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List of leaders

The following list includes only those persons who were able to gather enough support from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and the government, or one of these to lead the Soviet Union. † denotes leaders who died in office.

Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Supreme Rule	Congress	Notes
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924)^[1]		30 December 1922^[1] ↓ 21 January 1924†^[2]	11th–12th Congress	Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom) and informal leader of the Bolsheviks since their inception.^[1] Was leader of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) from 1917 and leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1922 until his death.^[3]
Joseph Stalin (1878–1953)^[2]	File:Stalin lg zlx1.jpg	21 January 1924^[2] ↓ 5 March 1953†^[4]	13th–19th Congress	General Secretary from 3 April 1922 until 1934, when he resigned from office; the post of General Secretary itself was abolished in October 1952.^[5] Stalin served as Premier from 6 May 1941 until his death on 5 March 1953.^[4] He also held the post of the Minister of Defence from 19 July 1941 until 3 March 1947 and Chairman of the State Defense Committee during the Great Patriotic War^[6] and became the only officer to hold the office of People's Commissariat of Nationalities from 1921–1923.^[7]
Georgy Malenkov (1902–1988)^[8]		5 March 1953^[8]^[9] ↓ 8 February 1955^[10]	19th Congress	Succeeded to all of Stalin's titles, but was forced to resign most of them within a month.^[11] Malenkov, through the office of Premier, was locked in a power struggle against Khrushchev.^[12]
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971)^[13]		8 February 1955^[13] ↓ 14 October 1964^[14]	20th–22nd Congress	Served as the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Soviet Union (from September 1953) and Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 27 March 1958 to 14 October 1964. While vacationing in Abkhazia, Khrushchev was called by Leonid Brezhnev to return to Moscow for a special meeting of the Presidium, to be held on 13 October 1964. There, at the most fiery session since the so-called "anti-party group" crisis of 1957, he was fired from all his posts and became a "non-person".^[15]
Leonid Brezhnev (1906–1982)^[14]	A man with dark, wavy hair in a suit, applauding	14 October 1964^[14] ↓ 10 November 1982†^[16]	23rd–26th Congress	Served as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, was later renamed General Secretary,^[17] and was co-equal with premier Alexei Kosygin until the 1970s. To consolidate his power he later assumed the title of Chairman of the Presidium.^[18]
Yuri Andropov (1914–1984)^[19]	A man in a suit wearing glasses	12 November 1982^[19] ↓ 9 February 1984†^[20]	—	General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party^[21] and Chairman of the Presidium from 16 June 1983 until 9 February 1984.^[22]
Konstantin Chernenko (1911–1985)^[23]	File:Konstantin Chernenko.jpg	13 February 1984^[23] ↓ 10 March 1985†^[17]	—	General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party^[24] and Chairman of the Presidium from 11 April 1984 to 10 March 1985.^[25]
Mikhail Gorbachev (1931–)^[26]		11 March 1985^[17] ↓ 19 August 1991^[27]	27th–28th Congress	Served as General Secretary from 11 March 1985,^[25] and resigned on 24 August 1991,^[28] Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 1 October^[24] 1988 until the office was renamed to the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet on 25 May 1989 to 15 March 1990^[25] and President of the Soviet Union from 15 March 1990^[29] to 25 December 1991.^[30] The day following Gorbachev's resignation as President, the Soviet Union was formally dissolved.^[27]
Gennady Yanayev (1937–2010) (usurper)	File:Gennady Yanayev.jpg	19 August 1991 ↓ 21 August 1991	—	He took power during the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt with the State Committee on the State of Emergency.
Mikhail Gorbachev (1931–)^[26]		11 March 1985^[17] ↓ 19 August 1991^[27] 21 August 1991^[17] ↓ 25 December 1991^[27]	27th–28th Congress

