Mikhail Gorbachev short biography. Brief biography of Mikhail Gorbachev

Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich - politician, statesman, first and only President of the USSR.

Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for improving relations with foreign countries, including ending the Cold War with the United States.

During his activities, the most significant events took place that had a great influence on the further development of the country.

Childhood and adolescence

On March 2, 1931, Mikhail Gorbachev was born in the Stavropol Territory, the village of Privolnoye. His parents were ordinary peasants.

Father - Sergei Andreevich Gorbachev was a foreman, and his father was the chairman of the local collective farm. Gopkalo's mother Maria Panteleevna was Ukrainian.

The childhood of the future statesman coincided with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.

My father immediately went to the front, and Misha and his mother ended up in a village occupied by the Nazis.

Mikhail with his parents as a child

They lived under the yoke of German soldiers for 5 months. After liberation, the family received news from the front about the death of their father.

Mikhail had to combine his studies at school with work on the collective farm. At the age of 15, he already held the position of assistant combine operator.

For conscientious work and exceeding the plan in 1948, Mikhail was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

Despite the difficulties and work, Mikhail graduated from school with a “silver” medal.

This allowed him to enter the Faculty of Law at Moscow State University without entrance exams, where he became the head of the Komsomol organization.

Occupying a public position, he was surrounded by fairly free-thinking fellow students.

His circle of friends included Zdenek Mlynar, who would become one of the leaders of the Prague Spring in the future.

In 1952, he joined the CPSU party. After 3 years, he received a law degree and was assigned to work in the Stavropol prosecutor's office.

In 1967 he received a second higher education as an economist-agronomist.

Starting a career in politics

He worked at the prosecutor's office for only a week. He was immediately accepted into the regional committee of the Komsomol in the department of agitation and propaganda. He worked there for 7 years, from 1955 - 1962.

During this time, he served as first secretary of the city Komsomol committee, then as 2nd and 1st secretary of the regional committee of the Komsomol.

Afterwards, having support in the person of F.D. Kulakov, Mikhail Gorbachev’s career quickly began to grow upward.

By 1970, he was the first secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU. In addition, Mikhail has gained a good reputation in the agricultural sector.

Then he was elected a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. He spent 12 years in this service. He rose to the post of Chairman.

Years of Presidency and removal from office

In March 1985, a plenum of the CPSU Central Committee was held, at which Mikhail Gorbachev officially assumed the position of General Secretary of the central committee.

He became the political leader of one of the world superpowers - the USSR. Subsequently, his career growth began to grow rapidly.

In 1989 he joined the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR as its chairman.

A year later he becomes President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.

He initiated a series of major reforms, called “perestroika,” which lasted in the country for 6 years (1985-1991).

As head of state, he carried out an anti-alcohol campaign, which was considered a big mistake.

His decisions in the international arena led to the end of the Cold War, the reduction of the threat of the use of nuclear weapons, and the unification of Germany.

Mikhail Gorbachev sought to reduce tensions between countries.

However, discontent was growing within the country, and against its background, external achievements did not look advantageous.

On June 12, 1990, a decree was signed proclaiming the independence of the RSFSR. As a result, other republics began to follow this example.

In 1991, the August Putsch occurred, which became the culmination of internal tensions, and its failure only completed the collapse of the allied power.

After such events, Mikhail Gorbachev was accused of treason and a criminal case was opened.

After some time, it was closed, and M. Gorbachev himself resigned from the post of head of state.

This happened on December 25, 1991. He led the country for only 1 year.

Afterwards he became the head of an international foundation that was engaged in socio-economic and political research.

People called it the “Gorbachev Foundation”. After 2 years, he headed the international environmental organization Green Cross.

Activities after retirement

In 1996, Mikhail again participated in the elections of the President of the Russian Federation. However, his candidacy was able to gain only 0.51% of the total votes.

In 2000, he took the post of head of the Social Democratic Russian Party, which a year later merged with the SDPR (Social Democratic Party).

