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Stalin's second government was formally constituted on March 19, 1946, with Joseph Stalin at the helm as the head of government and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, this cabinet was inaugurated through a decree of the second convocation of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union issued earlier on March 15, 1946. This decree also signified the renaming of the Council of People's Commissars to the Council of Ministers.[1]
Stalin's second government | |
|---|---|
| Soviet Union 12th government of the Soviet Union | |
 | |
| Date formed | March 19, 1946 |
| Date dissolved | March 12, 1950 |
| People and organisations | |
| Head of state | Nikolai Shvernik |
| Head of government | President of the Sovmin |
| Deputy head of government | Vyacheslav Molotov |
| No. of ministers | 56 |
| Member party |  All-Union Communist Party (Bolshevik) |
| Status in legislature | Second Convocation of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union |
| History | |
| Election | 1946 Soviet Union legislative election |
| Outgoing election | 1950 Soviet Union legislative election |
| Predecessor | Stalin I |
| Successor | Stalin III |
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While the responsibilities and functions of the Council of Ministers' members remained unchanged from those of the Council of People's Commissars, the modification in nomenclature was aimed at aligning with international conventions. The second convocation of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, convened on February 10, 1946, played the pivotal role in approving the formation of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on March 19, 1946.[2]
The Council of Ministers, under Stalin's leadership, spearheaded the implementation of the fourth five-year plan of economic development spanning 1946 to 1950. Stalin's directive on February 9, 1946, emphasized the restoration of war-affected regions, the resurgence of industry and agriculture to pre-war levels, and the subsequent transition to a more expansive or significantly reduced growth rate.[3]
In a pivotal move in December 1947, the Council of Ministers of the USSR executed the second monetary reform in Soviet history, characterized by the redenomination of Soviet currency. Simultaneously, the reform dismantled rationing for food and consumer goods. This nationwide reform unfolded within a week, extending to two weeks in remote Northern areas.[4]
In October 1948, the Council of Ministers and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union outlined a comprehensive plan for windbreak planting, crop rotation pastures, and the construction of ponds and lakes[5] The plan, known as the Great Plan for the Transformation of Nature,[6] also aimed at ensuring high crop yields in the steppe and forest-steppe regions of the European territories of the Soviet Union.[7]
The Soviet Union successfully developed the atomic bomb on August 29, 1949, becoming the world's second nuclear-armed nation. This achievement brought an end to the American nuclear monopoly, marking a turning point in the global balance of power.[8][9]
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| Ministry | Minister | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Chairman of the Council of Ministers | Joseph Stalin | PCU (b) |
| First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers | Vyacheslav Molotov[11][12] | PCU (b) |
| Deputy Chairmen of the Council of Ministers | Lavrenti Beria | PCU (b) |
| Andrei Andreyev | PCU (b) | |
| Nikolai Bulganin[13][14] | PCU (b) | |
| Nikolai Voznesensky[15] | PCU (b) | |
| Kliment Voroshilov | PCU (b) | |
| Aleksandr Yefremov (politician)[16][17] | PCU (b) | |
| Lazar Kaganovich | PCU (b) | |
| Alexei Kosygin | PCU (b) | |
| Alexei Krutikov | PCU (b) | |
| Georgy Malenkov | PCU (b) | |
| Vyacheslav Malyshev | PCU (b) | |
| Anastas Mikoyan[18] | PCU (b) | |
| Maksim Saburov | PCU (b) | |
| Ivan Tevosian | PCU (b) | |
| Administrator of Affairs | Yakov Chadeiev (1946–1949) | PCU (b) |
| Mikhail Pomaznev (1949–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Vyacheslav Molotov (1946–1949) | PCU (b) |
| Andrey Vyshinsky (1949–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Defense | Joseph Stalin (1946–1947) | PCU (b) |
| Nikolai Bulganin (1947–1949) | PCU (b) | |
| Alexander Vasilevsky (1949–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Foreign Trade | Anastas Mikoyan (1946–1949) | PCU (b) |
| Mikhail Menshikov (1949–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Food Industry | Vasili Zotov (1949–1949) | PCU (b) |
| Dmitri Pavlov (1949–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Trade | Alexander Liubimov (1946–1948) | PCU (b) |
| Vasily Zhavoronkov (1948–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Railways | Ivan Kovalev (1946–1948) | PCU (b) |
| Boris Beshev (1948–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Communications | Konstantin Sergeichuk (1946–1948) | PCU (b) |
| Nikolay Psurtsev (1948–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Timber Industry | Mikhail Saltikov (1946–1947) | PCU (b) |
| Georgi Orlov (1947–1948) | PCU (b) | |
| Ministry of Timber and Paper Industry | Georgi Orlov (1946–1947) | PCU (b) |
| Sergei Komarov (1947–1948) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Timber and Paper Industry | Georgi Orlov (1948–1950) | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Light Industry | Sergei Lukin (1946–1947) | PCU (b) |
| Nikolai Ermolaevich (1947–1948) | PCU (b) | |
| Alexei Kosygin (1948–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Aviation Industry | Mikhail Khrunichev | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Naval Industry | Alexei Goregliad (1946–1950) | PCU (b) |
| Vyacheslav Malyshev (1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Armaments | Dmitri Ustinov | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Agricultural Electrical Engineering | Boris Vannikov (1946) | PCU (b) |
