An approximately chronological listing of Soviet leaders (heads of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the
Soviet Union)
- Vladimir Ilych Lenin Head of the Central Committee October 26, 1917 - April 3, 1922
- Joseph Stalin First Secretary April 3, 1922 - March 5, 1953
- Nikita Khrushchev First Secretary September 7, 1953 - October 14, 1964
- Leonid Brezhnev First Secretary October 14, 1964 - April 8, 1966 and General Secretary April 8, 1966 - November 10, 1982
- Yuri Andropov General Secretary November 12, 1982 - February 9, 1984
- Konstantin Chernenko General Secretary February 13, 1984 - March 10, 1985
- Mikhail Gorbachev General Secretary March 11, 1985 - March 14, 1990 and President of the Soviet Union March 14, 1990 - December 25, 1991
The post of First Secretary was created in April 1922. The title of General Secretary was introduced in April 1966.
On March 14 1990, the newly created (1989) Congress of People's Deputies voted to end the Communist party's control over the government and elected Gorbachev President of the Soviet Union.
see also Leon Trotsky
- See also : History of the Soviet Union, List of minor leaders of the Soviet Union
For the leaders of post-communist Russia, see History of post-communist Russia.