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108-520: The building was a private residence before it was purchased by the Soviet government in 1957. It was initially used as a school for the children of embassy staff, then housed the Soviet consulate in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1998, the building was designated as the Russian Cultural Center by a bilateral agreement. The center opened on December 10, 1999, with an announcement by Valentina Tereshkova ,

216-568: A coup d'état had Pavlov consulted with them earlier. According to historian Jerry F. Hough , Pavlov's program "was not directed as much at Gorbachev as at [Boris] Yeltsin ". By the afternoon, the majority of Soyuz members favored an immediate vote. The Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, Anatoly Lukyanov , had already departed for Novo-Ogaryovo to take part in constitutional negotiations and he promised to tell Gorbachev about

324-526: A director of the commercial bank Chasprombank between 1994 and 1995. He resigned at the request of the bank's board of directors, who informed him that they had decided "to provide him an indefinite leave of absence." In February 1996, shortly after his resignation, the bank's license was revoked for violating the banking laws set up by the Central Bank of Russia . Pavlov then worked as an advisor to Promstroybank between 1996 and 1997, and in 1998 also became

432-628: A fifth in 1972. In addition, in 1970 the government reestablished the All-Union Ministry of Justice . In the decade 1965 to 1975, twenty-eight industrial ministries were established. Of these seven were All-Union ministries and the remainder seventeen were republican ministries. In addition, the Kosygin Government sought to reform the economy by strengthening enterprise autonomy while at the same time retaining strong centralised authority. The 1979 Soviet economic reform also sought to de-regulate

540-623: A formal leader, most controversial issues were solved at meetings of the Bureau. On 1 September 1949 power was even more dispersed. The Bureau changed its name to the Presidium of the Council of Ministers, and Beria, Malenkov, Nikolai Bulganin , Lazar Kaganovich and Maksim Saburov were handed the chairmanship. This mode of operating lasted until Stalin's death in 1953. The Post-Stalin Era saw several changes to

648-640: A four-man committee, led by Ivan Silayev , that included Grigory Yavlinsky , Arkady Volsky , and Yuri Luzhkov , to elect a new Cabinet of Ministers. This committee was later transformed into the Committee for the Operational Management of the National Economy (COMSE), also chaired by Silayev, to manage the Soviet economy . On 28 August 1991 a Supreme Soviet temporarily gave the COMSE the same authority as

756-530: A ministry and a state committee could be obscure as for the case of the Committee for State Security (KGB). According to the Soviet constitution, ministries were divided into all-union and union-republican. All-Union ministries managed the branch of state administration entrusted to them throughout the entire Soviet Union directly or through the organs appointed by them, while the union-republican ministries operated, as

864-560: A new cabinet was appointed. On 26 December 1991, the Supreme Soviet dissolved the union and therefore, the government of the USSR shut down permanently. The name Council of People's Commissars was chosen to distinguish the Soviet government from its bourgeois counterparts, especially its tsarist predecessor the Council of Ministers . However, scholar Derek Watson states that "the term 'commissar'

972-562: A new constitution . It abolished the Congress of Soviets and established the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union in its place. At the 1st Plenary Session of the II Supreme Soviet in 1946, the government was renamed Council of Ministers. Minor changes were introduced with the enactment of the 1977 constitution. The CPSU's 19th All-Union Conference voted in favor of amending the constitution. It allowed for multi-candidate elections, established

1080-588: A rule, through the same-named ministry of the specific union republic in question. It managed only a certain limited number of activities directly according to the list approved by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. The government had the right to create, reorganize and abolish subordinate institutions, which were directly subordinate to the government itself. Valentin Pavlov Valentin Sergeyevich Pavlov ( Russian : Валéнтин Серге́евич Па́влов ; 26 September 1937 – 30 March 2003)

1188-619: A special mandate to go after organized crime), even creating a five-point resolution to that end for the legislature to consider. Pavlov received support for the idea from the Soyuz parliamentary faction leader Viktor Alksnis , who called for an immediate vote on the issue. However, several members of Soyuz also demanded a statement by the KGB and the Ministry of Defense to comment on the proposal. In retrospect, Alksnis notes that this resolution could have become

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1296-420: A state committee was primarily responsible for several parts of government as opposed to the one specific topic for which a ministry was solely responsible. Therefore, many state committees had jurisdiction over certain common activities performed by ministries such as research and development, standardisation, planning, building construction, state security, publishing, archiving and so on. The distinction between

1404-805: A vice president of the American firm Business Management Systems. He worked both as vice president of both the Free Economic Society and the International Academy of Management and later headed a department of the International Union of Economists . Pavlov died in Moscow on 30 March 2003, and was buried on 2 April at Pyatnitskoye Cemetery . In 2000 with support from Viktor Gerashchenko , Valentin Pavlov's son Sergey Pavlov ( Russian : Сергей Павлов )

1512-461: Is now made flesh and blood. It is time to move on from the title 'people's commissar' to that of 'minister. ' " Scholar Yoram Gorlizki writes that "Notwithstanding the reversion to bourgeois precedents, the adoption of the new nomenclature signaled that the Soviet order had entered a new phase of postrevolutionary consolidation." The Treaty on the Creation of the Soviet Union saw the establishment of

1620-496: The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt , which tried to prevent the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Pavlov was arrested for his involvement in the coup and went on to work in the banking sector in post-Soviet Russia. He can be seen as the last legitimate Soviet head of government since his successor, Ivan Silayev , was appointed by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in breach of what were

1728-518: The All-Union Congress of Soviets and its Central Executive Committee (CEC). The Congress of Soviets held legislative responsibilities and was the highest organ of state power, while the CEC was to exercise the powers of the Congress of Soviets whenever it was not in session, which in practice comprised the majority of its existence. It stated that the government, named the Council of People's Commissars,

1836-564: The All-Union Ministry of Culture established the Council of Ministers of Culture to better coordinate policies, while the All-Union Ministry of Foreign Affairs established the Council of Foreign Ministers of the USSR and Union Republics. The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt , better known as the August coup attempt , was initiated by the State Committee on the State of Emergency in a bid to oppose

1944-619: The Byelorussian SSR and the Transcaucasian SSR established the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The treaty established the government, which was later legitimised by the adoption of the first Soviet constitution in 1924. The 1924 constitution made the government responsible to the Congress of Soviets of the Soviet Union . In 1936, the state system was reformed with the enactment of

2052-848: The Cabinet of Ministers from January to August 1991 and the Committee on the Operational Management of the National Economy from August to December 1991. The government chairman was nominated by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and elected by delegates at the first plenary session of a newly elected Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union . Certain governments , such as Ryzhkov's second government, had more than 100 government ministers, serving as first deputy premiers , deputy premiers , government ministers or heads of state committees/commissions ; they were chosen by

2160-632: The Chairman of the KGB , would be removed from their posts following the signing and ratification of the New Union Treaty , with Nazarbayev to be appointed in Pavlov's place as Prime Minister. The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt was prompted by the slow disintegration of the Soviet Union that resulted from Gorbachev's reform policy and Yeltsin's drive towards an independent Russia. The New Union Treaty being prepared called for further decentralization of power to

2268-467: The Congress of People's Deputies and weakened the party's control over the Supreme Soviet. Later, on 20 March 1991, the Supreme Soviet on Mikhail Gorbachev 's suggestion amended the constitution to establish a semi-presidential system , essentially a fusion of the American and French styles of government . The Council of Ministers was abolished and replaced by a Cabinet of Ministers that was responsible to

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2376-457: The Pavlov reform , was the last monetary reform prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union , despite having made a speech 2 weeks before, saying there would be no such reforms. Initiated on 22 January 1991, it was intended to withdraw money from circulation for reallocation to the production of consumer goods, which were in short supply. In a speech, Pavlov stated that the reason for the withdrawal

2484-582: The President of the Soviet Union . The head of the Cabinet of Ministers was the Prime Minister of the Soviet Union. The government was forced to resign in the aftermath of the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt , which Prime Minister Valentin Pavlov participated in. In its place, the Soviet state established what was supposed to be a transitory committee headed by Silayev to run the basic governmental functions until

2592-654: The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). Pavlov started working for the State Planning Committee in 1979, and became a member of the State Planning Committee's board in 1981. He held the office as head of the State Planning Committee's Finance Department, the department which oversaw all aspects of the country's planned economy. He served as First Deputy Minister of Finance in Boris Gostev 's ministry from January to August 1986. Pavlov

2700-481: The Soviet black market . In 1993 he proudly admitted that during his tenure as Minister of Finance, and later Prime Minister, he had deceived several Western banks and creditors by lying about the Soviet Union's gold reserves . In 1989, Pavlov gathered together enough information on the errors and omissions of Ivan Silayev , the future Soviet Premier and Russian SFSR Premier , to weaken his position as Deputy Premier . Silayev never forgave Pavlov and relations between

2808-486: The State Defense Committee (SDC), formed on 30 June 1941 to govern the Soviet Union during the war. Joseph Stalin concurrently served as SDC head and as chairman of the Soviet government until 1946. On 15 March 1946 the 1st Plenary Session of the 2nd Supreme Soviet transformed the Council of People's Commissars into the Council of Ministers. Accordingly, the people's commissariats were renamed ministries , and

2916-403: The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union on 14 January, with 279 votes in favor, 75 against, and 66 abstained, while approval for the majority of his ministers followed within a few weeks. Pavlov was considered a conservative upon his election as Prime Minister, and the Soviet press described him as a "bold and complex man" who was against full marketization but who believed that the Soviet Union

