Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich. Traitor or hero, the only president of the USSR Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich: biography and years of government

Name: Mikhail Gorbachev

Age: 87 years old

Height: 175

Activity: Russian statesman and public figure, ex-president of the USSR, Nobel Peace Prize laureate

Family status: widower

Mikhail Gorbachev: biography

Mikhail Gorbachev is a statesman and public figure of Russia of the 20th century, who entered the political world during the Soviet era. Gorbachev became the first and only president of the USSR, the results of whose activities entered Russian history, and also became important factors in the politics of the rest of the world. The share of the politician is perestroika, which led to a change in life in the Russian Federation and the political situation in the world. The assessment of Gorbachev's role in the fate of the country in society is ambiguous - some believe that the politician brought the people more good than harm, while others are sure that the politician caused all the troubles of modern Russia after the collapse of the USSR.

Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich was born on March 2, 1931 in the Stavropol village of Privolnoye. The parents of the future president, Sergei Andreevich and Maria Panteleevna, were peasants, so the childhood of the future president of the USSR passed without wealth and luxury. In his early years, young Mikhail Sergeevich had to endure the German occupation of Stavropol, which left an imprint on the character and political position of the young man in the future.

At the age of 13, Gorbachev began to combine his studies at school with work on a collective farm: at first, Mikhail worked at a mechanical and tractor station, and later became an assistant combine operator, whose duties were extremely difficult for a teenager. For this work, Mikhail Sergeevich was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor in 1949, which he received for overfulfilling the grain harvesting plan.

The following year, Gorbachev graduated from a local school with a silver medal and entered the law faculty of Moscow State University without any problems. At the university, the future politician headed the Komsomol organization of students, where he was charged with the spirit of freethinking, which influenced the worldview of the future politician. In 1952, Gorbachev was accepted as a member of the CPSU, and three years later, after successfully graduating from the university, Gorbachev received the post of first secretary of the city committee of the Komsomol of Stavropol.

Policy

Having got his first Komsomol job, Mikhail Sergeevich decided to connect his own life with politics, and not with jurisprudence, rejecting the offer of a position in the Stavropol regional prosecutor's office. Later, in 1967, the future Soviet leader graduated from the Stavropol Agricultural Institute in absentia, having received a diploma in economics and agronomy.

The political career of Mikhail Gorbachev developed rapidly. In 1962, Gorbachev was appointed to the post of party organizer of the Stavropol Territorial Production Agricultural Administration, in which Gorbachev, during the reforms of the then current Soviet head, earned himself a reputation as a promising politician. Gorbachev did not have special charisma or memorable external data (the politician has an average height of 175 cm), so he made his way only with skills and working qualities.

Against the backdrop of good harvests in Stavropol, Mikhail Sergeyevich established himself as a leading expert in the field of agriculture, which subsequently allowed Gorbachev to become the ideologist of the CPSU on the development of this area.

In 1974, Gorbachev was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, where he headed the commission on youth problems. In 1978, the politician was transferred to Moscow and appointed secretary of the Central Committee, which was initiated by the former leader of the USSR, who considered Mikhail Sergeyevich an unusually well-educated and experienced specialist.

In 1980, the politician became a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Under the leadership of Gorbachev came numerous reforms in the market economy and in the political system. In 1984, at a meeting of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the politician read out the report "The Living Creativity of the People", which became the so-called "prelude" of the country's restructuring. The report was received with optimism by Gorbachev's colleagues and the Soviet people.

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU

Having won support and created for himself the image of a global reformer, Mikhail Sergeevich was elected General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1985, after which a global process of democratization of society began in the USSR, later called perestroika.

Having become the leader of the second most powerful power in the world, Mikhail Gorbachev began to pull out the country that had fallen into stagnation. Without a clearly defined plan, the politician made a number of changes in the foreign and domestic policy of the Soviet Union, which later led to the collapse of the state.

On account of Gorbachev's "dry law", the exchange of money, the introduction of self-support, the end of the war in Afghanistan, the end of the long-term "cold war" with the West and the weakening of the nuclear threat. Also, the hands of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, who then had full power over the country, liberalized society and weakened censorship in the USSR, which allowed Gorbachev to gain popularity among the population, with whom the politician for the first time in the history of the Soviet state communicated in a free, and not in the "reigning" style.