^ ^a ^b ^c Brown 2009, p. 53.
^ ^a ^b ^c Brown 2009, p. 59.
^ Sakwa 1999, pp. 140–143.
^ ^a ^b Service 2009, p. 323.
^ Service 1986, pp. 231–32.
^ Green & Reeves 1993, p. 196.
^ Service 2005, p. 154.
^ ^a ^b Service 2009, p. 331.
^ Service & 2009 332.
^ Duiker & Spielvogel 2006, p. 572.
^ Cook 2001, p. 163.
^ Hill 1993, p. 61.
^ ^a ^b Taubman 2003, p. 258.
^ ^a ^b ^c Service 2009, p. 377.
^ Service 2009, p. 376.
^ Service 2009, p. 426.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Service 2009, p. 378.
^ Brown 2009, p. 402.
^ ^a ^b Service 2009, p. 428.
^ Service 2009, p. 433.
^ Brown 2009, p. 403.
^ Paxton 2004, p. 234.
^ ^a ^b Service 2009, p. 434.
^ ^a ^b Europa Publications Limited 2004, p. 302.
^ ^a ^b ^c Paxton & 2004 235.
^ ^a ^b Service 2009, p. 435.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gorbachev 1996, p. 771.
^ Service 2009, p. 503.
^ Paxton 2004, p. 236.
^ Paxton 2004, p. 237.

[FOOTNOTEBrown200953-1] Brown 2009, p. 53.

[FOOTNOTEBrown200959-2] Brown 2009, p. 59.

[FOOTNOTESakwa1999140–143-3] Sakwa 1999, pp. 140–143.

[FOOTNOTEService2009323-4] Service 2009, p. 323.

[FOOTNOTEService1986231–32-5] Service 1986, pp. 231–32.

[FOOTNOTEGreenReeves1993196-6] Green & Reeves 1993, p. 196.

[FOOTNOTEService2005154-7] Service 2005, p. 154.

[FOOTNOTEService2009331-8] Service 2009, p. 331.

[FOOTNOTEService2009332-9] Service & 2009 332.

[FOOTNOTEDuikerSpielvogel2006572-10] Duiker & Spielvogel 2006, p. 572.

[FOOTNOTECook2001163-11] Cook 2001, p. 163.

[FOOTNOTEHill199361-12] Hill 1993, p. 61.

[FOOTNOTETaubman2003258-13] Taubman 2003, p. 258.

[FOOTNOTEService2009377-14] Service 2009, p. 377.

[FOOTNOTEService2009376-15] Service 2009, p. 376.

[FOOTNOTEService2009426-16] Service 2009, p. 426.

[FOOTNOTEService2009378-17] Service 2009, p. 378.

[FOOTNOTEBrown2009402-18] Brown 2009, p. 402.

[FOOTNOTEService2009428-19] Service 2009, p. 428.

[FOOTNOTEService2009433-20] Service 2009, p. 433.

[FOOTNOTEBrown2009403-21] Brown 2009, p. 403.

[FOOTNOTEPaxton2004234-22] Paxton 2004, p. 234.

[FOOTNOTEService2009434-23] Service 2009, p. 434.

[FOOTNOTEEuropa_Publications_Limited2004302-24] Europa Publications Limited 2004, p. 302.

[FOOTNOTEPaxton2004235-25] Paxton & 2004 235.

[FOOTNOTEService2009435-26] Service 2009, p. 435.

[FOOTNOTEGorbachev1996771-27] Gorbachev 1996, p. 771.

[FOOTNOTEService2009503-28] Service 2009, p. 503.

[FOOTNOTEPaxton2004236-29] Paxton 2004, p. 236.

