Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union in the context of "Government of the Soviet Union"

The Council of People's Commissars (CPC) (Russian: Совет народных комиссаров (СНК), romanized: Sovet narodnykh kommissarov (SNK)), commonly known as the Sovnarkom (Совнарком), were the highest executive authorities of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), the Soviet Union (USSR), and the Soviet republics from 1917 to 1946.

The Sovnarkom of the RSFSR was founded in the Russian Republic soon after the October Revolution in 1917 and its role was formalized in the 1918 Constitution of the RSFSR to be responsible to the Congress of Soviets of the RSFSR for the "general administration of the affairs of the state". Unlike its predecessor the Russian Provisional Government which had representatives of various political parties, and except for the brief two-party cabinet with the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries from December 1917 to March 1918, the Sovnarkom was a government of a single party, the Bolsheviks. The Sovnarkom of the USSR and Congress of Soviets of the USSR founded in 1922 were modelled on the RSFSR system, and identical Sovnarkom bodies were founded in the Soviet republics and autonomous republics. The Sovnarkom evolved into the main executive of the government of the Soviet Union with its head, the Premier of the USSR, serving as head of government. The Sovnarkom issued decrees having the force of law when the Congress was not in session, and if these decrees were not approved at the Congress's next session, they were considered revoked.

The Central Executive Committee of the USSR (Russian: Центральный исполнительный комитет СССР, romanized: Tsentralʹnyĭ ispolnitelʹnyĭ komitet SSSR), which may be abbreviated as the CEC (Russian: ЦИК, romanized: TsIK), was the supreme governing body of the USSR in between sessions of the All-Union Congress of Soviets from 1922 to 1938. The Central Executive Committee elected the Presidium, which, like its parent body, was the delegated governing authority when the other was not in session. The chairman of the Presidium, served as the ceremonial head of state of the USSR. The Central Executive Committee also elected the Council of People's Commissars which was its executive and administrative organ. The Central Executive Committee of the USSR was established in 1922 by the First All-Union Congress of Soviets, and was replaced by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in 1938.

Initially the committee had four co-chairs, after 1925 there were seven. The Kazakh and Kirghiz SSRs were created in 1936 and did not have co-chairs in the committee, as it dissolved just two years later.

The Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union was the head of government of the Soviet Union during the existence of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union from 1923 to 1946.

The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (until 1946 the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union).

In 1991, by the decree of the President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Russian Academy of Sciences was established on the basis of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union.