For the next 3 years he was the leader of this party. In 2007, by court decision, SDPR was liquidated.

In the same year, Mikhail Gorbachev created the social movement “Union of Social Democrats” and headed it.

In 2008, he was invited to a program with Vladimir Pozner. In an interview, he admitted his mistakes that led to the collapse of the USSR.

On the occasion of his 80th anniversary on March 2, 2011, the current President signed a decree awarding M. Gorbachev the Order. Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called.

In 2014, he went to Germany, where he opened an exhibition dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the fall of the wall separating the eastern and western parts of Berlin.

On the last day of February, the ex-president of the USSR presented a book about himself, “Gorbachev in Life,” at his foundation.

In the spring of 2016, a meeting with future economists took place at the Moscow School at Moscow State University.

There he publicly acknowledged responsibility for his government decisions.

Personal life

Mikhail Gorbachev was married once. His first, faithful and only legal companion was Raisa Maksimovna Titarenko.

They met during their student years at one of the parties organized by Raisa’s friend.

Raisa was an exemplary student and spent all her time in the library. And at first she didn’t like Mikhail.

However, an incident changed everything. Raisa had serious health problems, and the only person who was nearby all the time was Mikhail.

With his wife Raisa

On September 25, 1953, the young couple registered their relationship. Parents were simply presented with a fait accompli.

Family life almost immediately began to test the strength of the young family’s feelings.

In the first year, Raisa became pregnant, but doctors forbade her to give birth due to heart problems.

The couple had to make a difficult decision - to agree to an abortion. Then, on the recommendation of the doctor, Mikhail and his wife decide to change the climate.

They move to Stavropol, to a small village. A new life begins there, and in 1957 Raisa safely gives birth to a girl, Irina.

At first, Raisa helps Mikhail in every possible way in his career. However, she herself does not sit at home either.

Raisa Gorbacheva begins teaching after moving to the capital.

Opens a fund to provide charitable assistance “Hematologists of the World for Children.”

At first this movement consisted of several centers. Then the fund goes international.

Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev (born 1931) - Soviet and Russian statesman and public figure, President of the USSR. The period of his reign from 1985 to 1991 is called “perestroika”.

The future reformer was born into a peasant family. In 1950 he entered Moscow University. Since 1952 - member of the Communist Party.

After graduating from university, he returned to his homeland, where his career began, first along the Komsomol and then the party line.

Mikhail Sergeevich quickly rose through the ranks and in 1978 became Secretary of the Central Committee. Since 1985 - head of the party and state.

The main areas of Gorbachev's activities

Domestic policy:

• political reforms - the Supreme Council was transformed into parliament, the elimination of the CPSU monopoly on power, a two-tier system of supreme legislative power, the creation of the Cabinet of Ministers;
• economic restructuring - the introduction of elements of a market economy, the beginning of private entrepreneurship, openness, the abolition of party censorship.

Foreign policy:

• ending the war in Afghanistan;
• “new political thinking”: a course towards peaceful relations and cooperation between countries;
• dissolution of the Warsaw Pact Organization;
• Mikhail Sergeevich is one of the most controversial figures in modern Russian history.

The course he proclaimed for acceleration, restructuring and democratization was caused by the deplorable state of the economy and the need for reforms. The result of his activities was the birth of a new Russia, but the price for the transformation of the country was the collapse of the Soviet Union, the impoverishment of the masses, and social differentiation. The “Parade of Sovereignties” ended with the Belovezhskaya Accords on the dissolution of the USSR. M.S. Gorbachev, as the president of a non-existent country, was forced to resign.

Results of Gorbachev's reign

• Democratization of the Soviet social and political system;
• freedom of speech and press;
• collapse of the socialist camp and the USSR;
• interethnic conflicts in Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Moldova;
• rapprochement with the West and the USA;
• hyperinflation and economic decline.

Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931, in the village. Privolnoye, Medvedensky district, Stavropol Territory. He came from a family of repressed peasants.

During the Second World War I lost my father, who died at the front. Starting from the age of thirteen, he combined schooling with collective farm work.

When the young man turned 15 years old, he was appointed assistant to the MTS combine operator. In 1949, Mikhail was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

In 1950, he completed his studies with a silver medal and entered Lomonosov Moscow State University without exams. He was admitted to the CPSU in 1952.

Political activity

After graduating from university, he began his career in the Stavropol prosecutor's office. In 1955 he received the post of first secretary of the Stavropol regional committee. In 1966, he began to hold the position of first secretary of the party city committee.

In 1978 he took the post of Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. In 1980 he became a member of the Politburo. In 1985, he accepted the post of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

In 1990, Gorbachev, without leaving the post of Secretary General, was elected President of the Soviet Union.

Domestic policy

On May 17, 1985, on the initiative of Gorbachev, an anti-alcohol campaign was launched. The price of alcohol-containing drinks increased by 45%. Alcohol production and vineyard clearing were reduced. As moonshine became more popular, sugar disappeared from sale.

In December 1985, on the advice of E. Ligachev, he appointed B. Yeltsin first secretary of the Moscow City Committee.

On May 1, 1986, after the Chernobyl tragedy, on the orders of Gorbachev, May Day demonstrations were held in Minsk and Kyiv.

On November 19, 1986, he initiated the law “On individual labor activity.” In the same year, cooperatives were gradually introduced - the forerunner of modern private enterprises. Restrictions on foreign exchange transactions have been lifted.

In 1987, Perestroika was proclaimed.

In an effort to localize national conflicts, he took tough measures. In 1988, unprecedented measures were taken to disperse the Georgian demonstration and rally of Almaty youth. In the same year, a long-term conflict began in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The President actively opposed the separatist aspirations of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

The years of life and reign of the first Soviet president were marred by deafening failures. Products began to rapidly disappear from shelves; a rationing system was introduced for many types of food. The result of the flushing of goods from stores was hyperinflation.

External debt under Gorbachev increased first to 31.3 and then to 70.3 billion US dollars.

Foreign policy

Studying Gorbachev’s short biography, you should know that he always strived for close cooperation with Western countries. At the end of 1984, at the invitation of M. Thatcher, the president visited London.

In an effort to improve relations with the United States, he decided to reduce military spending. The USSR could not withstand the arms race with America and NATO countries.

During Gorbachev's reign, the Warsaw Pact collapsed and Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan. The Berlin Wall also fell. All this, according to historians, led to the loss of the USSR in the Cold War and contributed to its early collapse.

Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich a brief biography of the statesman is presented in this article. Gorbachev is the first and only President of the USSR (1990-1991).

Mikhail Gorbachev short biography

Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931. In the Stavropol Territory in a peasant family. In 1950, Gorbachev graduated from school with a silver medal.

In 1955 Graduated from the Law Faculty of Moscow State University in 1967. – Stavropol Agricultural Institute.

By 1955, he was already the first secretary of the regional party committee. He always took an active part in social events. In the early 1960s, he was elected head of the department of organizational and party work. From 1966 to 1978, he alternately occupied the place of first and then second secretary of the Stavropol regional CPSU.

In November 1978 elected Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. And already in 1980 he became a member of the Politburo.

The turning point in his life was March 1985, when he was elected General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. The election of a new leader, 54-year-old M.S. Gorbachev, who, by the way, became the first party leader with a university degree after V.I. Lenin, was greeted with great hopes.

In 1990 Gorbachev became President of the USSR. He simultaneously held two highest positions: President and Secretary General.
With Gorbachev coming to power in the USSR, a process of democratization began, called “perestroika.” As head of the state, he attempted to reform the Soviet economy and helped create a more open society.

In 1990 he received the Nobel Prize for leading the peace process in the international community.

