A former member of the Soviet Politburo left the Federation Council

A former member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the highest body that de facto ruled the Soviet Union, resigned from the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament. The powers of 94-year-old Mykola Ryzhkov were terminated on September 25, according to a resolution published on the chamber’s website. The reason is not specified in the document.

Ryzhkov, who was born near Bakhmut, represented the Belgorod Region in the Federation Council for 20 years, starting in 2003. Before that, he was a member of the State Duma for 8 years. In the Soviet Union, he was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet, the nominal parliament of the country, for 15 years.

In the USSR, Ryzhkov, who made his career at the Uralmash plant, was the first deputy minister of heavy and transport engineering, the first deputy chairman of the Gosplan, the secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the head of the economic department of the Central Committee of the CPSU. In 1985, he was appointed head of the government. In this position, he transferred to the republican level agriculture and light industry, the two industries that brought the greatest profit in the Soviet Union. This became an important part of strengthening the independence of the republics from the central government.

In 1991, he was nominated by the communists for the post of president of the RSFSR in Russia’s first presidential elections, gaining slightly more than 16% of the vote. The Federation Council under him approved draft laws that significantly restricted freedoms in Russia. After the annexation of Crimea in 2014, it is under Western sanctions.