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.
| First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union | |
|---|---|
| Первый заместитель Председателя Совета Народных Комиссаров СССР (1923–1946) Первый заместитель Председателя Совета министров СССР (1946–1991) Первый заместитель премьер-министра СССР (1991) | |
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| Type | Deputy head of government |
| Reports to | Premier |
| Formation | 14 May 1934 |
| First holder | Valerian Kuybyshev |
| Final holder | Vladimir Shcherbakov |
| Abolished | 26 November 1991 |
| Succession | First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia |
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.
Officeholders
| No.[a] | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Premier | Other offices held while First Deputy Premier | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
| 1 |  | Valerian Kuybyshev (1888–1935) | 14 May 1934 | 25 January 1935 † | 256 days | Vyacheslav Molotov | Chairman of the Soviet People's Control Commission | [4][5] |
| 2 |  | Nikolai Voznesensky (1895–1950) | 10 March 1941 | 15 March 1946 | 5 years, 5 days | Vyacheslav Molotov Joseph Stalin | Chairman of the State Planning Commission | [6] |
| 3 |  | Vyacheslav Molotov (1890–1986) | 16 August 1942 | 29 June 1957 | 11 years, 106 days | Joseph Stalin Georgy Malenkov Nikolai Bulganin | Minister of Foreign Affairs | [7][8] |
| 4 | .jpg) | Nikolai Bulganin (1895–1975) | 7 April 1950 | 8 February 1955 | 4 years, 307 days | Joseph Stalin Georgy Malenkov | Minister of Defence | [9][10] |
| 5 |  | Lavrentiy Beria (1899–1953) | 5 March 1953 | 26 June 1953 | 113 days | Georgy Malenkov | Minister of Internal Affairs | [11] |
| 6 |  | Lazar Kaganovich (1893–1991) | 5 March 1953 | 29 June 1957 | 4 years, 141 days | Georgy Malenkov Nikolai Bulganin Nikita Khrushchev | Minister of Building Materials Industry Chairman of the State Committee of the Council of Ministers for Labour and Wages | [12][13] [14] |
| 7 |  | Anastas Mikoyan (1895–1978) | 28 February 1955 | 15 July 1964 | 9 years, 138 days | Nikolai Bulganin Nikita Khrushchev | Main diplomat to Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis | [15] |
| 8 | .jpg) | Mikhail Pervukhin (1904–1974) | 28 February 1955 | 5 July 1957 | 2 years, 127 days | Nikolai Bulganin | Chairman of the State Economic Commission on Current Economic Planning | [16] |
| 9 | Maksim Saburov (1900–1977) | 28 February 1955 | 5 July 1957 | 2 years, 127 days | Nikolai Bulganin | Chairman of the State Planning Committee | [17] | |
| 10 | Joseph Kuzmin (1910–1996) | 28 February 1955 | 5 July 1957 | 2 years, 127 days | Nikolai Bulganin | Chairman of the State Planning Committee | [18] | |
| 11 | Frol Kozlov (1908–1965) | 31 March 1958 | 4 May 1960 | 2 years, 34 days | Nikita Khrushchev | Chairman of the State Planning Committee | [19] | |
| 12 | _-_53Fi3436_(cropped).jpg) | Alexei Kosygin (1904–1980) | 4 May 1960 | 15 October 1964 | 4 years, 164 days | Nikita Khrushchev | — | [20] |
| 13 | .jpg) | Dmitriy Ustinov (1908–1984) | 13 March 1963 | 26 March 1965 | 2 years, 13 days | Nikita Khrushchev Alexei Kosygin | — | [21] |
| 14 |  | Kirill Mazurov (1914–1989) | 26 March 1965 | 28 November 1978 | 13 years, 247 days | Alexei Kosygin | First Secretary of the Communist Party of Byelorussia | [22] |
| 15 |  | Dmitry Polyansky (1917–2001) | 2 October 1965 | 2 February 1973 | 7 years, 123 days | Alexei Kosygin | — | [23] |
| 16 |  | Nikolai Tikhonov (1905–1997) | 2 September 1976 | 23 October 1980 | 4 years, 51 days | Alexei Kosygin | — | [24] |
| 17 | Ivan Arkhipov (1907–1998) | 27 October 1980 | 4 October 1986 | 5 years, 342 days | Nikolai Tikhonov Nikolai Ryzhkov | — | [25] | |
| 18 |  | Heydar Aliyev (1923–2003) | 24 November 1982 | 23 October 1987 | 4 years, 333 days | Nikolai Tikhonov Nikolai Ryzhkov | First Secretary of the Azerbaijan Communist Party | [26][27] |
| 19 | .jpg) | Andrei Gromyko (1909–1989) | 24 March 1983 | 2 July 1985 | 2 years, 100 days | Nikolai Tikhonov | Minister of Foreign Affairs | [28][29] |
| 20 | Nikolai Talyzin (1929–1991) | 14 October 1985 | 1 October 1988 | 2 years, 353 days | Nikolai Ryzhkov | Chairman of the State Planning Committee | [30] | |
| 21 | Vsevolod Murakhovski (1926–2017) | 1 November 1985 | 7 June 1989 | 3 years, 218 days | Nikolai Ryzhkov | Chairman of the State Committee of the Council of Ministers for Agriculture | [31] | |
| 22 | .jpg) | Yuri Maslyukov (1937–2010) | 5 February 1988 | 26 December 1990 | 2 years, 324 days | Nikolai Ryzhkov | Chairman of the State Planning Committee | [32][33] |
| 23 | Lev Voronin (1928–2008) | 17 July 1989 | 26 December 1990 | 1 year, 162 days | Nikolai Ryzhkov | — | [34] | |
| 24 | Vladilen Nikitin (1936–2021) | 27 July 1989 | 30 August 1990 | 1 year, 34 days | Nikolai Ryzhkov | — | [35] | |
| 25 |  | Vladimir Velichko (born 1937) | 15 January 1991 | 26 November 1991 | 315 days | Valentin Pavlov Ivan Silayev | Minister of Heavy Machine Building | [36][37] |
| 26 | Vitaly Doguzhiyev (1935–2016) | 15 January 1991 | 26 November 1991 | 315 days | Valentin Pavlov Ivan Silayev | — | [37] | |
| 27 |  | Vladimir Shcherbakov (born 1949) | 16 May 1991 | 26 November 1991 | 194 days | Valentin Pavlov Ivan Silayev | — | [37] |