[FOOTNOTEPaxton2004237-30] Paxton 2004, p. 237.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Infobox official post
-| post              = Leader
-| body              = the Soviet Union
-| insignia          = State Emblem of the Soviet Union.svg
-| insigniasize      = 100px
-| insigniacaption   = [[Coat of Arms of the Soviet Union|Union coat of arms]]
-| image             = Mikhail Gorbachev 1987.jpg
-| imagecaption      = [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]
-|residence          = [[Grand Kremlin Palace]], [[Moscow]]
-| first             = [[Vladimir Lenin]]<br>(as Premier)
-| last              = [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]<br>(as President)
-| formation         = 30 December 1922 (founding of the Soviet Union)
-| abolished         = 25 December 1991 (end of communist rule)<br />26 December 1991 (end of the Soviet Union)
-| appointer         = A leader would not be able to rule, or hold on to power, without support in the [[Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Politburo]], [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Central Committee]] and/or the [[Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Secretariat of the Central Committee]]
-}}
-Under the [[1977 Soviet Constitution|1977 Constitution]] of the [[Soviet Union|Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]] (USSR), the [[Premier of the Soviet Union|Chairman]] of the [[Council of Ministers (Soviet Union)|Council of Ministers]] was the [[head of government]]{{sfn|Armstrong|1986|p=169}} and the Chairman of the [[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet]] was the [[head of state]].{{sfn|Armstrong|1986|p=165}} The office of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers was the equivalent to a [[First World]] [[Prime Minister]],{{sfn|Armstrong|1986|p=169}} while the office of the Chairman of the Presidium was equivalent to the office of the [[President#Presidents as head of state|President]].{{sfn|Armstrong|1986|p=165}} In the Soviet Union's seventy-year history there was no official ''leader of the Soviet Union'' offices but a Soviet leader usually led the country through the office of the [[Premier of the Soviet Union|Premier]] and/or the office of the [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU). In the ideology of [[Vladimir Lenin]] the head of the Soviet state was a collegiate body of the [[vanguard party]] (see ''[[What Is to Be Done?]]'').
-Following [[Joseph Stalin]]'s [[Rise of Joseph Stalin|consolidation of power]] in the 1920s{{sfn|Armstrong|1986|p=98}} the post of the General Secretary of the [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Central Committee]] of the Communist Party became synonymous with 'Leader of the Soviet Union'{{sfn|Armstrong|1986|p=93}} because the post controlled both the CPSU and the [[Soviet Government]].{{sfn|Armstrong|1986|p=98}} The post of the General Secretary was abolished under Stalin and later re-established by [[Nikita Khrushchev]] under the name of ''First Secretary''; in 1966 [[Leonid Brezhnev]] reverted the office title to its former name. Being the head of the [[communist party]],{{sfn|Ginsburgs|Ajani|van den Berg|1989|p=500}} the office of the General Secretary was the highest in the Soviet Union until 1990.{{sfn|Armstrong|1989|p=22}} The post of General Secretary lacked clear guidelines of succession, so after the death or removal of a Soviet leader, the successor usually needed the support of the [[Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Politburo]], the Central Committee, or another government or party apparatus to both take and stay in power. The [[President of the Soviet Union]], an office created in March 1990, replaced the General Secretary as the highest Soviet political office.{{sfn|Brown|1996|p=195}}
