Mikhail Gorbachev, biography, news, photos! Photo selection: the only president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev.

Born on March 2, 1931 in the village. Privolnoye, Krasnogvardeisky district, Stavropol Territory, in a peasant family. Father - Gorbachev Sergei Andreevich. Mother - Gorbacheva (nee Gopkalo) Maria Panteleevna. Wife - Gorbacheva (nee Titarenko) Raisa Maksimovna.

Daughter - Irina Mikhailovna, works in Moscow. Granddaughters - Ksenia and Anastasia.

He graduated from the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov (1955) and the Faculty of Economics of the Stavropol Agricultural Institute (in absentia, 1967) with a degree in agronomist-economist.

From the age of 13, he periodically combined his studies at school with work at MTS and on a collective farm. From the age of 15 he worked as an assistant combine operator at a machine and tractor station. In 1952 he was admitted to the CPSU. From 1955 to 1991 - in Komsomol and party work: 1955-1962. - Deputy Head of the Department of Propaganda and Agitation of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the Komsomol; first secretary of the Stavropol city committee of the Komsomol, second, then first secretary of the Stavropol regional committee of the Komsomol.

Since March 1962 - party organizer of the regional committee of the CPSU of the Stavropol territorial production collective and state farm administration. Since 1963 - head of the party organs department of the Stavropol rural regional committee of the CPSU, head of the party organs department of the Stavropol regional committee of the CPSU. In September 1966, he was elected first secretary of the Stavropol City Party Committee. From August 1968 - second, and from April 1970 - first secretary of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the CPSU.

In 1971-1991 - Member of the CPSU Central Committee. In November 1978, he was elected Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. From 1979 to 1980 - candidate member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, from October 1980 to August 1991 - member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, from December 1989 to June 1990 - Chairman of the Russian Bureau of the CPSU Central Committee, from March 1985 to August 1991 - General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. In connection with the August coup in 1991, he resigned.

He was elected as a delegate to the XXII (1961), XXIV (1971) and all subsequent (1976, 1981, 1986, 1990) congresses of the CPSU. In 1970-1989 - Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR 8-11 convocations. Member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR - 1985-1988; Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR - 1988 (October)-1989 (May). Chairman of the Commission on Youth Affairs of the Union Council of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1974-1979); Chairman of the Commission for Legislative Proposals of the Council of the Union of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1979-1984); Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Council of the Union of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1984-1985); People's Deputy of the USSR from the CPSU - 1989 (March) - 1990 (March); Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (formed by the Congress of People's Deputies) - 1989 (May) - 1990 (March); Deputy of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR 10-11 convocations.

On March 15, 1990, M.S. Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR. At the same time, until December 1991, he was Chairman of the USSR Defense Council and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Armed Forces.

On December 25, 1991, M.S. Gorbachev opposed the dismemberment of the country and resigned as head of state. From January 1992 to the present - President of the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Science Research (Gorbachev Foundation). At the same time, since March 1993 - President of the International Green Cross.

An outstanding statesman and political figure, M.S. Gorbachev laid the foundation for perestroika, the reform of Soviet society and the improvement of the international situation. In recognition of his leading role in the peace process, which today characterizes an important part of the life of the international community, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 15, 1990.

He has also received many other prestigious foreign awards and prizes: the Indira Gandhi Prize for 1987 (awarded on November 19, 1988, India), the Golden Dove for Peace Award for his contribution to peace and disarmament (the pacifist organization Italian Documentation Center on Disarmament and the National League of Cooperatives, Rome, November 1989), Peace Prize. Albert Einstein for his enormous contribution to the struggle for peace and mutual understanding between peoples (Washington, June 1990), Honorary "Historical Figure" Award from an influential US religious organization - "Call of Conscience Foundation" (Washington, June 1990), International Peace Prize Martin Luther King "For a World Without Violence 1991" for his outstanding role in the struggle for world peace and human rights (Washington, June 1990), International Fiuggi Award (Fiuggi Foundation, operating in Italy ) as “a person whose activities in the political and social fields can serve as an exceptional example of the struggle for the advancement of human rights” (Italy, 1990), Benjamin M. Cardoso Prize for Democracy (Yeshiva University, New York, USA, 1992 g.), Sir Winston Churchill Award in recognition of his contribution to peace in the Middle East (Great Britain, 1993), La Pleiade Award (Piacenza, Italy, 1993), International Journalism and Literary Award (Modena, Italy, 1993), Hero of the Year Award of the Association of Small and Medium Entrepreneurs of the Province of Bologna (Italy, 1993), International Golden Pegasus Award (Tuscany, Italy, 1994), Award of the University of Genoa (Italy, 1995). ), King David Award (USA, 1997), Enron Baker Institute Award for Outstanding Public Service (Houston, USA, 1997), Polityka Weekly Milestone Award (Poland, 1997), Budapest Prize Club (Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 1997), Comet Award (Germany, 1998), International Women's Zionist Organization Award (Miami, USA, 1998), National Freedom Award for the fight against oppression ( Memphis, USA, 1998).