3024-410: The government chairman , his first deputies , deputies , ministers , state committees chairmen and the republican governmental chairmen. The premier could recommend individuals who he found suitable for membership in the governmental council to the Supreme Soviet. The government tendered its resignation to the first plenary session of a newly elected Supreme Soviet. The government was responsible to

3132-618: The republics , which weakened the government's already tenuous hold on the economy. Pavlov received a draft of the New Union Treaty on 12 August at a Security Council meeting and managed to get it published in The Moscow News on 14 August. Opposing the decentralization stance taken in the treaty, Pavlov was one of the key players in the establishment of the State Committee on the State of Emergency in August 1991. Pavlov's inclusion in

3240-477: The Administrator of Affairs headed the government apparatus and was a member of the government's Presidium. The Presidium of the Council of Ministers consisted of the chairman, First Deputy Chairmen, and the deputy chairman. It is important to note that the Presidium of the Council of Ministers is different than the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. USSR state committees were different from the ministries in that

3348-404: The CEC, but the working relations of the two bodies were never clearly defined in depth. Eventually, the powers of the Council of People's Commissars outstripped those of the CEC. However, the 1924 constitution defined the Council of People's Commissars as the "executive and administrative organ" of the CEC. The ability to legislate was restricted by the powers conferred to it by the CEC, and on

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3456-574: The Cabinet of Ministers overlapped with the former Council of Ministers. It was responsible for formulating and executing the All-Union state budget , administrating defense enterprises and overseeing space research, implementing Soviet foreign policy, crime-fighting, and maintaining defense and state security. It also worked alongside the republican governments to develop financial and credit policy, administer fuel and power supplies and transport systems, and developing welfare and social programs. In addition

3564-455: The Cabinet of Ministers was responsible for coordinating All-Union policy on science, technology, patents, use of airspace, prices, general economic policy, housing, environmental protection and military appointments. At last, the Law on the Cabinet of Ministers granted the Cabinet of Ministers the right to issue decrees and resolutions , but not of the same power and scope of those formerly issued by

3672-512: The Cabinet of Ministers, and Silayev became the Soviet Union's de facto Premier . The All-Union government tried to rebuff the seizure attempts by the Russian government. Still, by September 1991 the Soviet government had broken down. On 25 December 1991 Gorbachev announced in a televised speech his resignation from the post of President of the Soviet Union . On the following day, the Soviet of

3780-480: The Congress of Soviets and the Central Executive Committee respectively, could alter laws. Stalin's power grab in the 1930s weakened the formal institutions of governance, both in the party and government. Scholar T. H. Rigby writes that "all institutions had gradually dissolved in the acid of despotism ", and from 1946 until Stalin died in 1953 "only the most minimal of gestures were made to reverse

3888-423: The Council of Ministers", which sought to explain the role of the Council of Ministers, its internal operations, and its relationship with the party. It stated that the party politburo had the right to decide on all political matters, which included such topics as governmental appointments and defense, foreign policy, and internal security. It went on to define the government solely as an institution of administering

3996-531: The Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers had been the sole permanent executive and administrative body in the Soviet Union during its existence. The Cabinet of Ministers existed alongside the Federation Council, the Presidential Council and other executive organs that reported directly to the president. However, as the sole executive organ responsible for the economy and the ministries it

4104-444: The Council of People's Commissars as the Soviet government, and conferring upon it the role of the "highest executive and administrative organ of state power". The constitution stripped the Council of People's Commissars of powers to initiate legislation, and instead confined it to issuing "decrees and regulations on the basis and in execution of the laws currently in force". Only the Supreme Soviet and its Presidium , having replaced

4212-610: The KGB Chairman, had told Pavlov of the coup on 18 August, one day before it began. He was asked by Kryuchkov to meet his co-plotters at the Moscow Kremlin , where on 19 August, he and his co-conspirators appeared on live television and told the Soviet people that Gorbachev was indisposed. As the day wore on it soon became apparent that Pavlov had been drinking since he issued several contradictory orders and repeated himself. In retrospect he admitted that he had been drinking with his son

4320-483: The Republics voted to dissolve the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as a state and subject of international law, legally terminating the Soviet government's existence. The government was the highest executive and administrative body of the Soviet state. It was formed at the 1st Plenary Session of the Supreme Soviet (the joint meeting of the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities ), and had to consist of

4428-511: The Soviet Union (CPSU), as " The leading and guiding force of Soviet society and the nucleus of its political system " per Article 6 of the state constitution , controlled the government by holding a two-thirds majority in the All-Union Supreme Soviet. The government underwent several name changes throughout its history, and was known as the Council of People's Commissars from 1922 to 1946, the Council of Ministers from 1946 to 1991,