-Contemporaneously to establishment of the office of the President, representatives of the [[Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union|Congress of People's Deputies]] voted to remove [[Article 6 of the Soviet Constitution|Article 6]] from the Soviet constitution which stated that the Soviet Union was a [[one-party state]] controlled by the Communist Party which, in turn, played the leading role in society. This vote weakened the Party and its hegemony over the Soviet Union and [[Soviet people|its people]].{{sfn|Brown|1996|p=196}} Upon death, resignation, or removal from office of an incumbent President, the [[Vice President of the Soviet Union]] would assume the office, though the Soviet Union collapsed before this was actually tested.{{sfn|Brown|1996|p=275}} After the failed [[August Coup]] the Vice President was replaced by an elected member of the [[State Council of the Soviet Union]].<ref name="pravojustice">{{Cite web|last=Gorbachev |first=M. |authorlink=Mikhail Gorbachev |script-title=ru:ЗАКОН Об органах государственной власти и управления Союза ССР в переходный период |trans_title=Law Regarding State Governing Bodies of the USSR in Transition  |url=http://www.sssr.su/zopp.html |date=5 September 1991 |publisher=Union of Soviet Socialist Republics |language=Russian |accessdate=14 July 2015}}</ref>
-== Summary ==
-{{Soviet Union sidebar}}
-[[Vladimir Lenin]] was voted the [[Premier of the Soviet Union|Chairman]] of the [[Council of People's Commissars of the USSR]] (Sovnarkom) on 30 December 1922 by the [[Congress of Soviets of the Soviet Union|Congress of Soviets]].{{sfn|Lenin|1920|p=516}} His health, at the age of 53, declined from effects of two bullet wounds, later aggravated by three [[stroke]]s which culminated with his death in 1924.{{sfn|Clark|1988|p=373}} Irrespective of his health status in his final days, Lenin was already losing much of his power to Stalin.{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=59}} [[Alexei Rykov]] succeeded Lenin as Chairman of the Sovnarkom, and although he was ''[[de jure]]'' the most powerful person in the country, the [[Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Politburo of the Communist Party]] began to overshadow the Sovnarkom in the mid-1920s. By the end of the decade, Rykov merely [[rubber stamp (politics)|rubber stamped]] the decisions predetermined by Stalin and the Politburo.{{sfn|Gregory|2004|pp=58–59}}
-Stalin's early policies pushed for rapid [[industrialisation]], [[nationalisation]] of private industry{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=62}} and the [[collectivisation]] of private plots created under Lenin's [[New Economic Policy]].{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=63}} As leader of the Politburo, Stalin consolidated near-absolute power by 1938 after the [[Great Purge]], a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution.{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=72}} [[Nazi Germany|Nazi German]] troops [[German invasion of the Soviet Union|invaded the Soviet Union]] in June 1941,{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=90}} but were repulsed by the Soviets in December. On Stalin's orders, the USSR launched a counter-attack on Nazi Germany.{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=148}} Stalin died in March 1953,{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=194}} his death triggered a power struggle in which Khrushchev after several years emerged victorious against [[Georgy Malenkov]].{{sfn|Brown|2009|pp= 231–33}}
-Khrushchev denounced Stalin on two occasions: in 1956 and 1962. His policy of [[de-Stalinisation]] earned him many enemies within the party, especially from old Stalinist appointees. Many saw this approach as destructive and destabilising. A group known as [[Anti-Party Group]] tried, but failed, to oust Khrushchev from office in 1957.{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=246}} As Khrushchev grew older, his erratic behavior became worse, usually making decisions without discussing or confirming them with the Politburo.