing policy has allowed many citizens of the country to move from cramped communal apartments to more comfortable separate housing. Houses built in large numbers at that time are still popularly called "Khrushchev".
Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich (1907–1982)
On October 14, 1964, N. S. Khrushchev was removed from his post by a group of members of the Central Committee under the leadership of L. I. Brezhnev. For the first time in the history of the state, the rulers of the USSR changed in order not after the death of the leader, but as a result of an intra-party conspiracy. The Brezhnev era in the history of Russia is known as stagnation. The country stopped in development and began to lose to the leading world powers, lagging behind them in all sectors, excluding the military-industrial one.
Brezhnev made some attempts to establish relations with the United States, spoiled by the Caribbean crisis of 1962, when N. S. Khrushchev ordered the deployment of missiles with nuclear warheads in Cuba. Agreements were signed with the American leadership that limited the arms race. However, all the efforts of Leonid Brezhnev to defuse the situation were crossed out by the introduction of troops into Afghanistan.
Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich (1914–1984)
After the death of Brezhnev on November 10, 1982, his place was taken by Yu. Andropov, who previously headed the KGB, the USSR State Security Committee. He headed for reforms and transformations in the social and economic spheres. The time of his reign is marked by the initiation of criminal cases exposing corruption in government circles. However, Yuri Vladimirovich did not have time to make any changes in the life of the state, as he had serious health problems and died on February 9, 1984.
Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich (1911–1985)
On February 13, 1984, he served as Secretary General of the CPSU Central Committee. He continued the policy of his predecessor to expose corruption in the echelons of power. He was very ill and died on March 10, 1985, having been in the highest public office for a little over a year. All past rulers of the USSR, in the order established in the state, were buried near the Kremlin wall, and K. U. Chernenko was the last on this list.
Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich (1931)
M. S. Gorbachev is the most famous Russian politician of the late twentieth century. He won love and popularity in the West, but among the citizens of his country, his rule provokes double feelings. If Europeans and Americans call him a great reformer, then many Russians consider him the destroyer of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev proclaimed internal economic and political reforms under the slogan “Perestroika, Glasnost, Acceleration!”, Which led to a massive shortage of food and manufactured goods, unemployment and a decline in the standard of living of the population.
To argue that the era of the reign of M. S. Gorbachev had only negative consequences for the life of our country would be wrong. The concepts of a multi-party system, freedom of religion and the press appeared in Russia. For his foreign policy, Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The rulers of the USSR and Russia, neither before nor after Mikhail Sergeyevich, received such an honor.