MOSCOW, February 28. /TASS/. Nikolay Ryzhkov, former chairman of the Soviet Council of Ministers (or "premier") and member of the upper house Russian Federation Council (or "senate"), has died, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said.

"An amazing person, Nikolay Ryzhkov, has passed away. [He was] a man of his times, a unique personality and a prominent statesman," the top Russian senator wrote on her Telegram channel.

According to Matviyenko, Ryzhkov had always demonstrated a genuine dedication to the business at hand and to achieving results, and sincerely cared about the people and his country. Ryzhkov was a sterling example of an honest, selfless and responsible "man of labor," who rose from humble roots on the factory floor to hold some of the highest positions in the country, but always remained an honest "working man," whose accomplishments deserve "respect and a worthy place in history," she emphasized.

Ryzhkov, a Russian Hero of Labor, was 94. In 1985-1991, he headed the Soviet government as chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, and later served as a member of the Russian State Duma, the lower house of parliament, in 1995-2003. For two decades, from 2003 to 2023, he was a member of the upper house Federation Council as a senator representing the borderline Belgorod Region.