Who was the leader after Lenin. Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich

The first ruler of the young Country of Soviets, which arose as a result of the October Revolution of 1917, 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 held the post of General Secretary of the central committee of this organization, which, starting in 1922, became known as the CPSU - Communist Party Soviet Union.

Let us note that the ideology of the system ruling the country denied the possibility of holding any national elections or voting. Change senior managers state was carried out by the ruling elite itself, either after the death of a predecessor, or as a result of coups accompanied by serious internal party struggle. The article will list the rulers of the USSR in chronological order and the main stages are marked life path some of the most prominent historical figures.

Ulyanov (Lenin) Vladimir Ilyich (1870-1924)

One of the most famous figures in history 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 led a coup in October 1917 aimed at overthrowing the provisional government, he took the post of Chairman of the Council People's Commissars- the post of leader of a new country formed on the ruins of the Russian Empire.

His merit is considered to be the peace treaty of 1918 with Germany, which marked the end of the NEP - the government's new economic policy, 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 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 policy also did not last long and was canceled shortly after his death, which occurred on January 21, 1924.

Dzhugashvili (Stalin) Joseph Vissarionovich (1879-1953)

Joseph Stalin became the first in 1922 general secretary However, right up to the death of V.I. Lenin, he remained in the secondary role of governing the state, inferior in popularity to his other comrades, who also aimed to become the rulers of the USSR. Nevertheless, after the death of the leader of the world proletariat, Stalin short time eliminated his main opponents, accusing them of betraying the ideals of the revolution.

By the early 1930s, he became the sole leader of nations, capable of deciding the fate of millions of citizens with the stroke of a pen. His policy of forced collectivization and dispossession, which replaced the NEP, as well as mass repressions against people dissatisfied with the current government, claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of USSR citizens. However, the period of Stalin's reign is noticeable not only in its bloody trail; it is worth noting the positive aspects of his leadership. In a short time, the Union turned from a country with a third-rate economy into a powerful industrial power that won the battle against 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 became even more efficient. The rulers of the USSR, who held the highest position after Joseph Stalin, denied his leading role in the development of the state and characterized his reign as a period of the cult of the leader’s personality.

Khrushchev Nikita Sergeevich (1894-1971)

Coming from a simple peasant family, N.S. Khrushchev took the helm of the party shortly after Stalin’s death, which occurred. During the first years of his reign, he waged a behind-the-scenes struggle with G.M. Malenkov, who held the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers and was the de facto leader of the state.

In 1956, Khrushchev read a report on Stalin’s repressions at the 20th 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 human flight into space. His new one allowed many citizens of the country to move from cramped communal apartments to more comfortable separate housing. The houses that were built en masse at that time are still popularly called “Khrushchev buildings.”

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 were replaced in order not after the death of the leader, but as a result of an internal party conspiracy. The Brezhnev era in Russian history is known as stagnation. The country stopped developing and began to lose to the leading world powers, lagging behind them in all sectors, excluding military-industrial.

Brezhnev made some attempts to improve relations with the United States, which were damaged in 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 L.I. Brezhnev to defuse the situation were canceled out by the introduction of troops into Afghanistan.

Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich (1914-1984)

After Brezhnev's death on November 10, 1982, his place was taken by Yu. Andropov, who had previously headed the KGB - the USSR State Security Committee. He set a course for reforms and transformations in the social and economic spheres. His reign was 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)

Since February 13, 1984, he held the post of General Secretary 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 in 1985, having held the highest government post for just over a year. All past rulers of the USSR, according to the order established in the state, were buried with K.U. Chernenko was the last on this list.

Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich (1931)

M. S. Gorbachev is the most famous Russian politician the end of the twentieth century. He won love and popularity in the West, but the citizens of his country have ambivalent feelings about his rule. If Europeans and Americans call him a great reformer, many people in Russia consider him the destroyer of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev proclaimed internal economic and political reforms, held under the slogan “Perestroika, Glasnost, Acceleration!”, which led to a massive shortage of food and industrial goods, unemployment and a drop in the standard of living of the population.

To assert that the era of M. S. Gorbachev’s reign had only negative consequences for the life of our country, it will be wrong. In Russia, the concepts of a multi-party system, freedom of religion and the press appeared. For my foreign policy Gorbachev was awarded Nobel Prize peace. The rulers of the USSR and Russia, neither before nor after Mikhail Sergeevich, were awarded such an honor.

The General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee is the highest position in the hierarchy of the Communist Party and, by and large, the leader of the Soviet Union. In the history of the party there were four more positions of the head of its central apparatus: Technical Secretary (1917-1918), Chairman of the Secretariat (1918-1919), Executive Secretary (1919-1922) and First Secretary (1953-1966).

