The Soviets set up the GKO on 30 June 1941, a week after
Nazi Germany invaded the
Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, by a joint decision of the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, the
Council of People's Commissars (
Sovnarkom), and the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The war situation at the front lines required a more centralized form of government. The
Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, however, continued unsuspended. On 18 June 1942, over a thousand members attended the 9th session of the Supreme Soviet in
Moscow.
Geoffrey Roberts described the GKO as "a sort of
war cabinet". ==Composition==