First President

But the main mistake in Gorbachev's policy was the inconsistency in the implementation of economic reforms in the USSR, which led to a sharp deepening of the crisis in the country, as well as to a decrease in the standard of living of citizens. In the same period, the Baltic republics took a course towards estrangement from the Union, which did not prevent the Soviet leader from becoming the first and only president of the USSR, whom Gorbachev was elected in 1990, according to the country's amended legislation.

However, the weakening of control over society led to dual power in the Soviet Union, a wave of strikes swept the country, and the economic crisis led to total shortages and empty shelves on store shelves. At that time, the 10th part of the country's gold reserves was "eaten", the situation in the USSR was close to a critical point, but Mikhail Sergeevich could not prevent the collapse of the Union and his own resignation from the presidency.

In August 1991, Gorbachev's allies, which included a number of Soviet ministers, announced the creation of the GKChP (State Committee for the State of Emergency) and demanded that Mikhail Sergeevich resign. Gorbachev did not accept these demands, provoking an armed coup d'état in the country, known as the August coup. Then the GKChP was resisted by the political leaders of the RSFSR, which included the then president of the republic, and Ivan Silaev.

In December 1991, 11 union republics signed the Belovezhskaya agreement on the creation of the CIS, which became a document on the termination of the existence of the USSR, despite the objections of Mikhail Sergeevich. After that, Gorbachev resigned and withdrew from politics, immersing himself in public work. By the last decree of the President of the USSR, Gorbachev created the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Research, and in 1992 became the president of this foundation. At the head of the Gorbachev Foundation, the politician explores the history of the perestroika process in the Union, and also studies current world problems. The Gorbachev Foundation is financed from the personal funds of the former Soviet leader, as well as grants and donations from citizens and international organizations.

The reign of the former "owner" of the Kremlin is still widely discussed in society today. Many consider Gorbachev to be responsible for the collapse of the USSR, as a result of which Russia almost lost its sovereignty. But the former Soviet leader sees such criticism as unfounded. Gorbachev positively assesses the policy of the current president of Russia, supporting his position on Crimea and Ukraine.

Mikhail Sergeevich welcomes the reunification of the Crimean peninsula with the Russian Federation, calling the will of the people a correction of a historical mistake. At the same time, he does not exclude that the situation in Ukraine may lead to an aggravation of relations between the Russian Federation and the EU, as a result of which there are risks of a major conflict and even a nuclear war.

Personal life

Mikhail Gorbachev's personal life was as "single-episode" as his political career. He met his future wife in his student years, at the House of Culture at the dance. The girl bewitched the future Soviet leader with her modesty and inner attractiveness, so he decided to marry his chosen one without fail. To earn money for the wedding, a student of Moscow State University actively worked part-time on the Stavropol collective farm, and already in 1953 he was able to collect for a modest celebration on the occasion of the marriage.

The Gorbachevs lived a long and happy life, but in 1999 Mikhail Sergeevich became a widower - his wife Raisa Gorbacheva died of leukemia, which was a huge blow to the former president of the USSR. The First Lady of the USSR gave her husband her only daughter, Irina, who today lives in Moscow. Irina today has two adult children, Gorbachev's granddaughters have already married.

In 2015, it became known that Mikhail Gorbachev's health also began to decline. He suffers from a severe form of diabetes, his condition cannot be called stable, since very often the politician has crises, as a result of which he has to be urgently hospitalized in a clinic to stabilize his general health.

At the same time, he actively continues to conduct his creative activity, releasing new scientific works and publishing memoirs. In 2014, Mikhail Gorbachev's new book "Life after the Kremlin" saw the light of day, and in front of it he released a book of memoirs about the love of his life - "Alone with myself."

Gorbachev's financial position also shook. The former president lives in a Moscow apartment and a dacha near Moscow. A house in Germany, in Oberach, near Lake Tegernsee in the Bavarian Alps, Gorbachev is selling, but he has not come to the country itself since 2014.