M.S. Gorbachev was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, three Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, the Order of the Badge of Honor, medals, as well as numerous foreign awards, including: Gold Commemorative Medal of Belgrade (Yugoslavia, March 1988), Silver Medal Sejm of the People's Republic of Poland for outstanding contribution to the development and strengthening of international cooperation, friendship and interaction between the People's Republic of Poland and the USSR (Poland, July 1988), Commemorative Medal of the Sorbonne (Paris, July 1989), Commemorative Medal of the Municipality of Rome (November 1989), Commemorative Medal Vatican Medal (December 1, 1989), “Franklin Delano Roosevelt Medal of Freedom” (Washington, June 1990), “Hero’s Star” from Ben-Gurion University (Israel, 1992), Gold Medal from the National Technical University of Athens “Prometheus” ( Greece, 1993), Gold Medal of Thessaloniki (Greece, 1993), International Award to the Statesman of the Philadelphia Council on World Affairs (USA, 1993), Gold Badge of the University of Oviedo (Spain, 1994), Order of the Association of Latin American Unity in Korea "Grand Cross of Simon Bolivar for Unity and Freedom" (Republic of Korea, 1994), Order of the Grand Cross of St. Agatha (San Marino, 1994), Grand Cross of the Order of Liberty (Portugal, 1995 ), the "Gateway of Freedom" commemorative award in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Jews of the former USSR being given the opportunity to emigrate freely (Israel Bonds Company, New York, 1998).

M.S. Gorbachev has the titles of Honorary Doctor of Humane Sciences from the University of Virginia (USA, 1993) and Honorary Doctorate in Leadership from the Jepson School of Leadership (Richmond, USA, 1993), honorary degrees from the Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain, Madrid, October 1990), University Complutense (Spain, Madrid, October 1990), University of Buenos Aires (Argentina, 1992), University of Cuyo (Mendoza, Argentina 1992), University of C. Mendes (Brazil, 1992), University of Chile ( Chile, 1992), University of Anahuac (Mexico, 1992), Bar-Ilan University (Israel, 1992), Ben-Gurion University (Israel, 1992), Emory University (Atlanta, USA, 1992), Pandion University ( Piraeus, Greece, 1993), Institute of International Law and International Relations at the Aristotle University (Thessaloniki, Greece, 1993), Faculty of Law of the Aristotle University (Thessaloniki, Greece, 1993), University of Bristol (England, 1993), University of Calgary (Canada, 1993), Carleton University (Canada, 1993), Soka Gakkai International (pres. Ikeda) (Japan, 1993), Kung Khi University (Republic of Korea, 1995), Durnham University (England, 1995), Modern University of Lisbon (Portugal, 1995), Soka University (Japan, 1997), University Tromso (Norway, 1998), as well as an Honorary Citizen of the cities: Berlin (Germany, 1992), Aberdeen (Great Britain, 1993), Piraeus (Greece, 1993), Florence (Italy, 1994), Sesto San- Giovanni (Italy, 1995), Kardamily (Chios island, Greece, 1995), El Paso (key to the city) (USA, 1998).

He is the author of the books: "A Time for Peace" (1985), "The Coming Century of Peace" (1986), "Peace has no Alternative" (1986), "Moratorium" (1986), " Selected speeches and articles" (vols. 1-7, 1986-1990), "Perestroika: new thinking for our country and for the whole world" (1987), "August putsch. Causes and consequences" (1991 ), "December '91. My position" (1992), "Years of difficult decisions" (1993), "Life and reforms" (2 volumes, 1995), "Reformers are never happy" (dialogue with Zdenek Mlynarzh, in Czech, 1995), “I want to warn...” (1996), “Moral Lessons of the 20th Century” in 2 vols. (dialogue with D. Ikeda, in Japanese, German, French lang., 1996), “Reflections on the October Revolution” (1997), “New thinking. Politics in the era of globalization” (co-authored with V. Zagladin and A. Chernyaev, in German, 1997 ), “Reflections on the Past and Future” (1998) and numerous other publications in scientific collections and periodicals.

Lives and works in Moscow.

GORBACHEV Mikhail Sergeyevich

Date of Birth: 2 March 1931. Place of Birth: Privolnoye, Krasnogvardeisky Dist., Stavropol Territory, Russia

Profession: politician

Married on: 09/25/1953. To: Raisa Titarenko (now Gorbacheva)

Number of Children: one. Daughter: Irina

Details of Education: Faculty of Law, Moscow State Univ. 1955, Stavropol Agric. Inst. 1967;

Career to Date: machine operator 1946; joined CPSU 1952; Deputy Head, Dept. of Propaganda Stavropol Komsomol Territorial Cttee. 1955-56; First Sec. Stavropol Komsomol City Cttee. 1956-58; Second, then First Sec. Komsomol Territorial Cttee. 1958-62; Party Organizer, Stavropol Territorial Production Bd. of Collective and State farms 1962; Head Dept. of party bodies of CPSU Territorial Cttee. 1963-66; First Sec. Stavropol City Party Cttee. 1966-68; Second Sec. Stavropol Territorial CPSU Cttee. 1968-70, First Sec. 1970-78; mem. CPSU Cen. Cttee. 1971-91, Sec. 1978-85, alt. mem. Political Bureau CPSU, Cen. Cttee. 1979-80, mem. 1980-91, Gen. Sec. CPSU Cen. Cttee. 1985-91; del. to CPSU Congresses 1961, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1990;

Deputy Supreme Soviet of USSR. 1970-89 (Chair. Foreign Affairs Comm., Soviet of the Union 1984-85), mem. Presidium 1985-88, Chair. 1988-89; Deputy Supreme Soviet of RSFSR. 1980-1990; elected to Congress of People’s Deputies of the USSR. 1989, Chair. Supreme Soviet 1989-90; Pres. of USSR. 1990-91, Chair Defense Council;

Head Int. Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Studies, 1992-; Head Int. Green Cross 1993-;

Publications: A Time for Peace 1985, The Coming Century of Peace 1986, Speeches and Writings (7 vol.)1986-90, Peace has no Alternative 1986, Moratorium 1986, Perestroika: New Thinking for Our Country and the World 1987, The August Coup (Its Cause and Results) 1991, December-91. My stand 1992, The Years of Hard Decisions 1993, Life and Reforms 1995, Reflections on the Past and the Future 1998, Moscow (in Russian) etc.

