Nikolay Ivanovich Ryzhkov Николай Иванович Рыжков (1925-) was a Russian politician and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (or Premier of the Soviet Union) from 1985 to 1991 during the eras of glasnost and perestroika under Gorbachev.

A technocrat, Ryzhkov rose through the ranks first as a welder at the Sverdlovsk Uralmash Plant and then as chief engineer and by 1970 manager of the Uralmash Production Amalgamation.

He joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1956 and became first deputy minister of heavy and transport machine building in 1975. In 1981 he was elected to the Central Committee of the CPSU and strated to occupy more senior government positions until 1985 when the new General Secretary of the CPSU, Mikhail Gorbachev made Ryzhkov his premier or head of government. Ryzhkov also was appointed to the Politburo of the CPSU that same year.

Ryzhkov supported Gorbachev's attempt to revive and restructure the Soviet economy through decentralising planning (see central planning) and introducing new technology. He resisted Gorbachev's move towards perestroika however and opposed the introduction of market mechanisms. He was dropped from the Politburo in 1990 as a result and was restructured out of his job when the Supreme Soviet decided to replace the Council of Ministers with a new Cabinet of Ministers. The new structure was implemented in early 1991 with Valentin Pavlov occupying the new position of prime minister.

Ryzhkov retired from government but after the fall of the Soviet Union he was elected to the new Russian Duma in December 1993 and in 1996 became a leader of the People's Patriotic Union of Russia , a left wing political party in the Duma