The first deputy premier of the Soviet Union was the deputy head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Despite the title, the office was not always held by a single individual. The
Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tikhonov was a Soviet Russian-Ukrainian statesman during the Cold War. He served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1980 to 1985, and as a First Deputy Chairman of the
Tikhonov in 1981
Tikhonov (center) with Konstantin Chernenko (left) and Yuri Andropov in 1983