[7] Yuri Andropov appointed Ryzhkov head of the Economic Department of the Central Committee where he was responsible for overseeing major planning and financial organs, excluding industry.

Ryzhkov became convinced that had Andropov lived at least another five years, the Soviet Union would have seen a reform package similar to that implemented in the People's Republic of China.

[14] The 30 km radius was a purely random guess and it was later shown that several areas contaminated with radioactive material were left untouched by government evacuation agencies.

[19] When Gorbachev left the ASSR, Ryzhkov remained to coordinate the rescue operation and made several television appearances which increased his standing amongst the Soviet leadership and the people in general.

To achieve these goals, the government pumped money into the machine-building sector but as time went by, Gorbachev increasingly diverged from his original stance.

[24] Ryzhkov's opposition to the campaign was strengthened by his belief that both Gorbachev and Ligachev placed ideology before practical considerations, and he instead advocated an alternative long-term program rather than one designed to have immediate effect.

[25] Ryzhkov and Gorbachev continued their work on economic reform and in 1987, began drafting the Law on the State Enterprise, which restricted the authority of central planners.

[27] Nikolai Talyzin, Chairman of the State Planning Committee, became the scapegoat for the failure of this reform and on the orders of Ryzhkov he was replaced by Yuri Maslyukov.

Several middle and low-ranking officials, who owed their rise in the hierarchy to government-owned enterprises, wanted to retain the existing system.

[31] His second cabinet, several high-standing members of the KGB and the military establishment all supported Ryzhkov's opposition to the 500 Days Programme, which espoused a quick transition to a market economy.

The establishment of the post of President of the Soviet Union by Gorbachev in 1990 weakened the power of the government apparatus; a move Ryzhkov and his second cabinet opposed.

Gorbachev strengthened his public image by accusing the Soviet leadership's conservative faction together with Ryzhkov, of delaying implementation of the necessary price reform.

Ryzhkov had the backing of several high-standing institutions, such as the Ministry of Finance and the State Committee on Prices, chaired by the future Soviet Premier Valentin Pavlov.

Abalkin was ordered to deliver a report to the Presidium of the Council of Ministers by December, which as things turned out, put financial stability at the top of its agenda.

[41] When the Abalkin report was proposed at the Central Committee plenum, the majority of delegates indirectly attacked Gorbachev for his indecisiveness when it came to the implementation of price reform.

Gorbachev did not bow to this pressure, fearing that Ryzhkov's removal would lead to increased activity by many of his pro-republican first secretaries and Politburo members.

Ryzhkov's numerous supporters were not concerned about policy issues; they backed him simply because he opposed some of Gorbachev's economic and political reforms.

[47] On 19 October 1990, the Russian Supreme Soviet, by a vote of 164 to 1 with 16 abstentions, forced the resignation of Ryzhkov and his cabinet and the implementation of the 500 Days Programme.

[53] The main difference between the two was Ryzhkov's desire to retain much of the social security system, free education for all and the continuance of a strong central government apparatus.

The 500 Days Programme did not mention political union with the other Soviet republics, but instead weakened the authority of the central government by establishing a market economy.

The law enacting the change was passed on 26 December 1990, but the new structure was not implemented until 14 January 1991 when Pavlov took over as Prime Minister of the Soviet Union.

[56] After recovering from his heart attack in early 1991, Ryzhkov stood as the Communist candidate in the first election of the President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR).

[60] Russian TV channel NTV broadcast a debate featuring only Ryzhkov and Grigory Yavlinsky, a liberal politician who strongly supported economic reforms.

During the 1996 presidential election, Ryzhkov endorsed Gennady Zyuganov, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) candidate, for the presidency.

[65] In 1996, Ryzhkov was one of the founders of the CPRF-led alliance of leftists and nationalists known as the People's Patriotic Union of Russia (NPSR) and was elected chairman of its Duma faction.

[78] On 17 March 2014, Ryzhkov was added to the European Union sanctions list due to his role in the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.

[81][82] The Ukrainian Government awarded him the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 5th class, "for his outstanding contribution to the development of Russian–Ukrainian cooperation and on the occasion of his 75th birthday" on 24 September 2004.