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4536-593: The Soviet Union Gorbachev could appoint and dismiss government ministers. However, he grew concerned about his inability to control All-Union ministries. On 24 September 1990 Gorbachev managed to get the Supreme Soviet to grant him temporary powers of unrestricted decrees on the economy, law and order and appointment of government personnel until 31 March 1992. Still feeling stifled by anti-reformist elements, Gorbachev proposed in November 1990 to radically reorganise

4644-417: The Soviet Union and the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), which, he argued, could be resolved by introducing a state of emergency across the entire Soviet Union, or at least in certain economic sectors. According to Pavlov, the union's problems remained insoluble as long as Gorbachev retained so much power and had limited time to address important issues. To break

4752-518: The Soviet Union. Lenin was appointed its chairman, alongside five deputy chairmen and ten people's commissars (ministers). On 17 July 1923 the All-Union Council of People's Commissars notified the central executive committees of the union republics and their respective republican governments that it had begun to fulfill the tasks entrusted to it. The original idea was for the Council of People's Commissars to report directly (and be subordinate) to

4860-532: The Soviet constitutional principles. Born in Moscow, Pavlov graduated from the Moscow Finance Institute in 1958. He started his nomenklatura (bureaucratic) career as a government economist; he started working for as an official of the Ministry of Finance in 1959, and became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1962. Early in his career he also worked for the Ministry of Finance of

4968-590: The Soviet political system, being greatly inspired by the presidential system of the United States and the semi-presidential system of France. Gorbachev sought to reorganise institutions at the All-Union level by subordinating executive power to the presidency. By November 1990 Gorbachev was calling for the dissolution of the Council of Ministers and its replacement with a Cabinet of Ministers. Formerly executive power had been divided into two separate institutions;

5076-609: The Statute of the Council of People's Commissars. The legislative dominance of the Council of People's Commissars continued despite the 1924 constitution's insistence on its relationship to the CEC. Mikhail Kalinin of the CEC and Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee noted in 1928 that one needed to differentiate between the Presidium of the CEC , which he considered the "organ of legislation", and

5184-459: The Supreme Soviet and its Presidium . It regularly reported to the Supreme Soviet on its work, as well as being tasked with resolving all state administrative duties in the jurisdiction of the USSR which were not the responsibility of the Supreme Soviet or the Presidium. Within its limits, the government had responsibility for: The government could issue decrees and resolutions and later verify their execution. All organisations were obliged to obey

5292-551: The Supreme Soviet and told delegates that there were no differences in opinion between him and Pavlov. Even when he had been able to secure his position, Gorbachev's power within the system was already faltering, although he succeeded in getting the enhanced powers previously given to the Cabinet of Ministers reversed. The power struggle between Gorbachev and Pavlov was not over, with Gorbachev, on July 29, 1991, promising Yeltsin and Nursultan Nazarbayev that Pavlov, along with Dmitry Yazov , Minister of Defense, and Vladimir Kryuchkov ,

5400-484: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was the executive and administrative organ of the highest body of state authority , the All-Union Supreme Soviet . It was formed on 30 December 1922 and abolished on 26 December 1991. The government was headed by a chairman, most commonly referred to as the premier of the Soviet Union , and several deputy chairmen throughout its existence. The Communist Party of

5508-457: The activity of the first deputy chairmen and deputy chairmen [and] in urgent cases, makes decisions on particular questions of state administration." The government appointed first deputy chairmen and deputy chairmen to assist the work of the government chairman. These deputies worked with the responsibilities allocated to them by the government. They could coordinate the activities of ministries, state committees and other organs subordinated to

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5616-538: The administrative role of the Council of People's Commissars. The 1924 constitution differentiated between All-Union and unified (referred to as republican from 1936 onwards) people's commissariats. The people's commissariats for justice, internal affairs, social security, education, agriculture and public health remained republican-level ministries. In the meantime the commissariats for foreign affairs, commerce and industry, transport, military and navy affairs, finance, foreign trade, labour, post and telegraphs, supply and

5724-402: The aftermath of the reform, inflation exceeded the 50 percent mark every month. In April, he presented an "Anticrisis Plan", calling for a ban on strikes, the suspension of laws in the republics that contradicted Soviet law, a special management regime for the power, communication and transport industries, penalties against republics that failed to fulfil financial obligations to the centre (and

5832-570: The allegations before quietly leaving the country. Zaitsev's replacement, Oleg Zhiganov ( Russian : Олег Жиганов ), was suspected of being a Russian spy and expelled from the U.S. as part of the expulsions of Russian diplomats in March 2018 in retaliation for the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, England . Government of the Soviet Union The Government of

5940-412: The atrophy of formal organs of authority, in both party and state." British academic Leonard Schapiro contended that "Stalin's style of rule was characterised by how rule through regular machinery (party, government apparatus) gave way increasingly to the rule of personal agents and agencies, each operating separately and often in conflict, with Stalin in supreme overall control." The government, which

