22nd Presidium of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Presidium chairmen

Brezhnev succeeded Khrushchev in 1964, and chaired the Presidium until 1982.

A member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was a member of the nomenklatura, the country's de facto ruling class.^[1] Nikita Khrushchev chaired the Presidium from 1955 to 1964; Leonid Brezhnev succeeded him that year and chaired until 1982.^[2] In contrast to full members, candidate members of the Presidium could not vote during Presidium sessions.^[3] It was normal that a full member of the Presidium had previously served as a candidate member, but this was not always the case.^[4] During the term 23 people held seats in the Presidium: 14 full members and 9 candidate members. One candidate member was promoted to full membership in the Presidium during the term. Not a single Presidium member died during this period while retaining office.

The Central Committee was, according to sovietologists Merle Fainsod and Jerry F. Hough, elected unanimously at the 22nd Party Congress (17–31 October 1961).^[5] The 22nd Central Committee in turn elected the Politburo unanimously.^[5] Brezhnev, the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, was considered as an alternative to Kozlov as Second Secretary, but was instead made Third Secretary, the secretary responsible for industry. In 1963, for unknown reasons, possibly health reasons, Brezhnev took over Kozlov's duties at the Secretariat, and became the de facto Second Secretary. When a Western journalist asked Khrushchev in 1963 who would succeed him, Khrushchev responded bluntly "Brezhnev".^[6] After a prolonged power struggle, Khrushchev was ousted from power,^[7] and a collective leadership led by Brezhnev, Kosygin, Podgorny,^[8] Mikhail Suslov^[9] and Andrei Kirilenko^[10] was formed.

In the months following Khrushchev's ousting, three members were elected to the Presidium: Alexander Shelepin, the Chairman of the State Control Commission; Petro Shelest, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine; and Kirill Mazurov, a First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers.^[11] While Brezhnev may have been General Secretary, he did not have a majority in the Presidium; when Kosygin and Podgorny agreed on policy, which was not often the case, Brezhnev found himself in the minority. Brezhnev could only count on three to four votes in the Presidium: Suslov, who often switched sides, Kirilenko, Pelše and Dmitry Polyansky.^[12] Brezhnev and Kosygin often disagreed on policy; Brezhnev was a conservative while Kosygin was a modest reformer. Kosygin, who had begun his premiership as Brezhnev's equal, lost much power and influence within the Presidium when he introduced the 1965–1971 Soviet economic reform.^[13]

22nd Presidium (1961–1966)

Candidate members Name (birth–death) Took office Left office Duration Grishin, ViktorViktor Grishin (1914–1992) 31 October 1961 8 April 1966 4 years, 159 days Mazurov, KirillKirill Mazurov (1914–1989) 31 October 1961 26 March 1965 3 years, 146 days Mzhavanadze, VasilVasil Mzhavanadze (1902–1988) 31 October 1961 8 April 1966 4 years, 159 days Rashidov, SharofSharof Rashidov (1917–1983) 31 October 1961 8 April 1966 4 years, 159 days Shcherbytsky, VolodymyrVolodymyr Shcherbytsky (1918–1990) 31 October 1961 13 December 1963 2 years, 43 days 6 December 1965 8 April 1966 123 days Efremov, LeonidLeonid Efremov (1912–2007) 23 November 1962 8 April 1966 3 years, 136 days Shelest, PetroPetro Shelest (1908–1996) 13 December 1963 16 November 1964 339 days Demichev, PyotrPyotr Demichev (1917–2000) 16 November 1964 8 April 1966 1 year, 143 days Ustinov, DmitriyDmitriy Ustinov (1908–1984) 26 March 1965 8 April 1966 347 days

Full members Name (birth–death) Took office Left office Duration Brezhnev, LeonidLeonid Brezhnev (1906–1982) 31 October 1961 8 April 1966 4 years, 159 days Voronov, GennadyGennady Voronov (1910–1994) 31 October 1961 8 April 1966 4 years, 159 days Kozlov, FrolFrol Kozlov (1908–1965) 31 October 1961 16 November 1964 3 years, 16 days Kosygin, AlexeiAlexei Kosygin (1904–1980) 31 October 1961 8 April 1966 4 years, 159 days Kuusinen, OttoOtto Kuusinen (1881–1964) 31 October 1961 14 May 1964 2 years, 196 days Mikoyan, AnastasAnastas Mikoyan (1895–1978) 31 October 1961 8 April 1966 4 years, 159 days Podgorny, NikolaiNikolai Podgorny (1908–1983) 31 October 1961 8 April 1966 4 years, 159 days Polyansky, DmitryDmitry Polyansky (1917–2001) 31 October 1961 8 April 1966 4 years, 159 days Suslov, MikhailMikhail Suslov (1902–1982) 31 October 1961 8 April 1966 4 years, 159 days Khrushchev, NikitaNikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) 31 October 1961 14 October 1964 2 years, 349 days Shvernik, NikolayNikolay Shvernik (1888–1970) 31 October 1961 8 April 1966 4 years, 159 days Kirilenko, AndreiAndrei Kirilenko (1906–1990) 23 April 1962 8 April 1966 3 years, 350 days Shelest, PetroPetro Shelest (1908–1996) 16 November 1964 8 April 1966 1 year, 143 days Shelepin, AlexanderAlexander Shelepin (1918–1994) 16 November 1964 8 April 1966 1 year, 143 days

References

General
Full- and candidate membership of the Presidium were taken from these sources:

• Fainsod; Hough (1979). How the Soviet Union Is Governed. pp. 230–231.
• Fainsod & Hough (1979). How the Soviet Union Is Governed. pp. 239–240.

Specific

1. Dogan & Higley 1998, p. 128.
2. Schmidt-Häuer 1986, p. 83.
3. Huskey 1992, p. 38.
4. Fainsod & Hough 1979, pp. 125–127.
5. Fainsod & Hough 1979, p. 452.
6. Fainsod & Hough 1979, p. 242.
7. Baylis 1989, p. 97.
8. Cocks & Daniels 1976, pp. 56–57.
9. Fainsod & Hough 1979, p. 245.
10. Fainsod & Hough 1979, p. 247.
11. Fainsod & Hough 1979, pp. 238–239.
12. Zemtsov 1989, pp. 102–103.
13. Brown 2009, p. 403.

Bibliography

• Fainsod, Merle; Hough, Jerry F. (1979). How the Soviet Union is Governed. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674410305.
• Dogan, Mattéi; Higley, John (1998). Elites, Crises, and the Origins of Regimes. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0847690237.
• Schmidt-Häuer, Christian (1986). Gorbachev: The Path to Power. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9781850430155.
• Huskey, Eugene (1992). Executive Power and Soviet Politics: The Rise and Decline of the Soviet State. M. E. Sharpe. ISBN 9781563240591.
• Baylis, Thomas A. (1989). Governing by Committee: Collegial Leadership in Advanced Societies. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0887069444.
• Cocks, Paul; Daniels, Robert Vincent; Whittier Heer, Nancy (1976). The Dynamics of Soviet Politics. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674218819.
• Zemtsov, Ilya (1989). Chernenko: The Last Bolshevik: The Soviet Union on the Eve of Perestroika. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 9781412819459.
• Brown, Archie (2009). The Rise & Fall of Communism. Bodley Head. ISBN 9780307372246.