The people who filled the first two positions were mainly engaged in paper secretarial work. The position of Executive Secretary was introduced in 1919 to perform administrative activities. The post of General Secretary, established in 1922, was also created purely for administrative and personnel internal party work. However, the first Secretary General Joseph Stalin, using the principles of democratic centralism, managed to become not only the leader of the party, but the entire Soviet Union.

At the 17th Party Congress, Stalin was not formally re-elected to office. Secretary General. However, his influence was already enough to maintain leadership in the party and the country as a whole. After Stalin's death in 1953, Georgy Malenkov was considered the most influential member of the Secretariat. After his appointment to the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers, he left the Secretariat and Nikita Khrushchev, who was soon elected First Secretary of the Central Committee, took the leading positions in the party.

Not limitless rulers

In 1964, the opposition within the Politburo and the Central Committee removed Nikita Khrushchev from the post of First Secretary, electing Leonid Brezhnev in his place. Since 1966, the position of the party leader was again called the General Secretary. In Brezhnev's times, the power of the General Secretary was not unlimited, since members of the Politburo could limit his powers. The leadership of the country was carried out collectively.

Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko ruled the country according to the same principle as the late Brezhnev. Both were elected to the party's top post while their health was failing and served only a short time as secretary general. Until 1990, when the Communist Party's monopoly on power was eliminated, Mikhail Gorbachev led the state as General Secretary of the CPSU. Especially for him, in order to maintain leadership in the country, the post of President of the Soviet Union was established in the same year.

After the August 1991 putsch, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary. He was replaced by his deputy, Vladimir Ivashko, who worked as acting General Secretary for only five calendar days, until that moment Russian President Boris Yeltsin suspended the activities of the CPSU.

Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR on March 15, 1990 at the III Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR.
On December 25, 1991, in connection with the cessation of the existence of the USSR as a state entity, M.S. Gorbachev announced his resignation from the post of President and signed a Decree on the transfer of control to strategic nuclear weapons Russian President Yeltsin.

On December 25, after Gorbachev’s announcement of resignation, the red state flag of the USSR was lowered in the Kremlin and the flag of the RSFSR was raised. The first and last President of the USSR left the Kremlin forever.

The first president of Russia, then still the RSFSR, Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin was elected on June 12, 1991 by popular vote. B.N. Yeltsin won in the first round (57.3% of the votes).

In connection with the expiration of the term of office of the President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin and in accordance with the transitional provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, elections for the President of Russia were scheduled for June 16, 1996. This was the only presidential election in Russia where two rounds were required to determine the winner. The elections took place from June 16 to July 3 and were distinguished by intense competition between candidates. The main competitors were considered the current President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin and the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation G. A. Zyuganov. According to the election results, B.N. Yeltsin received 40.2 million votes (53.82 percent), significantly ahead of G.A. Zyuganov, who received 30.1 million votes (40.31 percent). 3.6 million Russians (4.82%) voted against both candidates .

December 31, 1999 at 12:00 pm Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin voluntarily ceased to exercise the powers of the President of the Russian Federation and transferred the powers of the President to the Chairman of the Government, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. On April 5, 2000, the first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, was awarded pensioner and labor veteran certificates.

December 31, 1999 Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin became acting president of the Russian Federation.

In accordance with the Constitution, the Federation Council of the Russian Federation set March 26, 2000 as the date for holding early presidential elections.

On March 26, 2000, 68.74 percent of voters included in the voting lists, or 75,181,071 people, took part in the elections. Vladimir Putin received 39,740,434 votes, which amounted to 52.94 percent, that is, more than half of the votes. On April 5, 2000, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation decided to recognize the presidential elections of the Russian Federation as valid and valid, and to consider Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin elected to the post of President of Russia.

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Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Joseph Stalin died on March 5 at 21:50. From March 6 to 9, the country was plunged into mourning. The coffin with the leader’s body was exhibited in Moscow in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions. About one and a half million people took part in the mourning events.

To maintain public order Troops were brought to the capital. However, the authorities did not expect such an incredible influx of those wishing to see Stalin off in last path. According to various sources, the victims of the crush on the day of the funeral, March 9, were from 300 to 3 thousand people.

"Stalin entered Russian history as a symbol of greatness. The main achievements of the Stalin era were industrialization, victory in the Great Patriotic War and creation nuclear bomb. The foundation that the leader left allowed the country to achieve nuclear parity with the United States and launch rockets into space,” said Dr. historical sciences, political scientist Dmitry Zhuravlev.