6048-639: The authority of the Soviet Government and so they too supported Pavlov's program. Soyuz, through a vote, was able to increase the powers of the Cabinet of Ministers, and gave the institution the right of legislative initiative . Shortly afterwards, Jack F. Matlock Jr. , United States ambassador to the Soviet Union , told Gorbachev of the possibility of a coup attempt against him, and the Soviet leader became worried when Anatoly Chernyaev informed him of mysterious troop movements outside Moscow . On 21 June, four days after Pavlov's speech, Gorbachev addressed

6156-466: The committee has been used to demonstrate its unwillingness to revert to pre-Gorbachev policies. The committee's main goal was to ensure that the Soviet Union continued as a highly centralized union state. The Emergency Committee was led by Gennady Yanayev , Vice President of the Soviet Union , Interior Minister Boris Pugo , Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov and other hardliners who were determined to take action to oust Gorbachev. Vladimir Kryuchkov ,

6264-449: The council's relationships with subordinate organs were defined in the Soviet constitution by the Law on the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Each union republic and autonomous republic had its own governments formed by the republican legislature of the respective union republic or autonomous republic. Republican governments were not legally subordinate to the All-Union government, but they were obliged in their activities to be guided by

6372-586: The day before. On the same day, his fellow plotters decided to depose Pavlov, sending him to his dacha where his wife took care of him. As with all the others, Pavlov was arrested following the collapse of the coup. Shortly after Pavlov was hospitalized with hypertension whilst remaining in custody. He was released on recognizance not to leave in January 1993 and granted amnesty by the Russian State Duma in 1994. After his release from custody, Pavlov became

6480-418: The decrees and decisions of the All-Union government. At the same time, the union-republican ministries had double subordination – they simultaneously submitted to the union republican government, within the framework of which they were created, and to the corresponding all-union government, orders and instructions which should have been guided in their activities. In contrast to the union republican ministries of

6588-433: The decrees and resolutions issued by the government. The All-Union Council also had the power to suspend all mandates and decrees issued by itself or organisations subordinate to it. The Council coordinated and directed the work of the union republics and union ministries, state committees and other organs subordinate to it. The competence of the government and its Presidium with respect to their procedures and activities and

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6696-584: The distributor. According to Philip Hanson in his book, The Rise and Fall of the Soviet economy: An Economic History of the USSR from 1945 , Pavlov's reform was undermined by the Union Republics who failed to follow Pavlov's orders, along with the widespread existence of local monopolies, which tended to have their own definition of luxury goods and as a result imposed higher prices on such items. Soviet citizens had only three days from 23 to 25 January to exchange their old 50 ruble and 100 ruble banknotes for

6804-534: The economy to give state enterprises more autonomy, while giving state enterprises more room to discuss their production goals with their respective ministries. The Brezhnev Era also saw the adoption of the 1977 constitution . It defined for the first time the responsibilities and membership of the government's Presidium. The constitution defined the Presidium as a permanent governmental organ responsible for establishing and securing good economic leadership and to assume administrative responsibilities. It stated that

6912-482: The economy. The non-economic ministries, such as the Ministry of State Security , reported to the politburo. In addition, the 8 February resolution established eight sectoral bureaus; Bureau for Agriculture, Bureau for Metallurgy and Chemicals, Bureau for Machine Construction, Bureau for Fuel and Electric Power Stations, Bureau for Food Industry, Bureau for Transport and Communication, Bureau for Light Industry and Bureau for Culture and Health. This decision transformed

7020-409: The enactment of the New Union Treaty . Prime Minister Valentin Pavlov was one of the leaders of the coup. The Cabinet of Ministers and most All-Union power organs supported the coup attempt against Gorbachev. In the aftermath of the coup attempt, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR) led by Boris Yeltsin sought to weaken Gorbachev's presidential powers. The State Council

7128-472: The end the reform proved unsuccessful. The government only managed to withdraw 14 billion rubles from circulation of the country's money supply against an intended target of 81.5 billion rubles. As a result, the Pavlov reform did not put an end to inflation. Prices for items including food and transport rose by 100–300 percent, while the Soviet standard of living decreased sharply and the state budget deficit increased by an estimated 20–30 percent of GNP . In

7236-619: The first woman in space . Since at least 2001, the center has organized all-expenses-paid cultural exchange trips to Russia for young Americans. The trips included lodging at luxury hotels and meetings with Russian officials. In October 2013, the center's director, Yury Zaitsev ( Russian : Юрий Зайцев ), was investigated by the FBI for allegedly using the center's cultural exchange program to recruit young Americans as Russian spies. The FBI interviewed Americans sent by Zaitsev and warned them they were being targeted for recruitment. Zaitsev publicly denied

