The
Presidential Council was created in March 1990 to replace the
Politburo as the major policymaking body in the
USSR. According to article 127 in the
Soviet constitution the job of the presidential council was "to implement the basic thrust of USSR's domestic and foreign policy and ensure the country's security". It was abolished on 26 December 1990. Only the writer
Valentin Rasputin was a non-party member.