When the coup took place in 1991, Gorbachev was removed from power, but he later returned and resumed his post.
On December 25, 1991, he announced his resignation.

Since 2000, Gorbachev headed the RUSDP, and from the next year - the SDPR (he was the leader of the party until 2004).

Gorbachev's main achievements

• During Gorbachev's reign, the Cold War was brought to an end.
• He carried out a full-scale and effective anti-alcohol campaign.
• Gorbachev was responsible for the attempt to reform the iron Soviet system, which went down in history as “Perestroika”.
• Under Gorbachev, the policy of glasnost, freedom of the press and speech was introduced in the USSR.
• Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan.
• It was Mikhail Sergeevich who abandoned communist ideology as a state status and the persecution of dissidents.
• Gorbachev became the last leader of the USSR.

One of the most popular Russian politicians in the West during the last decades of the twentieth century is Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev. The years of his reign greatly changed our country, as well as the situation in the world. This is one of the most controversial figures, according to public opinion. Gorbachev's perestroika causes ambiguous attitudes in our country. This politician is called both the gravedigger of the Soviet Union and the great reformer.

Biography of Gorbachev

Gorbachev's story begins in 1931, March 2. It was then that Mikhail Sergeevich was born. He was born in the Stavropol region, in the village of Privolnoye. He was born and raised in a peasant family. In 1948, he worked with his father on a combine harvester and received the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for his success in harvesting. Gorbachev graduated from school in 1950 with a silver medal. After this, he entered the Faculty of Law at Moscow University. Gorbachev later admitted that at that time he had a rather vague idea of ​​what law and jurisprudence were. However, he was impressed by the position of a prosecutor or judge.

During his student years, Gorbachev lived in a dormitory, at one time received an increased scholarship for Komsomol work and excellent studies, but nevertheless he barely made ends meet. He became a party member in 1952.

Once at a club, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev met Raisa Titarenko, a student at the Faculty of Philosophy. They got married in 1953, in September. Mikhail Sergeevich graduated from Moscow State University in 1955 and was sent to work in the USSR Prosecutor's Office on assignment. However, it was then that the government adopted a resolution according to which it was prohibited to employ law graduates in the central prosecutor's offices and judicial authorities. Khrushchev, as well as his associates, believed that one of the reasons for the repressions carried out in the 1930s was the dominance of inexperienced young judges and prosecutors in the authorities, ready to obey any instructions from the leadership. Thus, Mikhail Sergeevich, whose two grandfathers suffered from repression, became a victim of the fight against the cult of personality and its consequences.

At administrative work

Gorbachev returned to the Stavropol region and decided not to contact the prosecutor's office anymore. He got a job in the department of agitation and propaganda in the regional Komsomol - he became the deputy head of this department. The Komsomol and then the party career of Mikhail Sergeevich developed very successfully. Gorbachev's political activities bore fruit. He was appointed in 1961 as the first secretary of the local Komsomol regional committee. Gorbachev began party work the following year, and then, in 1966, became the first secretary of the Stavropol City Party Committee.

This is how the career of this politician gradually developed. Even then, the main drawback of this future reformer became evident: Mikhail Sergeevich, accustomed to working selflessly, could not ensure that his orders were conscientiously carried out by his subordinates. This characteristic of Gorbachev, some believe, led to the collapse of the USSR.

Moscow

Gorbachev became Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee in November 1978. The recommendations of L.I. Brezhnev's closest associates - Andropov, Suslov and Chernenko - played a major role in this appointment. After 2 years, Mikhail Sergeevich becomes the youngest of all members of the Politburo. He wants to become the first person in the state and in the party in the near future. This could not even be prevented by the fact that Gorbachev essentially occupied a “penalty post” - the secretary in charge of agriculture. After all, this sector of the Soviet economy was the most disadvantaged. Mikhail Sergeevich still remained in this position after Brezhnev's death. But Andropov even then advised him to delve into all matters in order to be ready at any moment to take full responsibility. When Andropov died and Chernenko came to power for a short period, Mikhail Sergeevich became the second person in the party, as well as the most likely “heir” to this general secretary.

