The first chairman was Valerian Osinsky and with Bukharin, Georgy Oppokov (Lomov), Milyutin, Sokolnikov, and Vasili Schmidt also appointed to the council.

Departments within the functional sector dealt with decisions relating to finance, planning, economic policy, and research and development.

Heads of all the departments in this sector formed the council of the all-union VSNKh together with representatives from the union republics.

Vesenkha was reestablished by Nikita Khrushchev when he introduced decentralization of the management of industry by means of sovnarkhozes.

Sovnarkhozes were introduced by Nikita Khrushchev in July 1957 in an attempt to combat the centralization and departmentalism of ministries.