Honors and Awards: Nobel Peace Prize 1990; recipient Indira Gandhi award, 1987, Peace award World Meth. Coun., 1990, Albert Schweitzer Leadership Award, Ronald Reagan Freedom Award 1992, Hon. Citizen of Berlin 1992; Freeman of Aberdeen 1993; etc., more than 40.

Order of Lenin (three times), Orders of Red Banner of Labor, Badge of Honor and other medals (USSR).

Honorary Degrees: of more than 30 Universities.

Hobbies and Interests: theater, music, cinema, strolls.

In the village of Privolnoye, Krasnogvardeisky district, Stavropol Territory, in a peasant family. He began his career early, while still at school. During the summer holidays he worked as an assistant combine operator. In 1949, Mikhail Gorbachev received the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for his hard work harvesting grain.

In 1950, Gorbachev graduated from school with a silver medal and entered the law faculty of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov (MSU). In 1952 he joined the CPSU.

In 1955, he graduated with honors from the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University and was assigned to the Stavropol Regional Prosecutor's Office and almost immediately transferred to Komsomol work.

In 1955-1962, Mikhail Gorbachev worked as deputy head of the agitation and propaganda department of the Stavropol regional committee of the Komsomol, first secretary of the Stavropol city committee of the Komsomol, second, then first secretary of the Stavropol regional committee of the Komsomol.

Since 1962, in party work: in 1962-1966, he was head of the department of organizational and party work of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the CPSU; in 1966-1968 - first secretary of the Stavropol city committee of the CPSU, then second secretary of the Stavropol regional committee of the CPSU (1968-1970); in 1970-1978 - first secretary of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the CPSU.

In 1967, Gorbachev graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the Stavropol Agricultural Institute (in absentia) with a degree in agronomist-economist.

Member of the Central Committee (Central Committee) of the CPSU from 1971 to 1991, since November 1978 - Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee for Agriculture.

From October 1980 to August 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev was a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee.

On October 1, 1988, with the election of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Gorbachev also became the formal head of the Soviet state. After the adoption of amendments to the Constitution, the first Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR on May 25, 1989 elected Gorbachev as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR; he held this position until March 1990.

From December 9, 1989 to June 19, 1990, Gorbachev was chairman of the Russian Bureau of the CPSU Central Committee.

On March 15, 1990, at the extraordinary Third Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR - the first and last in the history of the Soviet Union.

In 1985-1991, on the initiative of Gorbachev, a large-scale attempt was made to reform the social system in the USSR, called “perestroika”. It was conceived with the aim of “renewing socialism”, giving it a “second wind”.

The policy of glasnost proclaimed by Gorbachev led, in particular, to the adoption of a press law in 1990, which abolished state censorship. The President of the USSR returned academician Andrei Sakharov from political exile. The process of returning Soviet citizenship to deprived and expelled dissidents began. A broad campaign for the rehabilitation of victims of political repression was launched. In April 1991, Gorbachev signed agreements with the leaders of 10 union republics on the joint preparation of a draft of a new Union Treaty designed to preserve the Soviet Union, the signing of which was scheduled for August 20. On August 19, 1991, Gorbachev's closest associates, including the "power" ministers, announced the creation of the State Committee for a State of Emergency (GKChP). They demanded that the president, who was on vacation in Crimea, introduce a state of emergency in the country or temporarily transfer power to Vice President Gennady Yanaev. After the failed coup attempt on August 21, 1991, Gorbachev returned to the presidency, but his position was significantly weakened.

On August 24, 1991, Gorbachev announced the resignation of the General Secretary of the Central Committee and his withdrawal from the CPSU.

On December 25, 1991, after the signing of the Belovezhskaya Accords on the liquidation of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev became President of the USSR.

After resigning, Mikhail Gorbachev created, on the basis of former research institutes under the CPSU Central Committee, the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Science Research (Gorbachev Foundation), which he headed as president in January 1992.

In 1993, Gorbachev, on the initiative of representatives of 108 countries, founded the International Non-Governmental Environmental Organization International Green Cross. He is the founding president of this organization.

During the 1996 elections, Mikhail Gorbachev was one of the candidates for the presidency of the Russian Federation.

Gorbachev was one of the initiators of the creation of the Forum of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in 1999.

In 2001-2009, he was a co-chairman on the Russian side of the St. Petersburg Dialogue Forum - regular meetings between Russia and Germany; in 2010 he became the founder of the Forum for New Politics - a platform for informal discussion of current issues of global politics by the most authoritative political and public leaders from around the world .

Mikhail Gorbachev was the creator and leader (2000-2001) of the Russian United Social Democratic Party (ROSDP) and the Social Democratic Party of Russia (SDPR) (2001-2007), the all-Russian social movement "Union of Social Democrats" (2007), the Forum " Civil dialogue" (2010).

Since 1992, Mikhail Gorbachev has made more than 250 international visits, visiting 50 countries.

He was awarded more than 300 state and public awards, diplomas, certificates of honor and insignia, among them the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1948), three Orders of V.I. Lenin (1971, 1973, 1981), Order of the October Revolution (1987), Order of the Badge of Honor (1967), Order of Honor (2001), Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (2011), state awards of countries of the world, awards of international and national public organizations.

Mikhail Gorbachev is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1990).

He has honorary degrees from a number of Russian and foreign universities.