In Western political circles, Gorbachev's fame was first brought to him by his visit to Canada in May 1983. He went there for a week with the personal permission of Andropov, who was the general secretary at that time. Pierre Trudeau, the prime minister of this country, became the first major Western leader to receive Gorbachev personally and treat him with sympathy. Having met other Canadian politicians, Gorbachev gained a reputation in that country as an energetic and ambitious politician who stood in stark contrast to his elderly Politburo colleagues. He developed a significant interest in Western economic management and moral values, including democracy.

Gorbachev's Perestroika

The death of Chernenko opened the way to power for Gorbachev. The Plenum of the Central Committee on March 11, 1985 elected Gorbachev as General Secretary. In the same year, at the April plenum, Mikhail Sergeevich proclaimed a course to accelerate the country’s development and restructuring. These terms, which appeared under Andropov, did not immediately become widespread. This happened only after the XXVII Congress of the CPSU, which took place in February 1986. Gorbachev called glasnost one of the main conditions for the success of the upcoming reforms. The time of Gorbachev could not yet be called full-fledged freedom of speech. But it was possible, at least, to talk in the press about the shortcomings of society, without, however, affecting the foundations of the Soviet system and the members of the Politburo. However, already in 1987, in January, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev stated that there should be no zones closed to criticism in society.

Principles of foreign and domestic policy

The new Secretary General did not have a clear reform plan. Only the memory of Khrushchev's "thaw" remained with Gorbachev. In addition, he believed that the calls of leaders, if they were honest, and these calls themselves were correct, could reach ordinary executors within the framework of the party-state system that existed at that time and thereby change life for the better. Gorbachev was firmly convinced of this. The years of his reign were marked by the fact that throughout all 6 years he spoke about the need for united and energetic actions, about the need for everyone to act constructively.

He hoped that, as the leader of a socialist state, he could gain world authority based not on fear, but, above all, on reasonable policies and unwillingness to justify the country’s totalitarian past. Gorbachev, whose years in power are often referred to as “perestroika,” believed that new political thinking must triumph. It should include recognition of the priority of universal human values ​​over national and class values, the need to unite states and peoples to jointly solve the problems facing humanity.

Publicity policy

During Gorbachev's reign, general democratization began in our country. Political persecution stopped. The pressure of censorship has weakened. Many prominent people returned from exile and prison: Marchenko, Sakharov and others. The policy of glasnost, which was launched by the Soviet leadership, changed the spiritual life of the country's population. Interest in television, radio, and print media has increased. In 1986 alone, magazines and newspapers gained more than 14 million new readers. All of these are, of course, significant advantages of Gorbachev and the policies he pursues.

Mikhail Sergeevich’s slogan, under which he carried out all the reforms, was the following: “More democracy, more socialism.” However, his understanding of socialism gradually changed. Back in 1985, in April, Gorbachev said at the Politburo that when Khrushchev brought criticism of Stalin’s actions to incredible proportions, it only brought great damage to the country. Glasnost soon led to an even greater wave of anti-Stalinist criticism, which was undreamed of during the Thaw.

Anti-alcohol reform

The idea of ​​this reform was initially very positive. Gorbachev wanted to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed in the country per capita, as well as begin the fight against drunkenness. However, the campaign, as a result of overly radical actions, led to unexpected results. The reform itself and the further rejection of the state monopoly led to the fact that the bulk of income in this area went into the shadow sector. A lot of start-up capital in the 90s was made from “drunk” money by private owners. The treasury was rapidly emptying. As a result of this reform, many valuable vineyards were cut down, which led to the disappearance of entire industrial sectors in some republics (in particular, Georgia). The anti-alcohol reform also contributed to the growth of moonshine, substance abuse and drug addiction, and multi-billion dollar losses were incurred in the budget.

