The President of the Soviet Union was the head of state of the USSR from 1990 to 1991. The office had not existed until 1990, though the Head of State had been the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR from 1922-1938 and then the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. All power was in the hands of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, though four General Secretaries held the Chair of the Supreme Soviet during their leaderships.
List of Heads of State:
- Chairman of the Central Executive Committee
- Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
- Mikhail Kalinin (1938-1946)
- Nikolay Shvernik (1946-1953)
- Kliment Voroshilov (1953-1960)
- Leonid Brezhnev (1960-1964)
- Anastas Mikoyan (1964-1965)
- Nikolay Podgorny (1965-1977)
- Leonid Brezhnev (1977-1982) (2nd time)
- Vasily Kuznetsov (1982-1983)
- Yuri Andropov (1983-1984)
- Vasily Kuznetsov (1984) (2nd time)
- Konstantin Chernenko (1984-1985)
- Vasily Kuznetsov (1985) (3rd time)
- Andrey Gromyko (1985-1988)
- Mikhail Gorbachev (1988-1990)
- President of the Soviet Union
