Dissolution of the Soviet Union Central Committee Secretariat. In the fall of 1985, Gorbachev continued to bring younger and more energetic men into government. On September 27, 55-year-old Nikolai Ryzhkov replaced 79-year-old Nikolai Tikhonov as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, effectively the Soviet prime minister, and on October 14, Nikolai Talyzin replaced Nikolai Baibakov as chairman of the State Planning Committee (GOSPLAN). At the next Central Committee meeting on October 15, Tikhonov retired from the Politburo and Talyzin became a candidate. On December 23, 1985, Gorbachev appointed Yeltsin First Secretary of the Moscow Communist Party replacing Viktor Grishin. Gorbachev continued to press for greater
First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union of Ministers. The Presidium was later expanded to include individuals hand-picked by the Premier. A decree had to be signed by the Premier or a First Deputy Premier, and in the case of the Premier's absence a First Deputy Premier would assume the duties of the Premier. The First Deputy Prime Ministers () were members of the Cabinet of Ministers (), the executive and administrative body that replaced the Council of Ministers in 1990. First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union The First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union, also known as First Vice Premier of the Soviet Union, was