Lenin's First Government was created on 6 July 1923 by the
Central Executive Committee with
Lenin as its first chairman. The government was empowered to initiate decrees and legislation that were binding throughout the USSR. The longest serving premier in the history of the USSR was
Alexei Kosygin, who was appointed head of government after the ousting of
Nikita Khrushchev in 1964. However, Kosygin's prestige was weakened when he proposed the
economic reform of 1965. In 1991, upon
Valentin Pavlov's ascension to the premiership, the
Council of Ministers was abolished and replaced with the
Cabinet of Ministers. After the
August coup of 1991, the majority of the cabinet members endorsed the coup, leading to the Cabinet of Ministers dissolving and being replaced by the
Committee on the Operational Management of the Soviet Economy. The government of the
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic began seizing Soviet ministries in the aftermath of the coup, and by December 1991 the Soviet government had completely lost control of itself and shut down entirely. Under the
1977 Soviet Constitution, the head of government was the leader of the highest executive and administrative organ of state. The head of government was appointed by and accountable to the
Supreme Soviet (and its
Presidium). The head of government was tasked with resolving all state administrative duties within the
jurisdiction of the USSR to the degree which were not the responsibility of the Supreme Soviet or its Presidium. The head of government managed the
national economy, formulated the
five-year plans and ensured socio-cultural development. It functioned as the most influential office of government and nominally the most influential office until the establishment of the Office of the
President of the Soviet Union in 1990. Vladimir Lenin died in office
of natural causes,
as well as Joseph Stalin, and three premiers resigned
Alexei Kosygin,
Nikolai Tikhonov and
Ivan Silayev. Another three were concurrently
party leader and head of government (Lenin, Stalin and
Nikita Khrushchev). The one who spent the shortest time in office was
Ivan Silayev, at 119 days. Kosygin spent the longest time in office16 years. ==List of officeholders==