Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR
A member of the Communist party from 1924, Nikolay Ignatov worked in the Red Army and Soviet secret police in 1917-1932. In 1937 he assumed one of the key party posts in the Kuybyshev province. The 18th party congress elected him candidate member (1939-41) of the Central Committee, but he was dismissed in 1941 and moved to a secondary post in Oryol. He rose again to the party leadership in the Oryol province and was appointed first secretary of the party organization in the Krasnodar province in 1949. He was promoted to the full membership (Oct. 1952 - Nov. 14, 1966) on the Central Committee at the 19th party congress (1952). The Central Committee plenum elected him candidate member (Oct. 16, 1952 - March 5, 1953) of the party Presidium and secretary of the Central Committee (Oct. 16, 1952 - March 5, 1953) on Oct. 16, 1952, but a governmental shake-up during Stalin's incapacity resulted in his dismissal from these posts. In 1952-1953 Ignatov also was a minister for procurement of agricultural produce of the USSR.

For a short time in 1953 Ignatov worked as a first secretary in the Leningrad municipal party organization and the second secretary in the Leningrad province party organization, but then was moved to the Voronezh province (1953) and then to the Gorky province (1955) where he served as chief party leader. His support of Nikita Khrushchev in June 1959 prompted his appointment as a full member of the Central Committee Presidium (June 29, 1957 - Oct. 17, 1961), when failed ousters of Khrushchev were expelled from top leadership. On Dec. 17, 1957, Ignatov was also reinstated as the Central Committee secretary (Dec. 17, 1957 - May 4, 1960). He was elected chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR on April 16, 1959, but had to resign the office (Nov. 27, 1959) as the party leadership ordered him to concentrate on his work in the Secretariat. In 1960 he was made deputy chairman of the USSR government (May 4, 1960 - Dec. 26, 1962) and simultaneously head of the State Committee for Procurement of Agricultural Produce, but he lost his seat in the Presidium as he was not re-elected to that body after the 22 party congress (October 1961). He returned to the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR as its Presidium chairman (Dec. 20, 1962) and died in the office on Nov. 14, 1966.