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Ministry of Communications (Soviet Union)

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Formed
  
15 March 1946

Dissolved
  
26 December 1991

Ministry of Communications (Soviet Union)

Preceding agencies
  
People's Commissariat for Posts and Telegraphs of the RSFSR (since 8 November 1917) People's Commissariat for Posts and Telegraphs of the USSR (since 12 November 1923) People's Commissariat for Communications of the USSR (since 17 January 1932)

Superseding agency
  
Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation

Jurisdiction
  
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Headquarters
  
7 Gorky Street, Moscow, RSFSR, Soviet Union

The Ministry of Communications of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: Министерство связи СССР) was the central state administration body on communications in the Soviet Union from 1946 to 1991. It had authority over the postal, telegraph and telephone communications as well as public radio, technical means of radio and television broadcasting, and the distribution of periodicals in the country.

Contents

History

The Ministry of Communications of the USSR was established on 15 March 1946, replacing the People's Commissariat for Communications of the USSR (formerly People's Commissariat for Posts and Telegraphs of the USSR). It was originally set up as an all-Union ministry, and in December 1954 transformed into a Union-Republican one.

The Ministry of Communications of the USSR was responsible for the maintenance and further development of all types of communications in general use, and technical means of radio and television broadcasting. It was also in charge of the periodicals distribution as well as the provision of technological progress in the industry, the quality of communication services, and the most complete and continuous needs of the country media and communication services. Additionally, the Ministry was responsible for issuing postage stamps and postal stationery (envelopes, postcards, etc.), which were used in the postal system of the Soviet Union.

The Ministry was terminated on 26 December 1991 due to the abolition of the Soviet Union. All Ministry assets, premises and other facilities in the territory of the Russian Federation were delegated to the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation.

  • Examples of postal and telegraph sendings at the time of the Ministry of Communications of the USSR

    • Departments

    The Ministry included two major departments:

  • General Directorate of Post, whose administrative tasks were organization and management of the postal system in the USSR, and
  • General Directorate of Periodicals Distribution Soyuzpechat (later, the Central Retail and Subscription Agency Soyuzpechat and since 1994, JSC 'Agency Rospechat') that was also in charge of organizing trade of philatelic materials through its unit, the “Soyuzpechat” Central Philatelic Agency (CPA).

    • Ministers

    Over the years, the Ministry was headed by Ministers of Communications of the USSR as follows:

  • Konstantin Yakovlevich Sergeichuk (19 March 1946 – 30 March 1948)
  • Nikolai Dem'yanovich Psurtsev (30 March 1948 – 3 September 1975)
  • Nikolai Vladimirovich Talyzin (3 September 1975 – 24 October 1980)
  • Vasily A. Shamshin (24 November 1980 – 7 June 1989)
  • Erlen Kirikovich Pervyshin (17 July 1989 – 26 December 1990)
  • Gennady G. Kudryavtsev (2 March 1991 – 26 November 1991)

    • Publications

    Under the auspices of the USSR Ministry of Communications and Soyuzpechat, the following periodicals and publications were issued:

  • magazine Vestnik Sviazi (Russian: «Вестник связи»; Communications Journal),
  • magazine Filateliya SSSR (Russian: «Филателия СССР»; Philately of the USSR), jointly with the All-Union Society of Philatelists (Russian: Всесоюзное общество филателистов),
  • stamp catalogs, and price sheets of stamps of the USSR and other philatelic materials.

    • References

    Ministry of Communications (Soviet Union) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA