Mikhail Gorbachev
| Famous as | Former President of the former USSR |
| Born on | 02 March 1931 |
| Born in | Privolnoye, Stavropol |
| Nationality | Russian Federation |
| Works & Achievements | Nobel Peace Prize (1990) & Known For His Outstanding Work in Peace process |
Childhood
Mikhail Gorbachev was born on 2 March 1931 in Privolnoye, Stavropol
Krai. He had a very tough childhood under the Totalitarian leadership
of Joseph Stalin. His grandfather was sentenced
to nine years prison for withdrawing grain from collective’s harvest.
He saw tough times during the World War II, during which Stavropol was
occupied by German troops in 1942. Though they left by the next year, it
left a scar on his young mind. From 1946 to 1950, he worked as an
assistant combine harvest operator at the collective farms in his area,
where State quotas and taxes on private plots increased the hardship of
peasant labor.
Political Career
Mikhail, as a student, had an excellent academic record throughout.
After leaving school at the age of 16, he was awarded the ‘Order of the
Red Banner of Labor’ in 1947, for helping his father harvest a record
crop on his collective farm. This, coupled with his intelligence helped
him secure a place at the Moscow University in 1950, where he studied
law. While in Moscow, he became a candidate member of the Communist
Party of Soviet Union in the same year. After graduating in June 1955,
he worked in the Prokuratura (Soviet State Procuracy) before
transferring to the Komsomol or Communist Union of Youth. Gorbachev
married Raisa Maksimovna Titarenko on 25 September 1953. Later their
first child, a girl was born on 6 January 1957. He became the First
Secretary of the Stavropol City Komsomol Committee in 1956 and later
moved up to the Stavropol Krai Komsomol Committee, where he worked as
secondary Secretary from April 1958 and as First Secretary from March
1961.
In 1963, Gorbachev was promoted to Head of the Department of Party
Organs in the Stavropol Agricultural Kraikom. In 1970, he was appointed
First party Secretary of the Stavropol Kraikom. In this position, he
helped to reorganize the collective farms; improved worker’s living
condition and expand the size of their private plots.It was certain that
his effective work made him a member of the Central Committee
in 1971. In 1974, he was made a Representative to the Supreme Soviet
and the Chairman of the Standing Commission on Youth Affairs after
leading a Soviet delegation to Belgium in 1972. His career moved upward
very fast and he was subsequently elected to the Central Committee’s secretariat for Agriculture in 1978. In 1980, Gorbachev full membership of the Politburo.
CPSU and Domestic Reforms (1985-1989)
Mikhail Gorbachev was elected General Secretary of the Communist
Party on 11 March 1985 and during the period of 1985 to 1989 he
implemented several economic reforms that he hoped would improve the
stagnating state economy and working productivity. The first major
reform under Gorbachev was Alcohol reform that was planned to fight the
alcoholism in the Soviet Union. Prices of vodka, beer and wines were
increased and the sales were restricted. Drinking in public paces was
banned and many famous wineries were destroyed. The reform it failed to
bring much difference to alcoholism in the country, the purpose it was
intended at. But it was a serious blow to the state budget causing a
huge loss. In the opinion of some historians the pace of reforms was too
slow because of the blockage of information by the Conservatives.
In 1888, Gorbachev introduced Glasnost, meaning greater freedom of
speech. Press became far less controlled and a number of prisoners were
released. It was a radical change on odds with the previous policy of
suppression of criticism and control of speech that has been a central
part of the Soviet System. He opened himself and his reforms up for
public criticism with this reform hoping that through debate and public
participation the Soviet people would support his reforms initiatives.
The Law on Cooperatives came in May 1988 that permitted private
ownership of businesses, manufacturing and foreign-trade sectors.
Domestic reforms did not succeed because of the increasing divergence
between the Reformists, who were not happy with the pace of reforms and
the Conservatives, who were unhappy with the extent of the changes. On
15 March 1990, Gorbachev was elected as the first executive President of
the Soviet Union.
