Former Soviet premier Nikolai Ryzhkov dies at 94
Former premier of the Soviet Union Nikolai Ryzhkov has died at the age of 94, Russia's Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said.
"An amazing person, Nikolai Ryzhkov, has passed away. He was a man of his times, a unique personality and a prominent statesman," Matviyenko wrote on her Telegram channel on Wednesday.
Ryzhkov was a Russian Hero of Labor. In 1985-1991, he headed the Soviet government as chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, and later served as a member of the Russian State Duma, the lower house of parliament, in 1995-2003. For two decades, from 2003 to 2023, he was a member of the upper house Federation Council as a senator representing the borderline Belgorod Region.
A monument in recognition of his significant personal contribution to the reconstruction in Armenia after the 1988 Spitak earthquake was erected by the Armenian government. In 2008, the Armenian government awarded Ryzhkov their highest state decoration, the National Hero of Armenia.