| Piotr Goremykin (1946–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Construction and Special Works | Nikolai Kazakov | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Automotive Industry | Stepan Akopov[19] | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Agricultural and Automotive Machinery | Stepan Akopov[19] | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Mechanics and Tools | Pyotr Parshin | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Ferrous Metallurgy | Ivan Tevosian[20] (1946–1948) | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy | Pyotr Lomako[21][22] (1948–1948) | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Metallurgical Industry | Ivan Tevosian (1948–1950) | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Eastern Petroleum Industry (1946–1948) | Mikhail Evseenko | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Western and Southern Petroleum Industry (1946–1948) | Nikolai Baibakov | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Petroleum Industry | Nikolai Baibakov | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Eastern Coal Industry | Vasily Vakhrushev (1946–1947) | PCU (b) |
| Dmitry Onika (1947–1948) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Western Coal Industry | Dmitry Onika (1946–1947) | PCU (b) |
| Alexander Zasyadko (1947–1948) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Coal Industry | Alexander Zasyadko | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Electrical Industry | Ivan Kabanov | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Energy | Dmitri Zhimerin | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Chemical Industry | Mikhail Pervukhin (1946–1950) | PCU (b) |
| Sergei Tikhomirov (1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Rubber Industry | Tijon Mitrojin | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Building Materials Industry | Lazar Kaganovich (1946–1947) | PCU (b) |
| Simon Ginzburg (1947–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Transport Engineering | Vyacheslav Malyshev (1946–1947) | PCU (b) |
| Ivan Nosenko (1947–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Yuri Maksarev (1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Construction and Mechanical Engineering | Konstantin Sokolov (1946–1949) | PCU (b) |
| Semion Fomin (1949–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Finance | Arseny Zverev (1946–1948) | PCU (b) |
| Alexei Kosygin (1948) | PCU (b) | |
| Arseny Zverev (1948–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Agriculture | Ivan Benediktov | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Maritime Transport | Piotr Shirshov (1946–1948) | PCU (b) |
| Alexandr Afanasiev (1948) | PCU (b) | |
| Nikolai Novikov (1948–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of River Transport | Zosima Shashkov | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Internal Affairs | Sergey Kruglov | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Health | Georgy Miterev (1946–1947) | PCU (b) |
| Yefim Smirnov (1947–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Justice | Nikolai Ryshkov (1946–1948) | PCU (b) |
| Konstantin Gorshenin (1948–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Supply | Boris Dvinski | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Industrial Plants | Nikolai Skvortsov | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Textile Industry | Ivan Sedin | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Fishing Industry | Alexander Ishkov (1946, 1948–1950) | PCU (b) |
| Konstantin Rusakov (1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Eastern Fisheries Industry (1946–1948) | Andrei Semionovich | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Western Fisheries Industry (1946–1948) | Alexander Ishkov | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Meat and Dairy Industry | Pavel Smirnov (1946) | PCU (b) |
| Ivan Kuzminy (1946–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of State Security | Vsevolod Merkulov (1946) | PCU (b) |
| Viktor Abakumov (1946–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Military Construction and Naval Works | Simon Ginzburg (1946–1947) | PCU (b) |
| Nikolai Dygai (1947–1949) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Construction Engineering | Nikolai Dygai (1949–1950) | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Fuel Industry | Alexander Zademidko | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Heavy Industry | Pavel Yudin | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Higher Education | Sergei Kaftanov | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Construction Tools-Machines | Alexander Yefremov (1946–1949) | PCU (b) |
| Anatoly Kostounov (1949–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of State Control | Lev Mekhlis | PCU (b) |
| Minister of the State Committee on Cinematography | Ivan Bolshakov | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Labor and Employment | Vasily Pronin | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Communication Equipment Industry | Ivan Zubovich (1946–1947) | PCU (b) |
| Alekseenko Gennady (1947–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Pharmaceutical Industry | Andrei Tretiakov | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Consumer Goods | Nikolai Pronin | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Livestock Production | Alexei Kozlov | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Forestry | German Motovilov (1947–1948) | PCU (b) |
| Alexander Bovin (1948–1953) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Geology | Ivan Malyshev (1946–1949) | PCU (b) |
| Piotr Zajarov (1949–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Food and Material Reserves | Dmitri Fomin | PCU (b) |
| Minister of Urban Construction | Konstantin Sokolov (1949) | PCU (b) |
| George Popov (1949–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of Gosbank | Yakov Golev (1946–1948) | PCU (b) |
| Vasily Popov (1948–1950) | PCU (b) | |
| Minister of State Planning Committee | Nikolai Voznesensky (1946–1949) | PCU (b) |
| Maksim Saburov (1949–1950) | PCU (b) |
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