{{sfn|Service|2009|p=378}} [[Leonid Brezhnev]], a close companion of Khrushchev, was elected First Secretary the same day of Khrushchev's removal from power; [[Alexei Kosygin]] became the new Premier and [[Anastas Mikoyan]] kept his office as Chairman of the [[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet]]. In 1965, on the orders of the Politburo, Mikoyan was forced to retire; [[Nikolai Podgorny]] took over the office of Chairman of the Presidium.{{sfn|Brown|2009|p= 402}} The USSR in the post-Khrushchev 1960s was governed by a [[collective leadership]].{{sfn|Bacon|Sandle|2002|p=13}} [[Henry A. Kissinger]], the American [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]], mistakenly believed that Kosygin was the 'Leader of the Soviet Union and that he was at the helm of 'Soviet foreign policy' because he represented the Soviet Union at the 1967 [[Glassboro Summit Conference]].{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=403}} The "[[Brezhnev stagnation|Era of Stagnation]]", a derogatory term coined by [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], was a period marked by low socio-economic efficiency in the country and a [[gerontocracy]] ruling the country.{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=398}} [[Yuri Andropov]] succeeded Brezhnev in his post as General Secretary in 1982. In 1983 Andropov was hospitalised, and rarely met up at work to chair the politburo meetings due to his declining health. [[Nikolai Tikhonov]] usually chaired the meetings in his place.{{sfn|Zemtsov|1989|p=146}} Following Andropov's death, an even older leader, [[Konstantin Chernenko]] was elected to the General Secretariat. His rule lasted for little more than a year.{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=481}}
-Gorbachev was elected to the General Secretariat by the Politburo on 11 March 1985.{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=487}} By the mid-to-late 1980s Gorbachev had launched the policies of ''[[perestroika]]'' (literally meaning "reconstruction", but varies) and ''[[glasnost]]'' ("openness" and "transparency").{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=489}} The dismantling of the principal defining features of [[communism]] in 1988 and 1989 in the Soviet Union led to the unintended consequence of breaking-up the Soviet state into 15 successor states after the failed [[August Coup of 1991]] led by [[Gennady Yanayev]].{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=503}}
 === List of leaders ===
 The following list includes only those persons who were able to gather enough support from the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU) and the [[Government of the Soviet Union|government]], or one of these to lead the [[Soviet Union]]. † denotes leaders who died in office.
@@ Line 85: / Line 54: @@
 | [[File:RIAN_archive_850809_General_Secretary_of_the_CPSU_CC_M._Gorbachev_(crop).jpg|100px]]
 |11 March 1985{{sfn|Service|2009|p=378}}<br>↓<br>19 August 1991{{sfn|Gorbachev|1996|p=771}}
-<br>21 August 1991{{sfn|Service|2009|p=378}}<br>↓<br>25 December 1991{{sfn|Gorbachev|1996|p=771}}
 |[[27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|27th]]–[[28th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|28th Congress]]
 | align="left" |Served as General Secretary from 11 March 1985,{{sfn|Paxton|2004|235}} and resigned on 24 August 1991,{{sfn|Service|2009|p=503}} Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 1 October{{sfn|Europa Publications Limited|2004|p=302}} 1988 until the office was renamed to the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet on 25 May 1989 to 15 March 1990{{sfn|Paxton|2004|235}} and [[President of the Soviet Union]] from 15 March 1990{{sfn|Paxton|2004|p=236}} to 25 December 1991.{{sfn|Paxton|2004|p=237}} The day following Gorbachev's resignation as President, the Soviet Union was formally dissolved.{{sfn|Gorbachev|1996|p=771}}
@@ Line 94: / Line 62: @@
 |—
 | align="left" |He took power during the [[1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt]] with the [[State Committee on the State of Emergency]].
-|}
-===List of troikas===
