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Who were the most prominent leaders of the Soviet Union?

Ten leaders were in control of the Soviet Union from its beginning in 1917 to 1991 when it was dissolved. Five of the most prominent were: Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), Joseph Stalin (1879–1953), Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971), Leonid Brezhnev (1906–1982), and Mikhail Gorbachev (1931– ).

After the czar (emperor) was ousted in the 1917 Russian Revolution, Lenin took control of the country as a dictator. During his years in power, Lenin negotiated a treaty with the Germans, ending Russia's involvement in World War I (1914–18). After Lenin died of a stroke in 1924, Stalin took control of the Soviet Union. Stalin established absolute rule by imprisoning or killing his enemies. Between 1934 and 1938, 8,000,000 Soviet citizens were murdered under his orders. During World War II (1939–45), the Soviet Union, United States, and Britain worked...

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