The rulers of the USSR in chronological order

The first ruler of the young Country of Soviets, which arose as a result of the October 1917 coup, was the leader of the Bolshevik Party of the RCP (b), Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin), who headed the "workers 'and peasants' revolution". All subsequent rulers of the USSR held the post of general secretary of the central committee of this organization, which, beginning in 1922, became known as the CPSU - the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

It should be noted that the ideology of the system ruling in the country denied the possibility of holding any national elections or voting. The change of the highest leaders of the state was carried out by the ruling elite either after the death of the predecessor, or as a result of coups accompanied by serious internal party struggles. 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, which gave rise to the world's first communist state. Having headed in October 1917 a coup aimed at overthrowing the interim government, he took up the post of chairman of the Council of People's Commissars - the post of leader of a new country formed on the ruins of the Russian Empire.

His merit is the peace treaty of 1918 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 widespread poverty and hunger. All the rulers of the USSR considered themselves "faithful Leninists" and in every way praised Vladimir Ulyanov as a great statesman.

It should be noted that right after "reconciliation with the Germans" the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, unleashed internal terror against the dissent and inheritance of tsarism, which claimed millions of lives. The policy of the NEP also lasted for a short time and was abolished shortly after his death, which occurred 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 Lenin, he remained on the secondary roles of leading the state, yielding to the popularity of his other comrades-in-arms, who also labeled the rulers of the USSR. Nevertheless, after the death of the leader of the world proletariat, Stalin, in a short time, eliminated his main opponents, accusing them of betraying the ideals of the revolution.

By the beginning of the 1930s, he became the sole leader of the peoples, able to stroke the fate of millions of citizens with the stroke of a pen. The policies of forced collectivization and dekulakization, which came to replace the NEP, as well as mass repressions against persons dissatisfied with the current authorities, carried the lives of hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens. However, the period of Stalin's rule is noticeable not only by 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 won the battle with fascism.

After the end of the Great Patriotic War, many cities in the western part of the USSR, destroyed almost to the ground, were quickly restored, and their industry earned even more effectively. The rulers of the USSR, who held the supreme post after Joseph Stalin, denied his leading role in the development of the state and characterized the time of his reign as the period of the leader's personality cult.

Khrushchev Nikita Sergeevich (1894-1971)

Coming from a simple peasant family, Nikita Khrushchev was at the helm of the party shortly after Stalin's death, which occurred on March 5, 1953. During the first years of his reign, he waged a subterfuge struggle against GM Malenkov, who held the post of chairman of the Council of Ministers and was de facto Head of state.

In 1956, Khrushchev read at the Twentieth Party Congress a report on Stalin's repression, condemning the actions of his predecessor. The reign of Nikita Sergeyevich 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 allowed many citizens of the country to move from close communal apartments to a more comfortable separate housing. Houses, massively built at that time, are still popularly called "Khrushchevs".

Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich (1907-1982)

October 14, 1964 NS Khrushchev was removed from his post by a group of members of the Central Committee under the leadership of Leonid Brezhnev. For the first time in the history of the state, the rulers of the USSR were changed in order not after the death of the leader, but as a result of an intraparty conspiracy. The era of Brezhnev 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 NS Khrushchev ordered the deployment of missiles with a nuclear warhead in Cuba. Agreements were signed with the American leadership, which limited the arms race. However, Leonid Brezhnev's efforts to discharge the situation were crossed out by the introduction of troops into Afghanistan.

Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich (1914-1984)

After the death of Brezhnev, which occurred on November 10, 1982, his place was taken by Andropov, who previously led the KGB - the Committee of State Security of the USSR. He headed for reforms and reforms in the social and economic spheres. The time of his reign is marked by the initiation of criminal cases that expose corruption in power circles. However, Yuri Vladimirovich did not manage to make any changes in the life of the state, as he had serious health problems and died on February 9,

Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich (1911-1985)

Since February 13, 1984, he held the post of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. Continued the policy of his predecessor in exposing corruption in the echelons of power. He was very ill and died on March 10, 1985, after spending a little more than a year at the top state post. All the previous rulers of the USSR in order, established in the state, were buried near the Kremlin wall, and KU Chernenko became the last on this list.

Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich (1931)

MS Gorbachev is the most famous Russian politician of the late twentieth century. He won love and popularity in the West, but his citizens cause a double feeling among the citizens of his country. If Europeans and Americans call him a great reformer, many Russians consider it a destroyer of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev proclaimed domestic economic and political reforms under the slogan "Perestroika, Glasnost, Acceleration!", Which led to a massive shortage of food and manufactured goods, unemployment and a drop in the standard of living of the population.

To assert that the epoch of Mikhail Gorbachev's government had only negative consequences for the life of our country would be wrong. In Russia, there were concepts of multi-party system, freedom of religion and the press. For his foreign policy, Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The rulers of the USSR and Russia did not receive such an honor either before or after Mikhail Sergeyevich.