‘New Thinking’
During his tenure Mikhail Gorbachev established close relationships
with several west leaders such as U.S. President Ronald Reagan and
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. On 8 April 1985, he announced
the suspension of the deployment of SS-20s in Europe as a move towards
resolving the intermediate-range nuclear weapons (INF) issues. In the
same year, he proposed that the Soviets and Americans both cut their
nuclear arsenals in half. In November, Geneva Summit took place between
Gorbachev and Reagan. In November 1988, Gorbachev announced full
withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan. However he was criticized
for taking too long to reach the decision. The policy of No-intervention
in the affairs of other states (Warsaw Pact) proved to be the most
momentous of Gorbachev’s foreign policy reforms.
Collapse of Soviet Union
While Gorbachev’s political initiatives were positive for freedom and democracy of the Soviet Union, the economic policy of his government
brought the country close to disaster. By the end of 1980s, there were
severe shortages of basic food supplies that led to a limited supply of
food distributed to every citizen. Apart from it, the democratization of
the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe had undermined the power of the
CPSU and Gorbachev himself. Freedom of speech and the relaxation of
censorship had re-awakened the nationalist anti-Russian feelings in the
Soviet Union and led to the riots, named Jeltoqsan, in December 1986.
Violence erupted at many places and amid all these election to the
Congress of People’s Deputies took place in 1989. Apart from this
violence, three major events took place in 1989. Estonia had declared
independence in November, 1988, to be followed by Lithuania in May 1989
and by Latvia in July and finally Eastern Bloc collapsed in the autumn
of 1989. 1990 began with the nationalist turmoil in January. The COSU
began to loose even more power with Gorbachev’s deepened political
reforms. The Congress of People’s Deputies amended the Soviet
Constitution in March, removing the article 6, which guaranteed the
monopoly of CPSU.
The August Coup and Final Collapse
Hardliners were opposed to anything, which might lead to the break up
of Soviet Union, and launched the August Coup in 1991 in an attempt to
remove Gorbachev from power and prevent the signing of the new union
treaty. They called themselves the State Emergency Committee and were
still string within the CPSU and military establishment. Gorbachev was
house arrested in Crimea for 3 days (19, 20 and 21 August), before being
freed and restored to power. Meanwhile things had changed and the
support was shifted to Yelstin, whose defiance had led to the coup’s
collapse.
After his return to power, he was forced to fire a number of
people, who were his former ally or promoted by him. Between 21 August
and 22 September, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Georgia and a
number of other countries declared their independence and CPSU was
ordered to suspend its activities on the territory of Russia. Gorbachev
resigned as General Secretary of the CPSU on 24 August and advised the
Central Committee to dissolve. Congress of People’s Deputies dissolved
itself on 5 September. Gorbachev agreed with Yelstin on 17 December, to
dissolve the Soviet Union and resigned on 25 December. The Soviet Union
was formally dissolved the next day.
Activities after Resignation
He remained active in Russian politics after his resignation and
collapse of The Soviet Union. Following his failed run for the
Presidency in1996, he founded the Social Democratic party of Russia and
eventually resigned from the party after a dispute with the party’s
chairman. Later Gorbachev founded a new party Union of Social-Democrats.
In September 2008, Gorbachev has announced to make a come back to the
Russian politics. In 1990, Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize for his leading role in the peace process.
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Mikhail Gorbachev Timeline: | ||||
1931- Mikhail Gorbachev was born on 2 March.
1947- Honored as the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
1953- He married to Raisa Maksimovna Titarenko on 25 September.
1957- Irina, His daughter was born on 6 January.
1970- He was appointed first party Secretary of the Stavropol Raikom.
1974- He was made a Representative to the Supreme Soviet and the Chairman of the Standing Commission on Youth Affairs.
1985- Mikhail Gorbachev was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party on 11 March.
1985- Gorbachev Introduced domestic reforms.
1985- He announced the suspension of the deployment of SS-20s in Europe on 8 April.
1988- The Law on Cooperatives came in May
1990- Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his leading role in the peace process.
1991- August Coup launched by hardliners.
1991- Gorbachev was house arrested in Crimea for three days.1991- The Soviet Union was formally dissolved.
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