What is Leader of the Soviet Union?
{{Infobox official post | post = Leader | body = the Soviet Union | native_name = {{native name|rus|Лидер Советского Союза}} | insignia = Coat of arms of the Soviet Union 1.svg | insigniasize = 100px | insigniacaption = [[State Emblem of the Soviet Union]] | flag = | flagsize = | flagborder = | flagcaption = | image = Joseph Stalin, 1950 (cropped).jpg | imagesize = | alt = | imagecaption = '''Longest serving<br />[[Joseph Stalin]]'''<br />21 January 1924 – 5 March 1953 | department = | style = Mr. Leader<br />{{small|(informal)}}<br />[[Excellency|His Excellency]]<br />{{small|(diplomatic)}} | type = Country leader (''de facto'') | status = | abbreviation = | member_of = | reports_to = [[Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union|Supreme Soviet]] | residence = [[Kremlin Senate]], Moscow | seat = | nominator = | appointer = Supreme Soviet | appointer_qualified = | termlength = None, | termlength_qualified = [[Life tenure]] | constituting_instrument = | precursor = [[Tsar of Russia]] | formation = {{start date and age|df=y|1922|12|30}} | first = [[Vladimir Lenin]] | last = [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] | abolished = {{start date and age|df=y|1991|12|26}} | succession = [[President of Russia]] (''de facto'') | unofficial_names = | deputy = ''None'' | salary = | website = }} The '''leader of the Soviet Union''' ({{lang-rus|Лидер Советского Союза}}, [[Romanization|romanised]]: ''Lider Sovetskogo Soyuza'') was an informal term for the most important political figure in the [[Soviet Union]]. It was the ''[[de facto]]'' leader of the country. The leader controlled the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU) and the [[Red Army]], often held the title of CPSU General Secretary. The state representative, [[head of state]] ([[President of the Soviet Union|president]]) or [[head of government]] ([[Premier of the Soviet Union|premier]]) weren't always necessarily the leader as under the Soviet Union's party-state system, CPSU roles were politically more important than state titles. However, most of the Soviet leaders w