State Council Of The USSR
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Following the August
1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt The 1991 Soviet coup attempt, also known as the August Coup, was a failed attempt by hardliners of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) to Coup d'état, forcibly seize control of the country from Mikhail Gorbachev, who was President ...
, the State Council of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (), also known as the State Soviet (), was formed on 5 September 1991 and was designed to be one of the most important government offices in
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
's
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. The members of the council consisted of the
President of the Soviet Union The president of the Soviet Union (), officially the president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (), abbreviated as president of the USSR (), was the executive head of state of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from 15 March ...
, and highest officials (which typically was
presidents President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *''Præsidenten ...
of their republics) from the Soviet Union's republics. During the period of transition it was the highest organ of state power, having the power to elect a
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
, or a person who would take Gorbachev's place if absent; the office of
Vice President of the Soviet Union The Constitution of the Soviet Union recognised the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, Supreme Soviet (between 1938 and 1989) and the earlier Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union, Centr ...
had been abolished following the failed August Coup that very same year.


History

The idea of the institution of a State Council in the Soviet Union first appeared in the early 1970s, during the early days of
Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...
's rule. As head of the CPSU, Brezhnev was the de facto leader of the Soviet Union, but was only ranked third in diplomatic protocol, eclipsed by the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
Nikolai Podgorny Nikolai Viktorovich Podgorny ( – 12 January 1983) was a Soviet statesman who served as the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, the head of state of the Soviet Union, from 1965 to 1977. Podgorny was born to a Ukrainian working-c ...
(head of state; first in protocol) and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers
Alexei Kosygin Alexei Nikolayevich Kosygin (–18 December 1980) was a Soviet people, Soviet statesman during the Cold War. He served as the Premier of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1980 and, alongside General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, was one of its most ...
(head of government; second in protocol). Brezhnev's supporters conceived the idea of establishing a State Council, similar to those of
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
, and
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, to replace the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet () was the standing body of the highest organ of state power, highest body of state authority in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).The Presidium of the Soviet Union is, in short, the legislativ ...
as the highest organ of state; the State Council's chairmanship would be assumed by Brezhnev himself, allowing him to replace Podgorny as the head of state and first-ranked person in diplomatic protocol. These plans did not come to fruition: under the
Brezhnev Constitution The 1977 Constitution of the Soviet Union, officially the Constitution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was adopted on 7 October 1977. The 1977 Constitution, also known as the ''Brezhnev Constitution'' or the ''Constitution of Deve ...
of 1977, the collegial Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was retained as the highest body of power in the country, rather than being replaced by a Council of State.


Inter-republican Economic Committee

With the central government's authority greatly weakened by the failed coup, Gorbachev established a four-man committee, led by Russian SFSR Premier
Ivan Silayev Ivan Stepanovich Silayev (; 21 October 1930 – 8 February 2023) was a Soviet and Russian politician. He served as Prime Minister of the Soviet Union through the offices of chairman of the Committee on the Operational Management of the Soviet ...
, that included
Grigory Yavlinsky Grigory Alekseyevich Yavlinsky (; born 10 April 1952) is a Russian economist and politician. He has held numerous positions in the Soviet and Russian governments across different levels, including in the State Duma. Yavlinsky was one of auth ...
,
Arkadi Volsky Arkady Volsky (; 15 May 1932 – 9 September 2006) was a Soviet politician and businessman. He served as a senior aide to three Soviet General Secretaries, including Mikhail Gorbachev, and was one of three Deputy Prime Ministers in the last ...
, and
Yuri Luzhkov Yuri may refer to: People Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), feminine Japanese given names, including a list o ...
, to elect a new
Cabinet of Ministers A cabinet in governing is a group of people with the constitutional or legal task to rule a country or state, or advise a head of state, usually from the executive branch. Their members are known as ministers and secretaries and they are ...
. This committee was later transformed into the Committee on the Operational Management of the Soviet Economy (COMSE), also chaired by Silayev, to manage the
Soviet economy The economy of the Soviet Union was based on state ownership of the means of production, collective farming, and industrial manufacturing. An administrative-command system managed a distinctive form of central planning. The Soviet economy ...
. On 28 August 1991 the
Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet () was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). These soviets were modeled after the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, establ ...
temporarily gave the COMSE the same authority as the Cabinet of Ministers, and Silayev became the Soviet Union's ''de facto'' Prime Minister. Yet, COMSE was quickly surpassed in authority by the Inter-republican Economic Committee of the Soviet Union (IEC), also led by Silayev. Its function was to coordinate economic policy across the Soviet Union. As Chairman of both COMSE and the IEC, Silayev presided over a quickly disintegrating Soviet Union. When he first took office, Silayev wanted to reduce the powers of the central government and give more powers to the
Soviet Republics In the Soviet Union, a Union Republic () or unofficially a Republic of the USSR was a constituent federated political entity with a system of government called a Soviet republic, which was officially defined in the 1977 constitution as " ...
. This view changed; he demanded that Yeltsin give back much of the authority of the central government which he had usurped following the August Coup. In this he failed, and his position as Russian SFSR Premier was severely weakened as a result.
Oleg Lobov Oleg Ivanovich Lobov (; 7 September 1937 – 6 September 2018) was a Russian politician who served as acting First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic from 19 April 1991 to 15 November 1 ...
, Silayev's First Deputy Premier, led the anti-Silayev faction in the Russian SFSR Council of Ministers and managed to oust him on 26 September 1991; Lobov succeeded Silayev as acting Premier of the Russian SFSR. Silayev, as overseer of the economy, was given the task of initiating economic reforms in the Soviet Union in a way that suited both the central government and the Soviet republics. Silayev tried to maintain an integrated economy while initiating the marketisation of the economy. Further disintegration of the USSR led to the transformation of the IEC into the
Interstate Economic Committee of the Economic Community The Common Economic Space is the goal and the result of the process of economic integration of post-Soviet states envisaged by the Article 7 of the Agreement on the creation the Commonwealth of Independent States signed on 8 December 1991. Accordi ...
(coordinating relations between the union republics and republics, declaring their secession from the USSR). The IEC showed its international intent by signing the European Energy Charter on 16/17 December 1991 with 35 other countries, but this was undermined by the charter also being signed by nine of the twelve remaining republics.


Dissolution of the Soviet Union

On 19 December COMSE was dissolved by a presidential Russian SFSR decree. Оn 25 December Gorbachev announced his resignation from the post of President of the USSR in connection with the creation of the
Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...
. Accordingly, the union government ceased to exist. The next day, 26 December 1991 the Soviet Union was formally dissolved by the Soviet of the Republics.


References

{{Departments of the USSR , state = uncollapsed State Council 1991 disestablishments in the Soviet Union 1991 establishments in the Soviet Union Perestroika