7344-468: The first deputy chairmen would take on the role of acting head of government until the premier's return. The Administrator of Affairs was tasked with co-signing decrees and resolutions made by government with the government chairman. The government apparatus prepared items of policy, which the officeholder would check systematically against decrees of the party-government. This function consisted of several departments and other structural units. In addition

7452-539: The freezing of all contradictory decisions by republican and local officials and punishment for officials who fail to carry out orders), accelerated denationalisation of small enterprises and services, giving state run enterprises freedom of action, radical budget cuts, freeing prices, lifting control on wages levels, stabilization of the Soviet Ruble , and channelling of new resources into agriculture. Many economists said it wouldn't work. In June 1991, Pavlov, who felt that

7560-511: The government apparatus, especially during Nikita Khrushchev 's leadership. At first, the new leadership sought to solve problems within the existing bureaucratic framework, however, by 1954 the government initiated reforms which devolve more economic decision-making to the republican governments. Around this time Khrushchev suggested abolishing the industrial and construction ministries and distributing their duties and responsibilities to republican governments and regional bureaucrats. The end-goal

7668-511: The government began restricting monthly bank deposit withdrawals to 500 rubles with the official explanation that this was to freeze the income of corrupt officials, capitalists and criminals. Under the orders of Pavlov, the Government freed forty percent of prices on 1 January 1991, and introduced sales tax of 5%. Prices of consumer goods , in particular, were now considered free in the sense that negotiation became possible between producers and

7776-516: The government chairman, alongside the first deputy chairmen, deputy chairmen and the republican governmental heads made up the Presidium's membership. Gorbachev had been speaking critically of the idea of a Soviet presidency until October 1989. He had argued that a presidency could lead to the reestablishment of the cult of personality and one-man leadership. However, Gorbachev was meeting stiff resistance from bureaucrats and anti-reformist elements against his reformist policies. The establishment of

7884-404: The government's working methods. The new resolution delegated authorities to the bureaus and away from the deputy chairmen of government and high-standing ministers. Every sectoral bureau was headed by a deputy chairman of the government, but decision-making was devolved into these collegial decision-making organs. The net effect of these changes was to greatly increase the legislative activity of

7992-472: The government, take control of these organs and issue day-to-day instructions. At last, they could give prior consideration to proposals and draft decisions submitted to the government. For example, Kirill Mazurov was responsible for industry, and Dmitry Polyansky was responsible for agriculture in Kosygin's Second Government . In the case of the government chairman not being able to perform his duties one of

8100-444: The government. Stalin, who had not attended a meeting of the Bureau since 1944, resorted to appointing acting government chairmen. Molotov was first appointed, but could rarely fulfill his duties since he was simultaneously Minister of Foreign Affairs and often away on business. On 29 March 1948 the politburo resolved to create a rotational chairmanship headed by Lavrentiy Beria , Nikolai Voznesensky and Georgy Malenkov . Lacking

8208-521: The impasse, Pavlov called for a transfer of power from the President of the Soviet Union to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers, (specifically, he wanted the Cabinet to have the right to issue decrees on economic affairs without the approval of the president, to propose legislation on its own, a larger role in social and economic policy making, control over the Gosbank and he taxation inspectorate, and

8316-405: The interior were granted All-Union status. This system created troubles at first since neither the constitution or any legal document defined the relations between All-Union commissariats, their organs in republics and the separate unified republican commissariats. However, this system was kept with minor changes until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The 1936 constitution defined

8424-460: The management functions of the construction and industrial ministries had been transferred to 105 newly established Soviets of the National Economy . Republican planning committees were given more responsibility, while the State Planning Committee was given responsibility over companies that could not be decentralised to republican governments. The Soviet media began propagating the idea of developing complex, regional economies and comparing them to

8532-433: The media that the reform was initiated to halt the flow of Soviet rubles transported to the Soviet Union from abroad. Although ridiculed at the time, the statement was later proven to be true. In June the same year, Pavlov called for a transfer of power from the President of the Soviet Union to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers. When that failed, he joined a plot to oust Gorbachev. In August, he participated in

8640-470: The new currency . Exchange could be postponed, but only through specialized government commissions. Due to this short exchange window, long queues formed in front of Soviet savings banks, even though it was also possible to exchange money at workplaces and post offices. This reform also dealt a crippling blow to Soviet citizens who had saved their money and could not move fast enough to get it exchanged; some lost as much as 15,000 - 30,000 rubles overnight. In

8748-562: The office of President of the Soviet Union was seen as an important tool to strengthen Gorbachev's control over the state apparatus. Gorbachev proposed to the 3rd Plenary Session of the XXI Supreme Soviet in February 1990 to establish the Office of the President of the Soviet Union. The Supreme Soviet passed the motion, and in March an Extraordinary Session of the Congress of People's Deputies