He starred in Wim Wenders' feature film "Sky over Berlin 2" (English: Faraway, So Close!, German: In weiter Ferne, so nah!, Germany, 1993), where he played himself.

In addition, Gorbachev Sergei Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf", for which he received a Grammy Award in 2004. Bill Clinton and Sophia Loren also took part in the recording of this disc.

Mikhail Gorbachev's wife, Raisa Maksimovna, nee Titarenko, died on September 20, 1999 in a clinic in Münster (Germany) from acute leukemia. Their daughter Irina Virganskaya (Gorbacheva) is vice-president of the Gorbachev Foundation, president of the Raisa Maksimovna Club, candidate of medical sciences; granddaughters - Ksenia and Anastasia.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

They said about this man that he put an end to the centuries-long struggle between East and West, and also removed the nuclear threat hanging over the planet, but as it turned out, not forever. And the price has become too high for all residents of a multimillion-dollar and multinational country. The last General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, as well as the first, and also the only president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, undoubtedly left his indelible mark on the history of our country, and the whole world. Only whether it was positive or negative is for posterity to judge.

Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich: short biography from tractor driver to secretary general

The years of Gorbachev's rule, which were the last for the Soviet Union, evoke truly contradictory reactions in society. Numerous ordinary citizens, as well as politicians and statesmen, welcomed what was happening. The reforms of Mikhail Sergeevich, seemingly bringing glasnost and democracy into the world of totalitarianism, the example of the unification of Germany, the cessation of international assistance to Afghanistan to the detriment of their own security, the fall of the Iron Curtain and the complete end of the Cold War, all this led people to confusion. However, in spite of everything, experts believe that the destruction of the world of the Soviet people, and this was exactly what it was, was received more positively in the West than within the country.

USSR President Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev had his own view on the further development of the country. Despite his desire to introduce a market economy, which in fact turned out to be not entirely suitable for that time and state of affairs, he wanted to preserve the centrally planned economy and the socialist system. Nikolai Ryzhkov then, and also after the above events, pointed out Gorbachev’s main mistake. He launched economic reform at a time of political upheaval and change, and it was only possible with a strong leadership, as happened in China.

The country's population, ordinary people, who suddenly ceased to be great and Soviet, suddenly found themselves on the sidelines of life. For an ordinary person of that era, the surname Gorbachev is associated with a massive shortage of all items and products, long queues and appointments for the purchase of sausage for the next quarter, a giant leap to the very bottom of the standard of living, when there are no prospects, or even the very opportunity to work, since enterprises stood up at once, not receiving raw materials and funds from the agonizing state. Even the publicist Zinoviev wrote that perestroika put the country and the government on the path of betrayal of the common people. So who is Gorbachev, an angel or a demon, a messiah or a messenger of the last days?

Outstanding research into the issue of the collapse of the Union was carried out by the Chinese, who at first generally considered Gorbachev personally and no one else to be to blame. There is some truth in this, but the roots of all this lie in the absence of any reforms during the Brezhnev stagnation. Andropov tried to make his own adjustments to the direction of movement and development of the country, but he did not have enough time, Chernenko turned out to be too sick and old, and Gorbachev simply relied excessively on his word, without showing any will, he just hoped that everything would work out, which is why today takes responsibility for the collapse of a mighty superpower. Moreover, about twenty percent of the population are confident that a little more and Russia would have completely lost its sovereignty, coming under the control of the West.

Origin of Michael

Gorbachev’s biography, by Soviet standards, was not entirely “clean”, because both of his grandfathers, both on his father’s and mother’s sides, were at one time victims of repression. Dad's father, Andrei Moiseevich Gorbachev, did not want to take part in the collective farm, so he was considered an individual peasant. For untimely completion of work, he was arrested in the thirty-fourth year of the twentieth century and deported to Irkutsk. Twenty-four months later he returned, realized his mistakes, joined a collective farm, where he worked faithfully until the end of his days.

My maternal grandfather, Panteley Efimovich Gopkalo, was from the Chernigov region and was passionate about the ideas of communism like no one else. At the age of thirteen, his father died, and the guy moved to a more well-fed and promising Stavropol region. There he became the chairman of the collective farm, but in 1937 someone wrote a complaint against him, after which he was arrested with the wording “suspicion of Trotskyism.” He spent a year and two months in dungeons, but remembered it for the rest of his life. However, he did not have the chance to perish in the camps; the head of the GPU department of the Krasnogvardeisky district shot himself, and Panteley successfully returned home.

Childhood and youth

The father, Sergei Andreevich, living in the Stavropol region, met Maria Panteleevna, married her and on the second of March 1931, his first-born was born - a boy, Mishenka, on whose forehead there was an irregularly shaped birthmark. It is for this spot that he will later receive the popular nickname Marked Bear. When the Great Patriotic War broke out, Gorbachev Sr. left to defend his Motherland, and the mother and the boy, who was barely ten, remained under occupation for a long six months. He still returned from the war, despite his erroneous burial in 1943.

From 1944 or 1945, thirteen-year-old Mikhail began working on a tractor mill and on a collective farm, because he had to somehow live. Two years later, the smart guy was already an assistant combine operator, and in 1949 he even received a real Order of the Red Banner of Labor for his success in harvesting. A year later, Misha submitted documents and, due to the presence of a high government award, was enrolled without exams at the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov. Five years later, he completed his studies with honors and returned to his native Stavropol region, where he became the first secretary of the city committee of the Komsomol. By sixty-one, he was already the first secretary of the regional committee of the Komsomol, and two years later the head of the department of party bodies of the Stavropol regional committee of the Communist Party.