Gorbachev's reforms in foreign policy

In November 1985, Gorbachev met with Ronald Reagan, President of the United States. At it, both sides recognized the need to improve bilateral relations, as well as improve the overall international situation. Gorbachev's foreign policy led to the conclusion of the START treaties. Mikhail Sergeevich, with a statement dated January 15, 1986, put forward a number of major initiatives devoted to foreign policy issues. The complete elimination of chemical and nuclear weapons was to be carried out by the year 2000, and strict control was to be exercised during their destruction and storage. All of these are Gorbachev’s most important reforms.

Reasons for failure

In contrast to the course aimed at transparency, when it was enough just to order the weakening and then actually abolish censorship, his other initiatives (for example, the sensational anti-alcohol campaign) were combined with the propaganda of administrative coercion. Gorbachev, whose years of rule were marked by increasing freedom in all spheres, at the end of his reign, having become president, sought to rely, unlike his predecessors, not on the party apparatus, but on a team of assistants and the government. He leaned more and more towards the social democratic model. S.S. Shatalin said that he managed to turn the Secretary General into a convinced Menshevik. But Mikhail Sergeevich abandoned the dogmas of communism too slowly, only under the influence of the growth of anti-communist sentiment in society. Gorbachev, even during the events of 1991 (the August putsch), still expected to retain power and, returning from Foros (Crimea), where he had a state dacha, declared that he believed in the values ​​of socialism and would fight for them, leading the reformed Communist Party. It is obvious that he was never able to rebuild himself. Mikhail Sergeevich in many ways remained a party secretary, who was accustomed not only to privileges, but also to power independent of the people's will.

Merits of M. S. Gorbachev

Mikhail Sergeevich, in his last speech as the president of the country, took credit for the fact that the population of the state received freedom and became spiritually and politically liberated. Freedom of the press, free elections, a multi-party system, representative bodies of government, and religious freedoms have become real. Human rights were recognized as the highest principle. The movement towards a new multi-structured economy began, equality of forms of ownership was approved. Gorbachev finally ended the Cold War. During his reign, the militarization of the country and the arms race, which had crippled the economy, morality and public consciousness, were stopped.

The foreign policy of Gorbachev, who finally eliminated the Iron Curtain, ensured Mikhail Sergeevich respect throughout the world. The President of the USSR was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for activities aimed at developing cooperation between countries.

At the same time, some indecisiveness of Mikhail Sergeevich, his desire to find a compromise that would suit both radicals and conservatives, led to the fact that transformations in the state’s economy never began. A political settlement of contradictions and interethnic hostility, which ultimately destroyed the country, was never achieved. History is unlikely to be able to answer the question of whether someone else could have preserved the USSR and the socialist system in Gorbachev’s place.

Conclusion

The subject of supreme power, as the ruler of the state, must have full rights. M. S. Gorbachev, the leader of the party, who concentrated state and party power in himself, without being popularly elected to this post, in this respect was significantly inferior in the eyes of the public to B. Yeltsin. The latter eventually became the President of Russia (1991). Gorbachev, as if compensating for this shortcoming during his reign, increased his power and tried to achieve various powers. However, he did not follow the laws and did not force others to do so. That is why Gorbachev’s characterization is so ambiguous. Politics is, first of all, the art of acting wisely.

Among the many accusations brought against Gorbachev, perhaps the most significant was the accusation of indecisiveness. However, if you compare the significant scale of the breakthrough he made and the short period of time he was in power, you can argue with this. In addition to all of the above, the Gorbachev era was marked by the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the holding of the first competitive free elections in Russian history, and the elimination of the party's monopoly on power that existed before him. As a result of Gorbachev's reforms, the world has changed significantly. He will never be the same again. Without political will and courage, it is impossible to do this. Gorbachev can be viewed differently, but, of course, he is one of the largest figures in modern history.