General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Генеральный секретарь ЦК КПСС
Emblem of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Longest serving
Joseph Stalin

3 April 1922 – 16 October 1952,
de facto 5 March 1953
Central Committee of the Communist Party
Secretariat Communist Party
StyleComrade General Secretary
(informal)
TypeParty leader
StatusCountry leader
Member of
ResidenceKremlin Senate[1]
SeatKremlin, Moscow
AppointerCentral Committee
Formation3 April 1922 (1922-04-03)
First holderJoseph Stalin
Final holderVladimir Ivashko (acting)
Abolished29 August 1991 (1991-08-29)
Superseded byChairman of the Union of Communist Parties
Salary10,000 Rbls annually[when?]

The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union[a] was the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). From 1924 until the country's dissolution in 1991, the officeholder was the recognized leader of the Soviet Union.[2][3] Prior to Stalin's accession, the position was not viewed as an important role in Lenin's government[4][5] and previous occupants had been responsible for technical rather than political decisions.[6]

Officially, the General Secretary solely controlled the Communist Party directly. However, since the party had a monopoly on political power, the General Secretary de facto had executive control of the Soviet government. Because of the office's ability to direct both the foreign and domestic policies of the state and preeminence over the Soviet Communist Party, it was the de facto highest office of the Soviet Union.

  1. ^ "ГЛАВНЫЙ КОРПУС КРЕМЛЯ". The VVM Library. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  2. ^ Armstrong 1986, p. 93.
  3. ^ "Soviet Union – General Secretary: Power and Authority". www.country-data.com. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  4. ^ McCauley, Martin; Mccauley, Martin (11 September 2002). Who's Who in Russia since 1900. Routledge. p. 200. ISBN 978-1-134-77214-8.
  5. ^ McDermott, Kevin (23 January 2006). Stalin: Revolutionary in an Era of War. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-230-20478-2.
  6. ^ Zemtsov 2001, p. 132.


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