8856-407: The office of Prime Minister had limited power, discovered that Gorbachev planned to replace him as Prime Minister. In response, he arrived at the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union "visibly nervous", and in his report to the Supreme Soviet, he was forced to tell delegates of the faltering state of the Soviet economy. However, Pavlov blamed this on the ongoing War of Laws between the Supreme Soviet of

8964-571: The old ministerial system. The belief was that the Soviets of the National economy would increase inter-branch cooperation and specialization. However, the reforms did not manage to cure the failings of the Soviet economy, and actually showed shortcomings in other areas as well. Khrushchev's government responded by initiating reforms that reversed decentralisation measures, and sought to recentralise control over resource allocation. The removal of Khrushchev

9072-512: The people's commissars into ministers. On 25 February 1947, appropriate changes were made to the Constitution of the Soviet Union. The government's Bureau was established in 1944. After the war, the bureau was split into two. These bureaus were merged on 20 March 1946, reestablishing the government's Bureau. The party Politburo adopted on 8 February 1947 the resolution "On the Organization of

9180-544: The post of Chairman of the State Committee on Prices during the Gorbachev Era , and later became Minister of Finance in Nikolai Ryzhkov 's second government. He went on to succeed Ryzhkov as head of government in the newly established post of Prime Minister of the Soviet Union . As Prime Minister Pavlov initiated the 1991 Soviet monetary reform , commonly referred to as the Pavlov reform, in early 1991. Early on he told

9288-575: The post was considered uncontroversial, even though Lira Rozenova, Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Prices, was not elected to the post of Chairman of the State Committee for her advocacy of Pavlov-backed plans for centrally administered price reform. He was the only minister in Ryzhkov's Government who was also a member of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers . Along with Eduard Shevardnadze – Soviet Foreign Minister – Pavlov

9396-526: The premier and confirmed by the Supreme Soviet. The Government of the Soviet Union exercised its executive powers in conformity with the constitution of the Soviet Union and legislation enacted by the Supreme Soviet. The first government was led by Vladimir Lenin , and the last government was led by Valentin Pavlov . Following the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR of 1922, the Russian SFSR , Ukrainian SSR ,

9504-406: The presidency and the Council of Ministers. Both reported to the Supreme Soviet. The Cabinet of Ministers would report directly to the President of the Soviet Union, and be accountable to both the presidency and to the Supreme Soviet. While the term of the Council of Ministers had been tied to the election of the Supreme Soviet, the Cabinet of Ministers was obliged by law to tender its resignation if

9612-425: The sitting president stepped down. Similar to the Council of Ministers, the leading decision-making organ of the Cabinet of Ministers was the Presidium. It was to be chaired by the newly created office of Prime Minister of the Soviet Union. In accordance with law the Presidium had to consist of the prime minister, his first deputies , deputies and an Administrator of Affairs . The duties and responsibilities of

9720-426: The state." Boris Bazhanov , the private secretary of Joseph Stalin , echoed the same sentiments. According to Bazhanov appointment of people's commissars were made by the party Politburo and ratified later by the Council of People's Commissars. This informal system of government, in which the party decides and the government implements, lasted until Mikhail Gorbachev 's tenure as leader. The government chairman

9828-486: The system of industrial ministers as they existed before 1957. Of the 33 newly appointed construction- and industry ministers appointed in 1965, twelve had served as ministers in 1957 or before and ten had worked and risen to the rank of deputy minister by this time. This was followed by the establishment of the All-Union Ministry of Education and the All-Union Ministry of Preservation of Public Order in 1966. Four All-Union construction ministries were established in 1967 and

9936-461: The two grew even more icy when Pavlov became Soviet Premier. Following the resignation of Nikolai Ryzhkov following a heart attack in December 1990, Pavlov was elected to the new position of Prime Minister as a compromise candidate, and became chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers. He and his two First Deputy Prime Ministers , Vladimir Velichko and Vitaly Doguzhiev , were approved and elected by

10044-399: The union republic, the republican ministries were subordinate only to the government of the corresponding union republic. Lenin sought to create a governmental structure that was independent of the party apparatus. Valerian Osinsky echoed Lenin's criticism, but Grigory Zinoviev responded to criticism in 1923 by stating that "Everyone understands that our Politburo is the principal body of

10152-421: The vote. In his place stood Ivan Laptev, a pro-Gorbachev reformer, who did not trust Lukyanov and tried to stall the vote by demanding a statement from the KGB, Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Defense. According to Laptev, the mood was such that if a vote had been taken Pavlov would have won. At the time, both the Soviet secret police and the military establishment in general wanted to strengthen

