The General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (First Secretary in 1953-1966) was the title synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union after Lenin's death in 1924. The full name of the office was General (or First) Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ( Russian: Влади́мир Ильи́ч Ле́нин  listen?), original surname Ulyanov (Улья́нов) ( April 22 (April 10 ( O.S.)), 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a Russian revolutionary, the leader of the Bolshevik party, the first Premier of the Soviet Union, and the founder of the ideology of Leninism. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The position was originally an administrative one when it was created in 1922 with Stalin being the first to hold the title. However, the access to and authority over the party bureaucracy which accrued to the position allowed Stalin to increase his power during Lenin's illness and particularly after his death. Once Stalin came to dominate the Politburo, the position of General Secretary became synonymous with that of party leader and de facto ruler of the USSR. From 1934 on, Stalin increasingly preferred to sign documents as just "Secretary of the Central Committee" and there are no official references to the post between the XIXth Party Congress in October 1952 and Stalin's death on March 5, 1953, but there was never any doubt that he remained in charge. 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ... Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ... The Politburo (in Russian: Политбюро), known as the Presidium from 1952 to 1966, functioned as the central policymaking and governing body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. ... The term General Secretary (alternatively First Secretary) denotes a leader of various unions, parties or associations. ... De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Look up October in Wiktionary, the free dictionary October is the tenth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... March 5 is the 64th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (65th in leap years). ... 1953 (MCMLIII) is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

When the leadership of the Central Committee was restructured at the time of Stalin's death, the office of the General Secretary remained unoccupied, but two senior Politburo members, Georgy Malenkov (the new prime minister) and Nikita Khruschev, were included in the Secretariat. On March 14, 1953, Malenkov was removed from the Secretariat, which left Khruschev in effective control of the body. His position was confirmed at the September 1953 Plenary meeting of the Central Committee, which made him First Secretary of the Central Committee. Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov (Гео́ргий Максимилиа́нович Маленко́в) (GHYOR-ghee mah-leen-KOF) (January 8, 1902 [December 26, 1901, Old Style] - January 14, 1988) was a Soviet politician and Communist Party leader, and a close collaborator of Joseph Stalin. ... Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister A prime minister may be either: chief or leading member of the cabinet of the top-level government in a country having a parliamentary system of government; or the official, in countries with a semi-presidential system of government, appointed to manage the... Nikita Khrushchev in 1962 Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (Russian: Ники́та Серге́евич Хрущёв) (nih-KEE-tah khroo-SHCHYOFF) (April 17, 1894 – September 11, 1971) was the leader of the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin. ... March 14 is the 73rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (74th in Leap years) with 292 days remaining in the year. ... September is the ninth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four Gregorian months with 30 days. ...

After 1925, the General Secretary led the Politburo and often the Central Committee. For a list of General Secretaries see List of leaders of the Soviet Union The Politburo (in Russian: Политбюро), known as the Presidium from 1952 to 1966, functioned as the central policymaking and governing body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. ... The Central Committee, abbreviated in Russian as ЦК, Tseka, was the highest body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). ... An approximately chronological listing of Soviet leaders (heads of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Soviet Union). ...

See also:

• Communist Party of the Soviet Union
• Organization of the Communist Party of the USSR.