First President Gorbachev: years of rule

Then in Gorbachev’s biography everything went like clockwork. The statesman Dmitry Kulakov became concerned about his fate, who strongly recommended promoting Mikhail Sergeevich along the party line as showing great promise. Despite the fact that Efremov’s immediate superior did not like him, Misha was still appointed first secretary of the city committee of the CPSU and in the same sixty-sixth he visited Germany (GDR) for the first time. At the same time, he received a second degree, became an agronomist-economist, and even tried to go into science, wrote and even defended a dissertation, but it didn’t work out.

Forward along the party line

The question of transferring Gorbachev to serve in the KGB was raised twice, but nothing came of it then, even at Andropov’s personal request. Meanwhile, Mikhail himself grabbed at everything that was offered to him, because he really was on fire, he wanted to improve his country, make it more comfortable for people, free. He was involved in ecology, youth, he was even offered to become a propagandist, but Suslov advised him not to move in this direction.

In 1978, Gorbachev was elected Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and moved to Moscow with his family. At that time, the forty-seven-year-old man was the youngest of the party functionaries. Ten years later, in 1988, he was already combining a government position with a party position and was the main contender to replace the sick and old Chernenko, who was simply no longer able to fulfill his duties.

Gorbachev's real reign began with the fact that on March 15, 1990, he was elected the first president of the Soviet Union, but it did not last long. In August of the ninety-first year, an uprising broke out, which was called the August putsch. After what happened, Gorbachev decided to leave his party post and even leave the ranks of the Communist Party altogether. At the same time, he decided to keep his party card as a souvenir. It turned out that the party that brought him to power and actually made him the president of a huge superpower was out of business.

In November, Gorbachev came back to haunt him, as the state prosecutor's office opened a case against him with the wording “treason,” since his signature was on the order accepting the withdrawal of the Baltic republics from the USSR. The exit procedure was not followed, a general referendum of citizens was not held, but the case was eventually closed anyway, and the prosecutor Ilyukhin himself, who initiated this case, flew out of his chair like a cork from a bottle.

The further, the more terrible, on December 8, 1991, three presidents of the then union republics, Yeltsin, Kravchuk and Shushkevich, gathered almost secretly in Belovezhskaya Pushcha and signed a criminal agreement on the complete cessation of the existence of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the formation of the Union of Independent States (CIS ). Gorbachev was offered to arrest the conspirators and save the situation, but there was no longer any political will for this, he hoped that the agreement had no legal force, and everything would resolve itself, which did not happen. It was a fatal mistake and he made it. It was said that he was simply afraid that he would be accused of trying to retain power by any means necessary.

Gorbachev's dubious achievements?

Already on December 21, in less than two weeks, the President of the USSR will have to resign, since there simply was no Soviet Union anymore. He was personally granted lifelong benefits, the right to receive a special pension, personal security and the use of state apartments and dachas, medical care, etc. On December 25, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev appeared on television and spoke about his resignation. Subsequently, he said that all the time from the putsch to this moment he was waiting for the reaction of the Soviet intelligentsia, but it did not come. Despite everything, he managed a lot and it was not always positive, let's remember the most significant.

He announced acceleration and restructuring, which became the impetus for the development of a completely new market economy for the country.
The anti-alcohol campaign led to a completely opposite result from what was expected. The price of alcohol soared by almost half, centuries-old vineyards were cut down, sugar, bought up by moonshiners, became scarce.
It was Gorbachev, contrary to Ryzhkov’s recommendations, who brought Yeltsin to power, who would lead the country to the very edge of the abyss.
In May 1986, five days after the release at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, to prevent panic, festive demonstrations were still held in Kyiv, Moscow, Minsk and other cities, despite the health hazard.
Termination of participation in the Afghan conflict and withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
In the same year, Gorbachev returned academician Andrei Sakharov from exile and ordered a complete end to persecution for dissent.

In addition, it is also worth recalling the interethnic conflicts that broke out throughout the country, which during the Soviet Union were simply impossible in principle, since internationalism was the main idea. Inflation, a sharp drop in living standards, hidden inflation, a colossal increase in external debt and complete impoverishment of the population, with enormous opportunities to “earn money” for a few. And this is only a drop in the ocean from what was caused by the collapse of the state.

Personal life and modern activities of the first and last president of the USSR

Usually, for famous, public figures, their private and family life does not work out the way they wanted, because it is not easy to always be in the public eye. However, with Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev everything was different, he madly loved his wife and was ready to make any concessions for her sake. It was rumored that he made many rash political decisions under her influence, but we are unlikely to know the truth, since asking a woman will never be possible.

Family and Children

Raisa Maksimovna Titarenko was born on January 5, 1932 and was only a year younger than her future husband. The daughter of a railway engineer and a native Siberian, she graduated from medical university and worked as an ophthalmologist in Ufa. But she did not finish her education there; she entered Moscow State University, where she met Misha. The wedding was traditionally held in the canteen, and then in the hostel, it was fun, there were a lot of songs, dances, the whole block was buzzing. True, the bride turned out to be weak, so according to the doctor’s testimony, the first pregnancy had to be terminated due to heart problems. However, she was able to give one daughter to her husband.

Irina Mikhailovna, married Virganskaya (January 6, 1957). Subsequently, she separated from the vascular surgeon Vigransky and remarried a businessman who is still involved in transportation to this day.

Mikhail Sergeevich’s wife, whom he really almost idolized, died in 1999 from leukemia. From his daughter Irina, Gorbachev has two charming granddaughters, Ksenia and Anastasia, as well as a great-granddaughter, Alexandra Pyrchenkova, who was barely ten years old.