-On three occasions—between Lenin's death and Stalin's rise; Stalin's death and [[Nikita Khrushchev]]'s rise; and Khrushchev's fall and [[Leonid Brezhnev]]'s consolidation of power—a form of [[collective leadership]] known as the [[wikt:troika|troika]] ("triumvirate"){{sfn|Tinggaard|Svendsen|2009|p=460}} governed the Soviet Union, with no single individual holding leadership alone.{{sfn|Brown|2009|p= 402}}{{sfn|Service|2009|332}}
-{| class="wikitable" width=80%
-! colspan="3"| Members<br><small>(Birth–Death)</small>
-! colspan="1" width=16%| Tenure
-! colspan="1"| Notes
 |-
+! scope="row" style="font-weight:normal;" | [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]<br><small>(1931–)</small>{{sfn|Service|2009|p=435}}
-| rowspan=1 width=10%| [[File:1918 Lev Kamenev.jpg|100px|alt=A man in a dark suit, light shirt and light tie, holding a paper and looking straight to the camera]]
+| [[File:RIAN_archive_850809_General_Secretary_of_the_CPSU_CC_M._Gorbachev_(crop).jpg|100px]]
-| rowspan=1 width=10%| [[File:Stalin lg zlx1.jpg|100px]]
+|11 March 1985{{sfn|Service|2009|p=378}}<br>↓<br>19 August 1991{{sfn|Gorbachev|1996|p=771}}
-| rowspan=1 width=10%| [[File:Zinovieff 2.jpg|100px|alt=A man in a dark suit, light shirt and a tie, looking right "at you"]]
-| rowspan=2 width=10%| <center>May 1922{{sfn|Reim|2002|pp=18–19}}<br>↓<br>1925{{sfn|Rappaport|1999|pp=141 & 326}}</center>
+<br>21 August 1991{{sfn|Service|2009|p=378}}<br>↓<br>25 December 1991{{sfn|Gorbachev|1996|p=771}}
+|[[27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|27th]]–[[28th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|28th Congress]]
-| align="left" rowspan=2 | When [[Vladimir Lenin]] suffered his first [[stroke]] a Troika was established to govern the country in his place. The Troika consisted of [[Lev Kamenev]], [[Joseph Stalin]], and [[Grigory Zinoviev]]. The Troika was dissolved when Kamenev and Zinoviev decided to break with Stalin in 1925 and joined the faction led by [[Leon Trotsky]].{{sfn|Rappaport|1999|pp=141 & 326}} Later, Kamenev, Zinoviev and Trotsky would be murdered at Stalin's orders.
+| align="left" |
 |-
-| colspan="1" align="center"| [[Lev Kamenev]]<br><small>(1883–1936)</small>{{sfn|Rappaport|1999|p=140}}
-| colspan="1" align="center"| [[Joseph Stalin]]<br><small>(1878–1953)</small>{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=59}}
-| colspan="1" align="center"| [[Grigory Zinoviev]]<br><small>(1883–1936)</small>{{sfn|Rappaport|1999|p=325}}
-|-
-| rowspan=1 width=10%| [[File:Lavrenty Beria.jpg|100px]]
-| rowspan=1 width=10%| [[File:Georgy Malenkov 1964.jpg|100px|alt=A man in a shirt with dark, curly hair]]
-| rowspan=1 width=10%| [[File:Molotov.jpg|100px|alt=A man in a dark suit, light shirt and dark tie, smiling]]
-| rowspan=2 width=10%| <center>13 March 1953{{sfn|Service|2009|332}}<br>↓<br>26 June 1953{{sfn|Andrew|Gordievsky|1990|pp=423–24}}</center>
-| align="left" rowspan=2 | This Troika consisted of [[Georgy Malenkov]], [[Lavrentiy Beria]], and [[Vyacheslav Molotov]]{{sfn|Marlowe|2005|p=140}} and ended when Malenkov and Molotov joined Nikita Khrushchev in the arrest and execution of Beria.{{sfn|Taubman|2003|p=258}}
-|-
-| colspan="1" align="center"| [[Lavrentiy Beria]]<br><small>(1899–1953)</small>{{sfn|Service|2009|332}}
-| colspan="1" align="center"| [[Georgy Malenkov]]<br><small>(1902–1988)</small>{{sfn|Service|2009|332}}
-| colspan="1" align="center"| [[Vyacheslav Molotov]]<br><small>(1890–1986)</small>{{sfn|Service|2009|332}}
-|-
-| rowspan=1 width=10%| [[File:1977 CPA 4774(Cutted).jpg|100px|alt=A man with greying hair, in military uniform with five medals]]
-| rowspan=1 width=10%| [[File:A. Kosygin 1967.jpg|100px|=A man in a dark suit, seated, in discussion with someone to his left]]
-| rowspan=1 | [[File:Nicolai Podgorny.jpg|100px]]
-| rowspan=2 | <center>14 October 1964{{sfn|Service|2009|p=377}}<br>↓<br>16 June 1977{{sfn|Brown|2009|p= 402}}</center>
