First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union
Deputy head of government
PostFirst Deputy Premier
Bodythe
Soviet Union
Native nameПервый заместитель Председателя Совета Народных Комиссаров СССР (1923–1946)
Первый заместитель Председателя Совета министров СССР (1946–1991)
Первый заместитель премьер-министра СССР (1991)
InsigniaCoat of arms of the Soviet Union 1.svg
Insigniasize120px
InsigniacaptionEmblem of the Soviet Union
Reports toPremier
Formation14 May 1934
FirstValerian Kuybyshev
LastVladimir Shcherbakov
Abolished26 November 1991
SuccessionFirst Deputy Prime Minister of Russia

The first deputy premier of the Soviet Union was the deputy head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Despite the title, the office was not always held by a single individual. The office bore three different titles throughout its existence: First Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (1923–1946), First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers (1946–1991), and First Deputy Prime Minister of the Soviet Union (1991). The term "first deputy premier" was used by outside commentators to describe the office of first deputy head of government.

A first deputy premier was responsible for a specific policy area. For example, Kirill Mazurov was responsible for industry, while Dmitry Polyansky was responsible for agriculture in the Soviet Union.[1]: 34 In addition, an officeholder would be responsible for coordinating the activities of ministries, state committees, and other bodies subordinated to the government. It was expected that a First Deputy gave these organs guidance in an expeditious manner to ensure the implementation of plans for economic and social development and to check if the orders and decisions of the government were being followed. If the premier could not perform his duties one of the first deputies would take on the role of acting premier until the premier's return.[2] During the late 1970s, when the health of Premier Alexei Kosygin deteriorated, First Deputy Premier Nikolai Tikhonov acted on his behalf as during his absence.[3] Finally, a first deputy was by right a member of the government Presidium, its highest decision-making organ.[1]: 30

Twenty-six individuals held the office of first deputy premier. The first officeholder was Valerian Kuibyshev, who was inaugurated in 1934. Lavrentiy Beria spent the shortest time in office, serving for 113 days. At more than seventeen years, Vyacheslav Molotov spent the longest time in office, and held his position for most of Joseph Stalin's chairmanship, as well as through the chairmanships of Georgy Malenkov and Nikolai Bulganin.

List of officeholders

No.[a]PortraitName
(Birth–Death)		Term of officePremierOther offices held while
First Deputy Premier		Ref.
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
1Valerian Kuybyshev
(1888–1935)		14 May 193425 January 1935 †Vyacheslav MolotovChairman of the Soviet People's Control Commission[4][5]
2Nikolai Voznesensky
(1895–1950)		10 March 194115 March 1946Vyacheslav MolotovJoseph StalinChairman of the State Planning Commission[6]
3Vyacheslav Molotov
(1890–1986)		16 August 194229 June 1957Joseph StalinGeorgy MalenkovNikolai BulganinMinister of Foreign Affairs[7][8]
4Nikolai Bulganin
(1895–1975)		7 April 19508 February 1955Joseph StalinGeorgy MalenkovMinister of Defence[9][10]
5Lavrentiy Beria
(1899–1953)		5 March 195326 June 1953Georgy MalenkovMinister of Internal Affairs[11]
6Lazar Kaganovich
(1893–1991)		5 March 195329 June 1957Georgy MalenkovNikolai BulganinNikita KhrushchevMinister of Building Materials Industry
Chairman of the State Committee of the
Council of Ministers for Labour and Wages		[12][13]
[14]
7Anastas Mikoyan
(1895–1978)		28 February 195515 July 1964Nikolai BulganinNikita Khrushchev
Main diplomat to Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis
[15]
8Mikhail Pervukhin
(1904–1974)		28 February 19555 July 1957Nikolai BulganinChairman of the State Economic Commission on Current Economic Planning[16]
9Maksim Saburov
(1900–1977)		28 February 19555 July 1957Nikolai BulganinChairman of the State Planning Committee[17]
10Joseph Kuzmin
(1910–1996)		28 February 19555 July 1957Nikolai BulganinChairman of the State Planning Committee[18]
11Frol Kozlov
(1908–1965)		31 March 19584 May 1960Nikita KhrushchevChairman of the State Planning Committee[19]
12Alexei Kosygin
(1904–1980)		4 May 196015 October 1964Nikita Khrushchev—[20]
13Dmitriy Ustinov
(1908–1984)		13 March 196326 March 1965Nikita KhrushchevAlexei Kosygin—[21]
14Kirill Mazurov
(1914–1989)		26 March 196528 November 1978Alexei KosyginFirst Secretary of the Communist Party of Byelorussia[22]
15Dmitry Polyansky
(1917–2001)		2 October 19652 February 1973Alexei Kosygin—[23]
16Nikolai Tikhonov
(1905–1997)		2 September 197623 October 1980Alexei Kosygin—[24]
17Ivan Arkhipov
(1907–1998)		27 October 19804 October 1986Nikolai TikhonovNikolai Ryzhkov—[25]
18Heydar Aliyev
(1923–2003)		24 November 198223 October 1987Nikolai TikhonovNikolai RyzhkovFirst Secretary of the Azerbaijan Communist Party[26][27]
19Andrei Gromyko
(1909–1989)		24 March 19832 July 1985Nikolai TikhonovMinister of Foreign Affairs[28][29]
20Nikolai Talyzin
(1929–1991)		14 October 19851 October 1988Nikolai RyzhkovChairman of the State Planning Committee[30]
21Vsevolod Murakhovski
(1926–2017)		1 November 19857 June 1989Nikolai RyzhkovChairman of the State Committee of the Council of Ministers for Agriculture[31]
22Yuri Maslyukov
(1937–2010)		5 February 198826 December 1990Nikolai RyzhkovChairman of the State Planning Committee[32][33]
23Lev Voronin
(1928–2008)		17 July 198926 December 1990Nikolai Ryzhkov—[34]
24Vladilen Nikitin
(1936–2021)		27 July 198930 August 1990Nikolai Ryzhkov—[35]
25Vladimir Velichko
(born 1937)		15 January 199126 November 1991Valentin PavlovIvan SilayevMinister of Heavy Machine Building[36][37]
26Vitaly Doguzhiyev
(1935–2016)		15 January 199126 November 1991Valentin PavlovIvan Silayev—[37]
27Vladimir Shcherbakov
(born 1949)		16 May 199126 November 1991Valentin PavlovIvan Silayev—[37]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ These numbers are not official.

References

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  2. ^
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