Modern activities

Already at the head of the country in ninety-four, Yeltsin assigned Gorbachev a lifelong allowance, which amounts to forty minimum pensions. After his resignation, he began to complain that he was being persecuted, his speeches and books were being blocked, he was being silenced, and in 1996 he even nominated himself for the presidency, but the people no longer believed him and he managed to get no more than half a percent of the votes. He tried to join the Social Democratic Party, but at the dawn of the new millennium it was dissolved by court order. In May 2016, Ukraine banned Mikhail Sergeevich from entering the country for five years, to which he skeptically replied that he had not gone there for a long time and had no intention of doing so.

Interesting

Margaret Thatcher, before her death, made a list of all the guests who would attend her funeral. Among others, the name of Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev was listed there. However, when in April the “Iron Lady” gave the order to live long, the former Russian leader did not come to the farewell ceremony, since he himself was in the hospital at that time.

Gorbachev was last hospitalized in 2015, after which he was discharged. He sold a huge house that belonged to his family in the Bavarian Alps. In an interview with Vladimir Pozner, Gorbachev once said that he should have arrested the “conspirators” at one time, and also driven Yeltsin with a filthy broom, as his comrades advised. But he was unable to show political will, for which he paid with contempt, mistrust and ostracism from the people.

In the sixteenth year, at a meeting with students, he fully admitted his own responsibility for the collapse of the Soviet Union, and even earlier welcomed the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation. In April of the seventeenth year, Mikhail Sergeevich said that he saw clear signs of the opening of a new cold war of the West against the Russian Federation, as well as an arms race, against which and for the sake of which he took the main steps to reorganize the country, state and party.

Mikhail Gorbachev's parents were peasants. The future President of the USSR spent his childhood during the war years; the family had to endure the German occupation. Mikhail Sergeevich’s father, Sergei Andreevich, fought at the front and was wounded twice.

In the post-war years, the collective farm had a catastrophic shortage of workers. Mikhail Gorbachev had to combine his studies at school with work as a combine operator on collective farm fields. When Gorbachev was 17 years old, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for exceeding the plan.

A working childhood did not prevent Gorbachev from graduating from high school with a silver medal and enrolling in the law faculty of Moscow State University. At the university, Mikhail Sergeevich headed the Komsomol organization of the faculty.

In 1953, Mikhail Sergeevich married Raisa Maksimovna Titarenko, a student at the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow State University. They were together until her death in 1999.

Career in the CPSU

Capital life and the atmosphere of the “thaw” had a great influence on the formation of the worldview of the future leader of the state. In 1955, Gorbachev graduated from the university and was sent to the Stavropol Regional Prosecutor's Office. However, Mikhail Sergeevich found himself in party work. He is making a good career through the Komsomol. In 1962, he was already appointed party organizer and became a deputy at the next congress of the CPSU. Since 1966, Gorbachev has already been the first secretary of the city committee of the CPSU in the Stavropol Territory.

The good harvests that were harvested in the Stavropol region created Gorbachev’s reputation as a strong business executive. Since the mid-70s, Gorbachev introduced brigade farming in the region, which brought high yields. Gorbachev's articles on rationalization methods in agriculture were often published in the central press. In 1971, Gorbachev became a member of the CPSU. Gorbachev was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1974.

Gorbachev finally moved to Moscow in 1978, where he became Secretary of the Central Committee for the agro-industrial complex

Years of reign

In the 80s, the need for change was brewing in the USSR. At that time, no one considered Gorbachev's candidacy as the leader of the country. However, Gorbachev managed to rally the young secretaries of the Central Committee around himself and gain the support of A.A. Gromyko, who enjoyed great authority among members of the Politburo.

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev was officially elected General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He became the main initiator of “perestroika”. Unfortunately, Gorbachev did not have a clear plan for reforming the state. The consequences of some of his actions were simply catastrophic. For example, the so-called anti-alcohol company, thanks to which huge areas of vineyards were cut down and prices for alcoholic products increased sharply. Instead of improving the population's health and increasing average life expectancy, a shortage was artificially created, people started making handicrafts of dubious quality, and the destroyed rare grape varieties have not yet been restored.

The soft foreign policy pursued by Gorbachev led to a radical change in the entire world order. Mikhail Sergeevich withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan, ended the Cold War and played a huge role in the unification of Germany. In 1990, Gorbachev received the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to easing international tensions.

The inconsistency and thoughtlessness of some reforms within the country led the USSR to a deep crisis. It was during the reign of Gorbachev that bloody interethnic conflicts began to break out in Nagorno-Karabakh, Fergana, Sumgait and other regions of the state. Mikhail Sergeevich, as a rule, was not able to influence the resolution of these bloody interethnic wars. His reaction to events was always very vague and delayed.

The Baltic republics were the first to decide to leave the USSR: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. In 1991, in Vilnius, during the storming of a television tower by USSR troops, 13 people died. Gorbachev began to disavow these events and stated that he had not given the order for the assault.

The crisis that finally collapsed the USSR occurred in August 1991. Former comrades of Gorbachev organized a coup d'etat and were defeated. In December 1991, the USSR was liquidated, and Gorbachev was dismissed as president of the USSR.

Life after power

After Gorbachev's political career ended, he began to be active in public life. Since January 1992, Gorbachev has served as President of the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Science Research.

In 2000, he created the Social Democratic Party (SDPR), which he headed until 2007.

On his eightieth birthday, March 2, 2011, Gorbachev was awarded the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called.

