Alexei Rykov was a Russian ‘Bolshevik’ revolutionary and a Soviet Union politician. He played a significant role during the Russian Revolution and served as the premier of Russia and the Soviet Union. He emerged as a major opponent of Joseph Stalin in the late 1920s. Rykov began his political career as a member of the Russian ‘Social Democratic Workers’ Party’ at age 18. He later became a ‘Bolshevik’ member when the party was divided into two factions: the ‘Bolsheviks’ and the ‘Mensheviks.’ He was active during the 1905 Russian Revolution. He became a member of the ‘Petrograd Soviet’ and the ‘Moscow Soviet.’ He was elected to the ‘Central Committee’ of the ‘Bolshevik Party.’ He played a major role during the October Revolution of 1917, which resulted in a ‘Bolshevik’ victory and end of the ‘Provisional Government,’ the ‘Russian Republic,’ and dual power, thus creating Soviet Russia. Following Lenin’s death, he succeeded as the chairman of the ‘Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union’ and the chairman of the ‘Council of People's Commissars of the Russian SFSR.’ He was removed from the ‘Politburo’ in December 1930. He and several other prominent ‘Bolsheviks’ were charged with espionage and treason by the Stalin-led communist regime. He was eventually executed after a trial.