-| align="left" rowspan=2 | The Troika consisted of the leading members of the [[collective leadership]], and consisted of Brezhnev as First Secretary, Kosygin as Premier and [[Anastas Mikoyan]] as [[List of heads of state of the Soviet Union|Chairman]] of the [[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet]]. In 1965, Mikoyan was succeeded by Nicolai Podgorny. During Brezhnev's gradual consolidation of power, the Troika was "dissolved" when he succeeded Podgorny in 1977 as Presidium chairman.{{sfn|Brown|2009|p= 402}} However, the collective leadership continued to exist in a different shape after Podgorny's ouster in [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|the Party leadership]] throughout the rest of Brezhnev's rule.{{sfn|Baylis|1989|p=98}}
-|-
-| colspan="1" align="center"| [[Leonid Brezhnev]]<br><small>(1906–1982)</small>{{sfn|Service|2009|p=377}}
-| colspan="1" align="center"| [[Alexei Kosygin]]<br><small>(1904–1980)</small>{{sfn|Service|2009|p=377}}
-| colspan="1" align="center"| [[Nikolai Podgorny]]<br><small>(1903–1983)</small>{{sfn|Service|2009|p=377}}
 |}
-==See also==
-* [[Index of Soviet Union-related articles]]
-* [[List of heads of state of the Soviet Union]]
-* [[Premier of the Soviet Union]]
-* [[List of presidents of the Russian Federation]]
-==Notes==
-{{reflist|30em}}
-==Bibliography==
-{{refbegin}}
-* {{cite book |author1=Andrew, Christopher |author2=Gordievsky, Oleg | title = KGB: The Inside Story of Its Foreign Operations from Lenin to Gorbachev | edition = | year = 1990 | publisher = [[HarperCollins Publishers]] | location = | isbn = 978-0060166052 | ref = CITEREFAndrewGordievsky1990}}
-* {{cite book | author = [[Archie Brown|Brown, Archie]] | title = The Gorbachev Factor | ref = CITEREFBrown1996 | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] | year = 1996 | isbn = 978-0-19-827344-8}}
-* {{cite book | author = [[Archie Brown|Brown, Archie]] | title = The Rise & Fall of Communism | ref = CITEREFBrown2009| publisher = [[Bodley Head]] | year = 2009 | isbn = 978-0061138799 }}
-* {{cite book | author = Armstrong, John Alexander | title = Ideology, Politics, and Government in the Soviet Union: An Introduction | publisher = [[University Press of America]]| year = 1986 | asin = B002DGQ6K2 }}
-* {{Cite book |author1=Bacon, Edwin |author2=Sandle, Mark | title = Brezhnev Reconsidered | location = | publisher = [[Palgrave Macmillan]] | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-0333794630 | ref = CITEREFBaconSandle2002 }}
-* {{cite book | author = Baylis, Thomas A. | title = Governing by Committee: Collegial Leadership in Advanced Societies | location = | publisher = [[State University of New York Press]] | year = 1989 | isbn = 978-0-88706-944-4 | ref = CITEREFBaylis1989 }}
-* {{cite book | author = Cook, Bernard | year = 2001 | title = Europe since 1945: An Encyclopedia | volume = 1 | publisher = [[Taylor & Francis]] | isbn = 978-0815313366 }}
-* {{cite book | author = Clark, William | title = Lenin: The Man Behind the Mask | publisher = [[Faber and Faber]] | year = 1988 | location = | ref = CITEREFClarck1988 | isbn = 978-0571154609 }}
-* {{cite book |author1=Duiker, William |author2=Spielvogel, Jackson | page = 572 | title = The Essential World History | location = | publisher = [[Cengage Learning]] | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-0495902270}}
-* {{cite book | author = Europa Publications Limited | year = 2004 | title = Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia | publisher = [[Routledge]] | isbn = 978-1857431872 | ref = CITEREFEuropa_Publications_Limited2004 }}
-* {{cite book | author = Ginsburgs, George; Ajani, Gianmaria; van den Berg, Gerard Peter  |lastauthoramp=yes| title = Soviet Administrative Law: Theory and Policy | publisher = [[Brill Publishers]]| year = 1989 | location = | ref = CITEREFGinsburgsAjanivan_den_Berg1989 | isbn = 978-0792302889 }}
-* {{cite book | author = Gorbachev, Mikhail | title = Memoirs | publisher = [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]| year = 1996 | location = [[University of Michigan]] | ref = CITEREFGorbachev1996 | isbn = 978-0385480192 | authorlink = Mikhail Gorbachev }}
-* {{cite book |author1=Green, William C. |author2=Reeves, W. Robert | title = The Soviet Military Encyclopedia: P–Z | publisher = [[Westview Press]]| year = 1993 | location = [[University of Michigan]] | ref = CITEREFGreenReeves1993 | isbn = 978-0813314310 }}
