led to the unintended consequence of the Soviet Union breaking up after the failed August 1991 coup led by Gennady Yanayev. List of leaders The following list includes persons who held the top leadership position of the Soviet Union from its founding in 1922 until its 1991 dissolution. Note: that † denotes leaders who died in office. Timeline List of troikas On four occasionsthe 2–3-year period between Vladimir Lenin's incapacitation and Joseph Stalin's leadership; the three months following Stalin's death; the interval between Nikita Khrushchev's fall and Leonid Brezhnev's consolidation of power; and the ailing Konstantin Chernenko's tenure as General Secretarythe Soviet Union was governed by a council known as a troika (i.e."triumvirate"), whereby policymaking depended on the consensus of three chief figures within the Politburo. See also Index of Soviet Union-related articles List of heads of state of the Soviet Union List of presidents of the Russian Federation Premier of the Soviet Union Vozhd President of Russia Notes References Citations Sources External links Succession of Power in the USSR from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives Heads of State and Government of the Soviet Union (1922–1991) Leaders Of The Soviet Union Leaders Of The Soviet Union