Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeyevich << gawr buh CHAWF, mih kah EEL suhr GAY uh vihch >> (1931-2022), was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. As Soviet leader, Gorbachev gained worldwide fame for his efforts to make changes in his country and its relations with other nations. In 1990, Gorbachev received the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to world peace.
Early life and political rise.
Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931, in the village of Privolnoye, near Stavropol. His parents were peasant farmers. Gorbachev joined the Communist Party in 1952. He graduated from Moscow State University in 1955 with a law degree. After graduation, he began a career in the Communist Party organization in Stavropol. He rose through the ranks and became head of the Stavropol regional Communist Party Committee in 1970. He attracted the attention of top Soviet leaders, including Yuri Andropov. Gorbachev became a member of the Communist Party’s Central Committee in 1971. In 1978, he was brought to Moscow and made party secretary in charge of agriculture.
In 1980, Gorbachev became a full member of the Politburo, the Communist Party’s chief policymaking body. Andropov became the head of the party and the most powerful Soviet leader in 1982. Andropov put Gorbachev in charge of economic policy. Andropov died in 1984 and was followed briefly by Konstantin U. Chernenko as party leader. After Chernenko died in March 1985, Gorbachev was chosen party head.
In 1988, Gorbachev became chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, which was then a largely ceremonial post. Under Gorbachev, the powers of the office were greatly strengthened. The post came to be called the chairmanship of the Supreme Soviet.
In 1990, the Soviet Union created a new office of president of the U.S.S.R. Gorbachev was chosen for this office. The office replaced that of Communist Party head as the country’s most powerful position. Gorbachev remained as party head.
Domestic policies.
Gorbachev became Soviet leader as the country’s economy was beginning to decline. In 1985, he announced that drastic changes were needed to modernize the economy and make it more productive. He proposed to move from the Communist system—in which the government controls the economy—to a system with less government control.
Gorbachev also proposed to make the Soviet political system more open and democratic. He called for a reduction in the power of the Communist Party and increased power for elected bodies. His program of economic and political reform was called perestroika (restructuring). His call for more openness was known as glasnost.
Most of Gorbachev’s reform proposals were approved in 1988 and 1990. His reforms had influence outside the Soviet Union. Following the Soviet actions, people in other Eastern European Communist countries increased their demands for more freedom and for an end to rule by their Communist parties. In 1989, most of the Communist governments were overthrown and replaced by more democratic governments.
International policies.
Gorbachev worked to improve Soviet relations with the Western countries and to reduce tension and conflicts worldwide. In 1987, Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan of the United States signed a treaty that called for the elimination of all the intermediate-range nuclear missiles of the two countries. In July 1991, Gorbachev and U.S. President George H. W. Bush signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty to reduce U.S. and Soviet long-range nuclear missiles and bombers.
In 1988 and 1989, Gorbachev withdrew all Soviet military forces from Afghanistan. Since 1979, Soviet troops had been fighting there to support an unpopular Communist government against Afghan rebels.
Breakup of the Soviet Union.
On Aug. 19, 1991, several conservative Soviet Communist officials tried to overthrow Gorbachev as president of the Soviet Union. The coup quickly collapsed in the face of widespread opposition. Gorbachev retained his leadership, though his government was weakened by the attempt. He resigned as head of the Communist Party, however.
By November 1991, 13 of the 15 Soviet republics—all except Russia and Kazakhstan—had declared independence. Gorbachev tried to prevent the complete breakup of the Soviet Union. But on December 8, the republics of Russia, Ukraine, and Byelorussia announced that they had formed a new, loose confederation called the Commonwealth of Independent States. They declared that the Soviet Union had ceased to exist and invited the remaining republics to join the commonwealth. Most soon did so. On December 25, Gorbachev resigned as president, and the Soviet Union formally ceased to exist.
Later years.
In 1992, Gorbachev founded and became head of the Gorbachev Foundation, an organization for economic and political studies in Moscow. In 2001, he founded the Social-Democratic Party of Russia, a combination of several moderate Russian parties, but he resigned as its leader in 2004. Gorbachev died on Aug. 30, 2022.