At the same time, according to the expert, Soviet people paid a huge price for great achievements during the Stalin era (1924-1953). The most negative phenomena, according to Zhuravlev, were collectivization, political repression, labor camps (the Gulag system) and gross neglect of basic human needs.

The mystery of the leader's death

Stalin was distinguished by a pathological distrust of doctors and neglected their recommendations. Serious deterioration in the leader's health began in 1948. The last public speech of the Soviet leader took place on October 14, 1952, at which he summed up the results of the 19th Congress of the CPSU.

  • Joseph Stalin speaks at the final meeting of the 19th Congress of the CPSU
  • RIA Novosti

The last years of his life, Stalin spent a lot of time at his “nearby dacha” in Kuntsevo. On March 1, 1953, the leader was found motionless by state security officers. They reported this to Lavrenty Beria, Georgy Malenkov and Nikita Khrushchev.

No prompt medical assistance was provided to Stalin. Doctors came to examine him only on March 2. What happened in the first days of March at the “nearby dacha” is a mystery to historians. The question of whether the leader’s life could have been saved still remains unanswered.

The son of Nikita Khrushchev is sure that Stalin became a “victim own system" His associates and doctors were afraid to do anything, although it was obvious that the leader was in critical condition. According to official information, Stalin was diagnosed with a stroke. The illness was not announced, but on March 4, the party leadership, apparently anticipating the imminent death of the leader, decided to break the silence.

  • A line of people wishing to say goodbye to Joseph Stalin outside the House of Unions, Moscow
  • RIA Novosti

“On the night of March 2, 1953, at I.V. Stalin suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage, which involved vital areas of the brain, resulting in paralysis of the right leg and right hand with loss of consciousness and speech,” said an article in the Pravda newspaper.

"Similar to a palace coup"

Retired KGB colonel and counterintelligence officer Igor Prelin believes that the leader’s entourage understood the inevitability of his imminent death and were not interested in Stalin’s recovery.

“These people were interested in him (Stalin. —RT) rather left, for two reasons. They feared for their position and well-being, that he would remove them, remove them and repress them. And secondly, of course, they themselves were striving for power. They understood that Stalin's days were numbered. It was clear that this was the final,” Prelin said in an interview.

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The main contenders for the role of leader of the Soviet state were the former head of the NKVD Lavrentiy Beria, deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers Georgy Malenkov, first secretary of the Moscow Regional Committee Nikita Khrushchev and member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, Marshal Nikolai Bulganin.

During Stalin's illness, the party leadership redistributed senior government positions. It was decided that the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers, which belonged to the leader, would be taken by Malenkov, Khrushchev would become the first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee (the highest position in the party hierarchy), Beria would receive the portfolio of Minister of Internal Affairs, and Bulganin - Minister of Defense.

Reluctance to save Beria, Malenkov, Khrushchev and Bulganin by everyone possible ways the life of the leader and the redistribution of government posts gave rise to a widespread version of the existence of an anti-Stalin conspiracy. The conspiracy against the leader was objectively beneficial to the party leadership, Zhuravlev believes.

  • Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, Lavrenty Beria, Matvey Shkiryatov (in the first row from right to left), Georgy Malenkov and Andrei Zhdanov (in the second row from right to left)
  • RIA Novosti

“Hypothetically, it was possible that some semblance palace coup, since open opposition to the leader was completely excluded. However, the conspiracy theory and violent death Stalin did not receive reinforced concrete evidence. Any versions on this matter are private opinions, not based on documentary evidence,” Zhuravlev stated in a conversation with RT.

The collapse of the main contender

The post-Stalin regime in 1953-1954 is often referred to as “collegial management”. Powers in the state were distributed among several party bosses. However, historians agree that under the beautiful screen of “collegial management” there was hidden a fierce struggle for absolute leadership.

Malenkov, being the curator of the most important defense projects of the USSR, had close ties with the country's military elite (Marshal Georgy Zhukov is considered one of Malenkov's supporters). Beria had enormous influence on the security agencies - the key institutions of power in the Stalin era. Khrushchev enjoyed the sympathy of the party apparatus and was perceived as a compromise figure. Bulganin had the weakest position.

At the funeral, the first to carry the coffin with the leader out of the House of Trade Unions were Beria (left) and Malenkov (right). On the podium of the mausoleum in which Stalin was buried (in 1961 the leader was reburied near the Kremlin wall), Beria stood in the center, between Malenkov and Khrushchev. This symbolized his dominant position at that time.

