Stalin's second government

While the responsibilities and functions of the Council of Ministers' members remained unchanged from those of the Council of People's Commissars, the modification in nomenclature was aimed at aligning with international conventions. The second convocation of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, convened on February 10, 1946, played the pivotal role in approving the formation of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on March 19, 1946.{{cite book |last=Armstrong |first=John Alexander |title=Ideology, Politics, and Government in the Soviet Union: An Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZH9nkBOxrZQC&q=presidium+of+the+supreme+soviet+collective+head+of+state&pg=PA165 |publisher=University Press of America |location=Lanham, MD / New York City / London |edition=fourth |year=1986 |orig-year=1978 |access-date=November 26, 2016 |isbn=0-8191-5405-9}}

The Council of Ministers, under Stalin's leadership, spearheaded the implementation of the fourth five-year plan of economic development spanning 1946 to 1950. Stalin's directive on February 9, 1946, emphasized the restoration of war-affected regions, the resurgence of industry and agriculture to pre-war levels, and the subsequent transition to a more expansive or significantly reduced growth rate.{{Cite web |title=Soviet Ukraine in the postwar period |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Ukraine/Soviet-Ukraine-in-the-postwar-period#ref404626}}

In a pivotal move in December 1947, the Council of Ministers of the USSR executed the second monetary reform in Soviet history, characterized by the redenomination of Soviet currency. Simultaneously, the reform dismantled rationing for food and consumer goods. This nationwide reform unfolded within a week, extending to two weeks in remote Northern areas.{{Cite web |date=2001 |title=Денежные реформы в СССР 1922—1924 годов и 1947 |trans-title=Monetary reforms in the USSR of 1922–1924 and 1947 |url=http://www.dis.ru/library/fm/archive/2001/6/603.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109204809/http://www.dis.ru/library/fm/archive/2001/6/603.html |archive-date=January 9, 2019 |access-date=April 19, 2023 |series=6 |publisher=Финансовый менеджмент magazine |language=ru}}

In October 1948, the Council of Ministers and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union outlined a comprehensive plan for windbreak planting, crop rotation pastures, and the construction of ponds and lakes"Russia and the Soviet Union", in {{cite book |editor-last=Krech III |editor-first=Shepard |editor2-last=Merchant |editor2-first=Carolyn |editor3-last=McNeill |editor3-first=John Robert |title=Encyclopedia of World Environmental History |volume=3: O–Z, Index |year=2004 |publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-93735-1|pages=1077–|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=Dmky95hwKr0C |page=1077 }}}} The plan, known as the Great Plan for the Transformation of Nature,[http://www.opck.org/biblioteka/geografiya_priroda/vvedenie_v_geoekologiyu/vvedenie_v_geoekologiyu.pdf "Introduction in Geoecology"], A. A. Chibilyov, 1988, {{ISBN|5-7691-0783-9}}, Yekaterinburg: Institute of Steppe, Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences. {{in lang|ru}} {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327023555/http://www.opck.org/biblioteka/geografiya_priroda/vvedenie_v_geoekologiyu/vvedenie_v_geoekologiyu.pdf |date=March 27, 2009 }} also aimed at ensuring high crop yields in the steppe and forest-steppe regions of the European territories of the Soviet Union.{{Cite journal|last=Brain|first=Stephen|date=2010|title=The Great Stalin Plan for the Transformation of Nature|journal=Environmental History|volume=15|issue=4|pages=670–700|issn=1084-5453|jstor=25764488|doi=10.1093/envhis/emq091}}

The Soviet Union successfully developed the atomic bomb on August 29, 1949, becoming the world's second nuclear-armed nation. This achievement brought an end to the American nuclear monopoly, marking a turning point in the global balance of power.{{cite web|last1=Sublette|first1=Carey|title=The Soviet Nuclear Weapons Program|url=http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Russia/Sovwpnprog.html|website=nuclearweaponarchive.org|publisher=nuclearweaponarchive, part I|access-date=21 April 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Swift|first1=John|title=The Soviet-American Arms Race|url=http://www.historytoday.com/john-swift/soviet-american-arms-race|website=www.historytoday.com|publisher=History Today|access-date=21 April 2017}}

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Category:Soviet governments

Category:1946 establishments in the Soviet Union