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 |
Government policies
editWhile 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]
References
edit- ^ "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Law of March 15, 1946. On the transformation of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union and the Councils of People's Commissars of the Union and Autonomous Republics – to the Councils of Ministers of the Union and Autonomous Republics". Bulletin of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (10). 1946.
- ^ Armstrong, John Alexander (1986) [1978]. Ideology, Politics, and Government in the Soviet Union: An Introduction (fourth ed.). Lanham, MD / New York City / London: University Press of America. ISBN 0-8191-5405-9. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
- ^ "Soviet Ukraine in the postwar period".
- ^ "Денежные реформы в СССР 1922—1924 годов и 1947" [Monetary reforms in the USSR of 1922–1924 and 1947]. 6 (in Russian). Финансовый менеджмент magazine. 2001. Archived from the original on January 9, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
- ^ "Russia and the Soviet Union", in Krech III, Shepard; Merchant, Carolyn; McNeill, John Robert, eds. (2004). Encyclopedia of World Environmental History. Vol. 3: O–Z, Index. Routledge. pp. 1077–. ISBN 978-0-415-93735-1.
- ^ "Introduction in Geoecology", A. A. Chibilyov, 1988, ISBN 5-7691-0783-9, Yekaterinburg: Institute of Steppe, Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences. (in Russian) Archived March 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Brain, Stephen (2010). "The Great Stalin Plan for the Transformation of Nature". Environmental History. 15 (4): 670–700. doi:10.1093/envhis/emq091. ISSN 1084-5453. JSTOR 25764488.
- ^ Sublette, Carey. "The Soviet Nuclear Weapons Program". nuclearweaponarchive.org. nuclearweaponarchive, part I. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ^ Swift, John. "The Soviet-American Arms Race". www.historytoday.com. History Today. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ^ "SOV". 2012-02-24. Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
- ^ Phillips, Steven (2000). Lenin and the Russian Revolution. Heinemann. p. 89. ISBN 0-435-32719-4.
- ^ Ulam, Adam (2007). Stalin: The Man and his Era. Tauris Parke Paperbacks. p. 508. ISBN 978-1-84511-422-0.
- ^ Trahair, R.C.S. (2004). Encyclopedia of Cold War Espionage, Spies, and Secret Operations. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 69. ISBN 0-313-31955-3.
- ^ Siddiqi, Asif Azam (2010). The Red Rockets' Glare: Spaceflight and the Soviet Imagination, 1857–1957. Cambridge University Press. p. 266. ISBN 978-0-521-89760-0.
- ^ McCauley, Martin (1997). Who's Who in Russia since 1900. Routledge. pp. 224–225. ISBN 0-415-13898-1.
- ^ "Efremov Alexander Illarionovich". Archived from the original on 2011-05-19.
- ^ Great Soviet Encyclopedia: in 30 volumes / Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov. – 3rd ed. 1974.
- ^ "Governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 1917–1964". Archived from the original on 28 November 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- ^ a b "Stepan H. Akopov". Global Security. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ Тевосян Иван Федорович in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (in Russian) – via Great Scientific Library
- ^ "Organization Of The Ministry of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy USSR" (PDF). CIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 21, 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 1917–1964". Archived from the original on 28 November 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
