Supreme Soviet of the National Economy

Supreme Board of the National Economy, Superior Board of the People's Economy, (Высший совет народного хозяйства, ВСНХ, Vysshiy sovet narodnogo khozyaystva, VSNKh) was the superior state institution for management of the economy of the RSFSR and later of the Soviet Union. There were two institutions with this name, at different times, 1917–1932 and 1963–1965. 1917–1932 The VSNKh of the first period was the supreme organ of the management of the economy, mainly of the industry. Foundation The VSNKh was launched on December 5, 1917 through a decree of the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom) and All-Russian Central Executive Committee of Soviets of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. Its stated purpose was to "plan for the organization of the economic life of the country and the financial resources of the government". It was subordinated to the Sovnarkom. The recently established All-Russian Council for Workers' Control was dissolved into the new organisation. It had rights of confiscation and expropriation. The first Chairman was Valerian Osinsky and with Bukharin, Georgy Oppokov (Lomov), Milyutin, Sokolnikov, and Vasili Schmidt also appointed to the Council. Reorganisation After the creation of the Soviet Union in 1923 it was transformed into the joint all-Union and republican People's Commissariat. In 1932, it was reorganized into three People's Commissariats: of heavy industry, light industry and forestry.