 With Brezhnev 's position consolidated in the early 1970s , he used Podgorny to weaken Kosygin 's position as Chairman of the Council of Ministers by giving the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet some executive powers . With the help from Brezhnev Podgorny managed to make the Council of Ministers subordinate to the Presidium . However , these changes threatened Brezhnev , and Brezhnev would later order Konstantin Chernenko to take a look at the 1936 Soviet Constitution to find a way to weaken Podgorny 's position . As it turned out there were none , Podgorny 's position as head of state meant that he could in fact block any measures taken by Brezhnev to circumscribe his powers . Chernenko did come up with a solution , to make it law that the Party leader would also become the leader of the Government apparatus . The 1977 Soviet Constitution was drafted to weaken the position of Podgorny by making it law that the Party leader was in fact also leader of the Government . The draft which dealt with the leading role of the Party , and its clear supremacy , in Soviet society was approved by the Soviet leadership . The approval of the 1977 Soviet Constitution is considered Podgorny 's death knell . 