Mikhail Gorbachev now

In 2016, the politician own responsibility for the collapse of the Soviet Union. This happened at a meeting with students at the Moscow School of Economics of Moscow State University.

In 2016, Mikhail Gorbachev was banned from entering Ukraine. The politician told the press that he had not traveled to this country for years and did not plan to visit it in the near future.

In September 2017, Mikhail Gorbachev presented a new autobiographical book, “I Remain an Optimist,” in which, along with plots from the politician’s biography, harsh criticism of modern Russia, the political and social situation in the country was voiced.

Awards

• 1988 - Prize of the International Organization "World without War"
• 1988 - Name Peace Prize
• 1989 - commemorative medal "Personality of the Year" of the International Jury "Personality of the Year"
• 1989 - Golden Dove for Peace Award for contribution to peace and disarmament
• 1990 - Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of the leading role in the peace process, which characterizes an important part of the life of the international community
• 1990 - Peace Prize for the contribution to the struggle for peace and understanding between peoples
• 1990 - honorary title "Humanist of the Century" and an honorary medal named after Albert Schweitzer
• 1990 - Fiuggi International Prize as a person whose activities in the political and public fields can serve as an exceptional example of the struggle for the assertion of human rights
• 1991 - International Peace Prize named "For a World Without Violence" for an outstanding role in the struggle for world peace and human rights
• 1992 - Benjamin M. Cardoso Prize for Democracy
• 1993 Sir's Award in recognition of contributions to peace in the Middle East
• 1997 - award
• 1998 - National Freedom Award for the fight against oppression
• 2005 - Patriarch Athenagoras Prize in the field of human rights
• 2010 - Dresden Prize for Nuclear Disarmament

At party work

Foreign policy

Relations with the West

Official recognition of Soviet responsibility for Katyn

Results of foreign policy

The situation in the Caucasus

Conflict in the Ferghana Valley

The entry of Soviet troops into Baku

Fighting in Yerevan

Baltic conflicts

After resignation

Family, personal life

Awards and honorary titles

Nobel Prize

Literary activity

Discography

Acting activity

In works of culture

Interesting Facts

Nicknames

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev(March 2, 1931, Privolnoye, North Caucasus Territory) - General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (March 11, 1985 - August 23, 1991), the first and last President of the USSR (March 15, 1990 - December 25, 1991). Head of the Gorbachev Foundation. Since 1993, co-founder of CJSC "New Daily Newspaper" (see Novaya Gazeta). He has a number of awards and honorary titles, the most famous of which is the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize. Head of the Soviet State from March 11, 1985 to December 25, 1991. Gorbachev's activities as head of the CPSU and the state are associated with a large-scale attempt to reform in the USSR - perestroika, which ended in the collapse of the world socialist system and the collapse of the USSR, as well as the end of the Cold War. Russian public opinion about Gorbachev's role in these events is extremely polarized.

Childhood and youth

Born on March 2, 1931 in the village of Privolnoye, Krasnogvardeisky District, Stavropol Territory (then the North Caucasian Territory), into a peasant family. Father - Sergey Andreevich Gorbachev (1909-1976), Russian. Mother - Gopkalo Maria Panteleevna (1911-1993), Ukrainian.

From the age of 13, he periodically combined his studies at school with work at the MTS and on the collective farm. From the age of 15 he worked as an assistant combine operator of a machine and tractor station. In 1948, at the age of seventeen, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor as a noble combine operator. In 1950 he entered Lomonosov Moscow State University without exams. After graduating from the law faculty of Moscow State University in 1955, he was sent to Stavropol to the regional prosecutor's office. He worked as Deputy Head of the Department of Agitation and Propaganda of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the Komsomol, First Secretary of the Stavropol City Komsomol Committee, then Second and First Secretary of the Regional Committee of the Komsomol (1955-1962).

In 1953 he married Raisa Maksimovna Titarenko (1932-1999).

At party work

In 1952 he was admitted to the CPSU.