Beria united the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of State Security under his authority. On March 19, he replaced almost all the heads of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the union republics and regions of the RSFSR.

However, Beria did not abuse his power. It is noteworthy that his political program coincided with the democratic initiatives expressed by Malenkov and Khrushchev. Oddly enough, it was Lavrenty Pavlovich who began the review of the criminal cases of those citizens who were accused of anti-Soviet conspiracies.

On March 27, 1953, the Minister of Internal Affairs signed the decree “On Amnesty.” The document allowed for the release from prison of citizens convicted of official and economic crimes. In total, more than 1.3 million people were released from prison, and criminal proceedings were terminated against 401 thousand citizens.

Despite these steps, Beria was strongly associated with the repressions that were carried out during the Stalin era. On June 26, 1953, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was summoned to a meeting of the Council of Ministers and detained, accusing him of espionage, falsification of criminal cases and abuse of power.

His closest associates were caught in sabotage activities. On December 24, 1953, the Special Judicial Presence of the Supreme Court of the USSR sentenced Beria and his supporters to death penalty. The ex-Minister of Internal Affairs was shot in the bunker of the headquarters of the Moscow Military District. After the death of the main contender for power, about ten functionaries who were part of the “Beria gang” were arrested and convicted.

Triumph of Khrushchev

The elimination of Beria became possible thanks to the alliance of Malenkov and Khrushchev. In 1954, a struggle broke out between the head of the Council of Ministers and the first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

  • Georgy Malenkov
  • RIA Novosti

Malenkov advocated eliminating excesses Stalinist system both in politics and economics. He called for leaving the cult of personality of the leader in the past, improving the situation of collective farmers and focusing on the production of consumer goods.

Malenkov's fatal mistake was his indifferent attitude towards the party and state apparatus. The Chairman of the Council of Ministers reduced the salaries of officials and repeatedly accused the bureaucracy of “complete neglect of the needs of the people.”

“The main problem of Stalinism for the leaders of the CPSU was that anyone could fall under the steamroller of repression. The party apparatus is tired of this unpredictability. He needed guarantees of a stable existence. This is exactly what Nikita Khrushchev promised. In my opinion, it was this approach that became the key to his victory,” said Zhuravlev.

In January 1955, the head of the USSR government was criticized by Khrushchev and his party comrades for failures in economic policy. On February 8, 1955, Malenkov resigned as head of the Council of Ministers and received the portfolio of Minister of Power Plants, while maintaining membership in the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee. Malenkov's post was taken by Nikolai Bulganin, and Georgy Zhukov became Minister of Defense.

Such an attitude towards a political rival was intended to emphasize the beginning new era, where a gentle attitude towards the Soviet nomenklatura reigns. Nikita Khrushchev became its symbol.

"Hostage of the system"

In 1956, at the 20th Congress of the CPSU, Khrushchev made a famous speech about debunking the cult of personality. The period of his reign is called the Thaw. From the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, hundreds of thousands of political prisoners received freedom, and the labor camp system (GULAG) was completely dismantled.

  • Joseph Stalin and Nikita Khrushchev greet the participants of the May Day demonstration on the podium of the Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin
  • RIA Novosti

“Khrushchev was able to become one of his own for the apparatus. Debunking Stalinism, he said that the leaders of the Bolshevik Party should not have been subject to repression. However, in the end, Khrushchev became a hostage to the management system he himself created,” stated Zhuravlev.

As the expert explained, Khrushchev was excessively harsh when communicating with his subordinates. He traveled a lot around the country and, in personal meetings with the first secretaries of regional committees, subjected them to severe criticism, making, in fact, the same mistakes as Malenkov. In October 1964, the party nomenklatura removed Khrushchev from the post of first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and chairman of the Council of Ministers.

“Khrushchev took smart steps to become the leader of the USSR for some time. However, he did not intend to radically change the Stalinist system. Nikita Sergeevich limited himself to correcting the most obvious shortcomings of his predecessor,” Zhuravlev noted.

  • First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Nikita Khrushchev
  • RIA Novosti

According to the expert, the key problem of the Stalinist system was the requirement of constant labor and combat feats from Soviet man. Most of the projects of Stalin and Khrushchev benefited the USSR, but the personal needs of citizens were given catastrophically little attention.

“Yes, under Khrushchev the elite and society breathed more freely. However, man still remained a means to achieve grandiose goals. People are tired of the endless pursuit of records, they are tired of calls for self-sacrifice and the expectation of the onset of a communist paradise. This problem was one of the key reasons for the subsequent collapse of Soviet statehood,” concluded Zhuravlev.