Soviet Leaders in order

  1. Vladimir Lenin (1922–1924) - Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars

  2. Joseph Stalin (1924–1953) - General Secretary of the Communist Party

  3. Georgy Malenkov (1953) - Briefly served as Premier after Stalin's death

  4. Nikita Khrushchev (1953–1964) - First Secretary of the Communist Party

  5. Leonid Brezhnev (1964–1982) - General Secretary of the Communist Party

  6. Yuri Andropov (1982–1984) - General Secretary of the Communist Party

  7. Konstantin Chernenko (1984–1985) - General Secretary of the Communist Party

  8. Mikhail Gorbachev (1985–1991) - General Secretary of the Communist Party and later President of the Soviet Union