In March 2014, Gorbachev welcomed the result of the referendum in Crimea, and called the annexation of Crimea to Russia a correction of a historical mistake.

Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev (born 03/02/1931 in the Volga region, Stavropol Territory) - Soviet statesman, General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee (1985-1991) and former President of the CCCP. His efforts to democratize the political system and decentralize the economy led to the collapse of communism and the collapse of the country in 1991. In part because he ended the era of post-war Soviet dominance in Eastern Europe, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.

Publicity policy

The decision to allow multi-party elections and create a new form of government in the Soviet Union began a slow process of democratization that ultimately destabilized communist control and contributed to the collapse of the country.

When Gorbachev became president of the USSR, he faced conflicting domestic political pressures: Boris Yeltsin and pluralists favored democratization and rapid economic reform, while the conservative party elite wanted to derail them.

The Glasnost policy gave people new freedoms, especially freedom of speech, although these were not comparable to those found in Western democracies. But in a country where censorship, control of speech and the suppression of criticism of the government had previously been a central part of the system, this was a radical change. The press became much less controlled, and thousands of political prisoners and many dissidents were released.

Gorbachev's goal in implementing the glasnost policy was to put pressure on conservatives within the CPSU who opposed his economic restructuring, and he also hoped that through openness, debate, and public participation, the Soviet people would support his initiatives.

In what year did Gorbachev become President of the USSR?

In January 1987, the leader of the Communist Party called for democratization: the introduction of such democratic elements into the political process as elections from several candidates.

In June 1988, at the XXVII Congress of the CPSU, he launched radical reforms aimed at reducing party control over the state apparatus.

In December 1988, the Supreme Council approved the creation of the Council of People's Deputies as the new legislative body of the Soviet Union, adopting corresponding amendments to the Constitution. Elections were held throughout the country in March and April 1989.

But in what year did Gorbachev become President of the USSR? The necessary amendments were made on March 15, 1990. Before this, the head was formally the Chairman of the Supreme Council. Although the head of state was to be elected through direct secret voting by all citizens of the country, as an exception, this right was delegated to the Third Congress of People's Deputies. 03/15/1990 Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR and took the oath of office on the same day.

Concentration of power

Gorbachev became President of the USSR as a result of his election at the Congress of People's Deputies. Although the outcome was in his favor, it revealed serious flaws in his power base, which ultimately led to the collapse of his political career in late 1991.

The procedure for electing Gorbachev as President of the USSR in 1990 was significantly different from other “elections” previously held in the Soviet Union. Since coming to power in 1985, Mikhail Sergeevich has made great efforts to launch the political process in the country, pushing through legislation that eliminated the Communist Party's monopoly on power and forming the Congress of People's Deputies. Elections of deputies were held by secret ballot.

But why did Gorbachev become President of the USSR? He faced criticism from both reformers and conservative communists. For example, Boris Yeltsin criticized him for the slow pace of change. On the other hand, conservatives were shocked by the departure from Marxist principles. In an effort to advance his reform agenda, the Secretary General led a movement to amend the Soviet Constitution, including a section to create a new, stronger presidential power, which had previously been largely symbolic.

Victory or defeat?

During the Congress of People's Deputies, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet M. S. Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR for a five-year term. He tried very hard to get the Congress to give him the necessary two-thirds of the votes. Gorbachev threatened several times to resign if he did not win a constitutional majority. If he did not receive the necessary votes, he would have to campaign in the general election against other candidates. Gorbachev believed that this would lead to chaos in an already unstable country. Others attributed it to his fears of losing. The final vote gave him a narrow lead. The candidate received the required majority plus 46 votes.

The date when Gorbachev became President of the USSR - March 15, 1990 - marked the beginning of his short tenure in this post.

While this was certainly a victory for him, the election illustrated the problems he faced in trying to forge an internal consensus supporting his political reform agenda. M. S. Gorbachev became President of the USSR, but by 1991 his critics criticized him for the country's dismal economic performance and weakening control over the Soviet empire.

"New Thinking" Abroad

In international affairs, Gorbachev sought to improve relations and trade with the West. He established close contacts with a number of Western leaders - the German Chancellor, US Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who once said that she liked Mr. Gorbachev and could do business with him.

On October 11, 1986, M. Gorbachev and P. Reagan met for the first time in Reykjavik, Iceland, to discuss the issue of reducing medium-range missiles in Europe. Much to the surprise of advisers on both sides, they agreed to withdraw such systems and set a global limit on them of 100 warheads. This led to the signing of the Short- and Medium-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987.

In February 1988, M. Gorbachev announced the withdrawal of troops from the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. The operation was completed the following year, although civil war continued as the mujahideen attempted to overthrow the pro-Soviet regime of Mohammed Najibullah. An estimated 15,000 Soviet citizens were killed as a result of the conflict between 1979 and 1989.

Also in 1988, M. Gorbachev announced that the Soviet Union would abandon the Brezhnev Doctrine, allowing the Eastern Bloc countries to determine their own internal policies. Non-interference in the affairs of other Warsaw Pact states turned out to be the most important of Moscow's foreign policy reforms. In 1989, when communism collapsed, it led to a series of revolutions in Eastern Europe. With the exception of Romania, popular protests against pro-Soviet communist regimes were peaceful.

When Gorbachev became President of the USSR, the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations with the Vatican, and a final settlement agreement was signed with Germany. In addition, an investigation began into the murders of Polish prisoners of war in Katyn.