-* {{cite book | author = Gregory, Paul | title = The Political Economy of Stalinism: Evidence from the Soviet Secret Archives | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]] | year = 2004  | location = | ref = CITEREFGregory2004 | isbn = 978-0521533676 }}
-* {{cite book | author = Hill, Kenneth | year = 1993 | title = Cold War chronology: Soviet–American relations, 1945–1991 | location = [[University of Michigan]] | publisher = [[Congressional Quarterly]] | isbn = 978-0871879219 | ref = CITEREFHill1993 }}
-* {{cite book | author = Lenin, Vladimir | title = Collected Works| volume = 31 | year = 1920 | location = | page = 516 | isbn = | authorlink = Vladimir Lenin | ref = CITEREFLenin1920 }}
-* {{cite book | author = Marlowe, Lynn Elizabeth  | title = GED Social Studies | publisher = Research and Education Association | year = 2005| ref = CITEREFMarlowe2005 | isbn = 978-0738601274 }}
-* {{cite book | author = Paxton, John | year = 2004 | title = Leaders of Russia and the Soviet Union: from the Romanov dynasty to Vladimir Putin | publisher = [[CRC Press]] | isbn = 978-1579581329 | ref = CITEREFPaxton2004 }}
-* {{cite book | author = Phillips, Steven | title = Lenin and the Russian Revolution | location = | publisher = [[Heinemann (book publisher)|Heinemann]] | ref = CITEREFPhillips2000 | isbn = 978-0-435-32719-4}}
-* {{cite book | author = [[Helen Rappaport|Rappaport, Helen]] | title = Joseph Stalin: A Biographical Companion | publisher = [[ABC-CLIO]] | year = 1999 | ref = CITEREFRappaport1999 | isbn = 978-1576070840 }}
-* {{cite book | author = Sakwa, Richard | title = The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union, 1917–1991 | publisher = [[Routledge]]| year = 1999 | ref = CITEREFSakwa1999 | isbn = 978-0-415-12290-0 | authorlink = Richard Sakwa }}
-* {{cite book | author = Reim, Melanie | title = The Stalinist Empire | publisher = [[Lerner Publishing Group|Twenty-first Century Books]] | year = 2002 | ref = CITEREFReim2002 | isbn = 978-0-7613-2558-1 }}
-* {{Cite book | author = [[Robert Service (historian)|Service, Robert]] | title = History of Modern Russia: From Tsarism to the Twenty-first Century | publisher = [[Penguin Books Ltd]] | year = 2009 | isbn = 978-0674034938 | ref = CITEREFService2009 }}
-* {{cite book | author = Service, Robert | title = Stalin: A Biography | publisher = [[Harvard University Press]]| year = 2005 | ref = CITEREFService2005 | isbn = 978-0674016972  | authorlink = Robert Service (historian) }}
-* {{cite book | author = [[William Taubman|Taubman, William]] | year = 2003 | title = Khrushchev: The Man and His Era | titlelink=Khrushchev: The Man and His Era |publisher = [[W.W. Norton & Company]] | isbn = 978-0393051445 | ref = CITEREFTaubman2003 }}
-* {{cite book |author1=Tinggaard Svendsen, Gert |author2=Svendsen, Gunnar Lind Haase | title = Handbook of Social Capital: The Troika of Sociology, Political Science and Economics | publisher = [[Edward Elgar Publishing]] | year = 2009 | ref = CITEREFTinggaardSvendsen2009 | isbn = 978-1845423230 }}
-* {{Cite book | author = Zemtsov, Ilya | title = Chernenko: The Last Bolshevik: The Soviet Union on the Eve of Perestroika | location = | publisher = [[Transaction Publishers]] | year = 1989 | isbn = 978-0887382604 | ref = CITEREFZemtsov1989 }}
-{{refend}}
-==External links==
-*[http://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/552670 Succession of Power in the USSR] from the [http://www.library.georgetown.edu/digital/krogh Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives]
-* [http://www.archontology.org/nations/ussr Heads of State and Government of the Soviet Union (1922–1991)]
-{{Lists of Russians|state=uncollapsed}}
-{{Soviet Union topics}}
-{{featured list}}
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Leaders Of The Soviet Union}}
-[[Category:Lists of political office-holders in Russia]]
-[[Category:Lists of political office-holders in the Soviet Union|Leaders]]
-[[Category:Leaders of the Soviet Union| ]]