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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

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.

Government policies

While 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.

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.

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.

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 The plan, known as the Great Plan for the Transformation of Nature, also aimed at ensuring high crop yields in the steppe and forest-steppe regions of the European territories of the Soviet Union.

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.

Ministries

References

1. "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.
2. Armstrong, John Alexander (1986) . 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.
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7. 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.
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19. ^ "Stepan H. Akopov". Global Security. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
20. Тевосян Иван Федорович in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (in Russian) – via Great Scientific Library
21. "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.
22. "Governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 1917–1964". Archived from the original on 28 November 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.

• Soviet governments
• 1946 establishments in the Soviet Union