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Bolsheviks overthrow provisional government of Alexander Kerensky, with workers and sailors capturing government buildings and the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, and eventually taking over Moscow.
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Communist Soviet Union
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Stalin served as General Secretary until 1934. He was also Premier from 1941 to 1953, and Minister of Defense from 1941 to 1947.
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Lenin was the leader of the Bolsheviks and of the USSR from 1922 to his death, serving as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars until 21 January 1924. Lenin had more power than Stalin until 1924.
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Temporary leader of the USSR while Stalin and Trotsky disputed who would become General Secretary. He served until a disputed time, at which Stalin seized control.
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Khrushchev served as head of government until 1964, leading the USSR during part of the Cold War. He emerged victorious after the long power struggle following Stalin's death. Khurshchev ushered in de-Stalinization of the USSR.
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Brezhnev served until 1982 as General Secretary. During his reigh, global influence of the USSR increased dramatically.
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Conservative, served through 1990
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Gorbachev served as General Secretary until 1991, when the USSR collapsed and split.
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Conservative, Served through 1997
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Yeltsin took over as the first President of the Russian Federation and served two terms until 1999.
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Labour, Served through 2007
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Putin first served as President from 1999 to 2008, serving four terms.
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Labour, Served through 2010
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Medvedev served two terms from 2008 to 2012. During this time, Putin was PM.
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Conservative, Incumbent
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Putin took over as President in 2012, and will hold this position through 2018. Medvedev is PM.
