Yes. Or no, depending on the context.

To the endless frustration of many of us, the leader of the USSR was often called the "Russian leader" by contemporary sources. However, in the Soviet system, there was a separate government for Russia (formally the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic), which would be analogous to a regional governor. But this person had very little international standing (even within the Soviet sphere), so they don't tend to be discussed very much.