This category lists the various Heads of State of the Soviet Union who appear in the various works of Harry Turtledove. While legally throughout its history, the Head of State (whatever that office was called) was the highest governmental authority, practically speaking, true power was held by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Beginning with Leonid Brezhnev in 1977 and ending with Mikhail Gorbachev, the General Secretary also held the de jure office of head of state. The office President of the Soviet Union was created in March 1990. It was the last office of the head of of state of the USSR. Mikhail Gorbachev, who'd been General Secretary since 1985 and head of state in different capacities since 1988, was the first President of the USSR (during the failed 1991 coup, Gennady Yanayev held the office 19 through 21 August 1991). During his short term as president, Gorbachev made efforts to reduce the power of the General Secretary and increase power of the Presidency, with the ultimate goal of direct elections. The collapse of the USSR rendered these efforts moot.
As most of the works of Harry Turtledove are set well before the 1990s, the true leader of the Soviet Union in those works is usually the General Secretary, and not necessarily the nominal head of state.
See Leader of the Soviet Union for the actual rulers of the Soviet Union.
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