10260-522: Was a Soviet official who became a Russian banker following the dissolution of the Soviet Union . Born in the city of Moscow , then part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , Pavlov began his political career in the Ministry of Finance in 1959. Later, during the Brezhnev Era , he became head of the Financial Department of the State Planning Committee . Pavlov was appointed to

10368-402: Was appointed Chairman of the State Committee on Prices on 15 August 1986, and retained that post until 7 June 1989. Throughout the period, and later as Minister of Finance, Pavlov supported the centralized price reform proposal posited by Nikolai Ryzhkov , Chairman of the Council of Ministers . He succeeded Gostev to become Minister of Finance in Ryzhkov's government in 1989 and his time in

10476-510: Was at this point the most formalised Soviet state institution, developed neopatrimonial features due to Stalin's habit of ruling through "the strict personal loyalty of his lieutenants". Stalin was elected to the government chairmanship on 6 May 1941. The government continued to function normally until World War II (known as the Great Patriotic War in Russia) when it was subordinated to

10584-498: Was convened to amend the constitution. The Law on the Presidency which was adopted by the Congress of People's Deputies stated that the president had to be elected in a nationwide election, but Gorbachev argued that the country was not ready for divisive election. Therefore, the Congress of People's Deputies held a vote in which 1329 voted to elect Gorbachev as President of the Soviet Union, while 916 voted against him. As President of

10692-687: Was established. It superseded the government in terms of power by giving each republican president a seat on the council. In addition, every decision had to be decided by a vote–a move that greatly weakened Gorbachev's control. In tandem, the Russian SFSR seized the building and staff of the All-Union Ministry of Finance , the State Bank and the Bank for Foreign Economic Relations. With the central government's authority greatly weakened, Gorbachev established

10800-478: Was even more oppressive towards workers than even the most advanced capitalist societies. One of his first actions as Prime Minister was to move the headquarters of the Soviet Government – the Cabinet of Ministers – from the Moscow Kremlin to the former headquarters of the State Committee for Construction to strengthen his position. The Soviet monetary reform of 1991 , commonly referred to as

10908-426: Was followed by reversing his reforms of the government apparatus. The first move came in early 1965 when Alexei Kosygin 's First Government when the All-Union Ministry of Agriculture was regifted responsibility for agriculture (which it lost in one Khrushchev's earlier reforms). By October the same year the Council of Ministers abolished the industrial state committees and regional economic councils and reestablished

11016-496: Was regarded as interchangeable with 'minister', and there seems little doubt that the Bolshevik leaders meant 'minister'." Joseph Stalin , in a speech to the II Supreme Soviet in March 1946, argued to change the name of government from Council of People's Commissars to Council of Ministers because "The commissar reflects the period of revolutionary rupture and so on. But that time has now passed. Our social system has come into being and

11124-471: Was the government's belief that money was being sent to the Soviet Union from abroad, fueling inflation. Although ridiculed by the Soviet press at the time, three years later the truth of Pavlov's statement was verified. Mikhail Gorbachev then signed a presidential decree ordering the Soviet financial system to stop accepting and exchanging banknotes issued in 1961. The directive also included 50-ruble and 100-ruble banknotes issued in 1991. On 23 January 1991,

11232-452: Was the most important. The Cabinet of Ministers was by law forced to work more closely with republican governments than the Council of Ministers. Republican governments could petition the Cabinet of Ministers at any time, and the Cabinet of Ministers was forced to take all questions from republican governments into consideration. To foster better relations ministers moved to create collegiums with their republican counterparts. For instance,

11340-405: Was the only nominee from Ryzhkov's second government to be overwhelmingly elected by the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union . As Minister of Finance, Pavlov was supportive of the marketization of the Soviet economy , having overseen a rapid increase in the Soviet money supply and the increase in inflation it caused. Pavlov also set the exchange rate for the ruble against the American dollar on

11448-516: Was to be the executive arm of the CEC. This governmental structure was copied from the one established in the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (Russian SFSR), and the government was modeled on the Council of People's Commissars of the Russian SFSR. The government of the Russian SFSR led by Vladimir Lenin governed the Soviet Union until 6 July 1923, when the CEC established the Council of People's Commissars of

11556-535: Was to reduce the size of the All-Union government and increase economic growth. A similar idea was proposed to the CPSU Presidium in January 1957. The proposal sought to switch the function of the All-Union government from active management of operational management of industry to active branch policy-making. Operational management was to be decentralised to republican governments and local authorities. The CPSU Presidium adopted Khrushchev's proposal. By July 1957

11664-433: Was until the establishment of the Cabinet of Ministers in 1991 the Soviet head of government . The officeholder was responsible for convening the government and its Presidium, reporting to the Supreme Soviet on behalf of the government and leading the work on formulating the five-year plans. The "Law on the Council of Ministers of the USSR" states that the chairman "heads the Government and directs its activity... coordinates

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