The weakening of Soviet hegemony in Eastern Europe actually ended the Cold War, for which on October 15, 1990, 7 months after M. S. Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Economic disaster

Although Gorbachev's political initiatives led to greater freedom and democracy in Eastern Europe and the CCCP, his government's economic policies gradually brought the Soviet Union closer to disaster. By the late 1980s, severe shortages of staple foods (such as meat and sugar) forced the introduction of a wartime distribution system using food rationing, which limited each citizen to a fixed amount of food per month. When Gorbachev became President of the USSR, the state budget deficit grew to 109 billion rubles, gold and foreign exchange funds decreased from 2 thousand to 200 tons, and external debt increased to 120 billion US dollars.

Moreover, the democratization of the USSR and Eastern Europe irreversibly undermined the power of the CPSU and Gorbachev himself. The weakening of censorship and attempts to create greater political openness had the unforeseen effect of awakening long-suppressed nationalist and anti-Russian sentiments in the Soviet republics. Calls for greater independence from Moscow's authority grew louder, especially in the Baltic republics of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, which were annexed into the USSR by Stalin in 1940. National movements also became active in Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The reforms ultimately allowed the socialist republics to secede from the Soviet Union.

Independence movements

On January 10, 1991, USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev presented an ultimatum to the Supreme Council of Lithuania, demanding the restoration of the legality of the Constitution and the annulment of all unconstitutional laws. The next day, he approved the Soviet army's attempt to overthrow the Lithuanian government. As a result, at least 14 civilians were killed and more than 600 were injured in Vilnius from 11 to 13 January. The strong reaction of the West and the actions of Russian democratic forces put the President and government of the USSR in an awkward position, as news emerged about support for the Lithuanians from Western democracies.

Gorbachev's response to growing republican separatism was to develop the Union Treaty, which created a truly voluntary federation in the increasingly democratized Soviet Union. The new treaty was supported by the Central Asian republics, which needed the economic power and markets of the USSR to prosper. However, more radical advocates of change, such as RSFSR President Boris Yeltsin, became increasingly convinced of the need for a rapid transition to a market economy and were more than happy to contemplate the disintegration of the Soviet Union if this was necessary to achieve their goals.

In contrast to the warm attitude of the reformers to the new treaty, the conservative apparatchiks, who still had influence within the CPSU and the military leadership, were against anything that could lead to the collapse of the USSR. On the eve of the signing of the Union Treaty, the conservatives struck their blow.

August putsch

In August 1991, hardliners in the Soviet leadership launched a coup d'etat to remove Gorbachev from power and prevent the signing of a new Union Treaty. During this time, the President spent 3 days (August 19-21) under house arrest at his dacha in Crimea, until an unsuccessful attempt to restore party control failed and he was released. However, upon his return, Gorbachev discovered that neither the Union nor the security forces obeyed him, but supported Yeltsin, whose disobedience led to the collapse of the coup. Moreover, the General Secretary was forced to dismiss a large number of Politburo members, and in some cases, arrest them. The Gang of Eight, which led the coup, was also detained for treason.

Gorbachev sought to preserve the CPSU as a single party, but wanted to move it towards social democracy. The contradictions in this approach - praise of Lenin, admiration for the Swedish social model and the desire to support the annexation of the Baltic states by military force - were quite complex. But when the CPSU was banned after the August coup, Gorbachev had no effective power base outside the Armed Forces. In the end, Yeltsin won by promising more money.

Collapse of the USSR

In early December, the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus met in Brest to form the Commonwealth of Independent States, effectively announcing the demise of the Union.

On December 25, 1991, USSR President Gorbachev resigned, the Soviet Union was officially dissolved, and Yeltsin became President of the Russian Federation.

People around the world watched in amazement at this relatively peaceful collapse of the former communist mono-state.

In his farewell speech, former USSR President Gorbachev said that the recent creation of the CIS was the main reason for his resignation. He expressed concern that citizens of a great power were being deprived of this status, and the consequences of this could be very difficult for everyone. Gorbachev said that he was proud of his achievements. He said he led the Soviet Union's transition to democracy, and his reforms steered the socialist economy toward a market economy. He stated that the Soviet people now live in a new world, in which there is no cold war and no arms race. While admitting mistakes were made, Gorbachev remained adamant and said he did not regret the policies he pursued.

Heritage

Mikhail Gorbachev remains highly regarded in the West for ending the Cold War. In Germany, for example, he is given credit for the reunification of the country. However, his reputation in Russia is low because he is believed to have led the USSR to collapse and is thus responsible for the economic difficulties that followed. However, polls showed that most Russians were satisfied with the outcome of Gorbachev's main legislative legacy - perestroika and the freedoms that flowed from it.

According to many, this is not the only reason why the Cold War ended. The war in Afghanistan had continued since 1979, draining the Soviet Union's resources. This and the many revolutionary or reform movements in the Soviet satellite states, most notably Afghanistan and Poland, greatly affected his ability to operate and maintain order. Some insist that the arms race led to a significant increase in Soviet military spending, which, combined with the costs of Afghanistan, the country simply could not afford. Moreover, by the time Gorbachev came to power, the economy of the CCCP was seriously destroyed, a reality that may have had a decisive influence on Gorbachev's decisions to liberalize. But in the end, analysts say, these attempts to "open up" the Soviet Union were too little, too late, and the satellite states responded accordingly, ending the Cold War era.

Critics in Russia are convinced that there was no serious economic crisis in the USSR. They consider Gorbachev an incompetent politician who initiated the wrong reforms and accuse him of destroying the state.

Although it can be argued that when Gorbachev became President of the USSR, he sought to liberalize it and never wanted the collapse of the Soviet state, his contribution to peace on a global scale nevertheless outweighs the criticisms, however fair they may be.