History of the Soviet Union (1964–82) Soviet Union "would result in a crushing retaliatory blow". Though Brezhnev's time in office would later be characterized as one of stability, early on, Brezhnev oversaw the replacement of half of the regional leaders and Politburo members. This was a typical move for a Soviet leader trying to strengthen his power base. Examples of Politburo members who lost their membership during the Brezhnev Era are Gennady Voronov, Dmitry Polyansky, Alexander Shelepin, Petro Shelest and Podgorny. Polyansky and Voronov lost their membership in the Politburo because they were considered to be members of the "Kosygin faction." In their place came Andrei
Government of the Soviet Union government acted as an interim government of the USSR. The generic term "Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" can refer to the following organs of government of the USSR: Additionally, during the last period of the Soviet Union, the following interim bodies performed functions of the union government (management of the economy and performing economic and social reforms) after the Cabinet of Ministers was dissolved by a vote of no confidence: However eventually no new full government was formed due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The term was also used by the government itself, the press