From March 1962 - party organizer of the regional committee of the CPSU of the Stavropol Territorial Production Collective Farm and State Farm Administration. Since 1963 - head of the department of party bodies of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the CPSU. In September 1966 he was elected First Secretary of the Stavropol City Party Committee. Graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the Stavropol Agricultural Institute (in absentia, 1967) as an agronomist-economist. From August 1968 - the second, and from April 1970 - the First Secretary of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the CPSU.

In 1971-1992 he was a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Gorbachev was patronized by Andropov, Yuri Vladimirovich, who contributed to his transfer to Moscow. In November 1978 he was elected Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. From 1979 to 1980 - candidate member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU. In the early 80s, he made a number of foreign visits, during which he met Margaret Thatcher and became friends with Alexander Yakovlev, who then headed the Soviet embassy in Canada. Participated in the work of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU on solving important state issues. From October 1980 to June 1992 - 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.

During the August putsch of 1991, he was removed from power by the State Emergency Committee headed by Vice-President Gennady Yanaev and isolated in Foros, after the restoration of legal power, he returned from vacation to his post, which he held until the demise of the USSR in December 1991.

He was elected a delegate to the XXII (1961), XXIV (1971) and all subsequent (1976, 1981, 1986, 1990) Congresses of the CPSU. From 1970 to 1990 he was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 8-12 convocations. Member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from 1985 to 1990; Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from October 1988 to May 1989. Chairman of the Commission for Youth Affairs of the Council of the Union 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 Soviet of the RSFSR 10-11 convocations.

March 15, 1990 Mikhail Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR. At the same time, until December 1991, he was Chairman of the USSR Defense Council, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the USSR.

Activities as General Secretary and President

At the pinnacle of power, Gorbachev carried out numerous reforms and campaigns, which later led to a market economy, the destruction of the monopoly power of the CPSU and the collapse of the USSR. The assessment of Gorbachev's activity is contradictory.

Conservative politicians criticized him for economic ruin, the collapse of the Union and other consequences of perestroika.

Radical politicians criticized him for the inconsistency of reforms and his attempt to preserve the former centrally planned economy and socialism.

Many Soviet, post-Soviet and foreign politicians and journalists welcomed Gorbachev's reforms, democracy and glasnost, the end of the Cold War, and the unification of Germany. The assessment of Gorbachev's activities abroad of the former USSR is more positive and less controversial than in the post-Soviet space.

Here is a short list of his initiatives and events directly or indirectly associated with him:

• On April 8, 1986, M.S. Gorbachev in Tolyatti, where he visited the Volga Automobile Plant. The result of this visit was the decision to create an engineering enterprise on the basis of the flagship of the domestic engineering industry - the branch scientific and technical center (STC) of JSC AVTOVAZ, which was a significant event in the Soviet automobile industry. At his speech in Togliatti, Gorbachev for the first time distinctly pronounces the word "perestroika", this was picked up by the media and became the slogan of the new era that had begun in the USSR.
• On May 15, 1986, a campaign began to intensify the fight against unearned income, which was understood locally as a fight against tutors, flower sellers, chauffeurs who gave passengers a lift, and sellers of homemade bread in Central Asia. The campaign was soon curtailed and forgotten due to subsequent events.
• The anti-alcohol campaign in the USSR, launched on May 17, 1985, led to a 45% increase in prices for alcoholic beverages, a reduction in alcohol production, cutting down vineyards, the disappearance of sugar in stores due to home brewing and the introduction of cards for sugar, an increase in life expectancy among the population, a decrease in the level of crime committed on the basis of alcoholism.
• Acceleration - this slogan was associated with promises to dramatically increase the industry and the welfare of the people in a short time; the campaign led to an accelerated retirement of production capacity, contributed to the start of the cooperative movement and prepared the way for perestroika.
• Perestroika with alternating indecisive and drastic measures and countermeasures to introduce or limit the market economy and democracy.
• Power reform, the introduction of elections to the Supreme Council and local Councils on an alternative basis.
• Glasnost, the actual removal of party censorship of the media.
• The suppression of local ethnic conflicts, in which the authorities took cruel measures, in particular, the forceful dispersal of a youth rally in Alma-Ata, the entry of troops into Azerbaijan, the dispersal of demonstrations in Georgia, the unfolding of a long-term conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the suppression of the separatist aspirations of the Baltic republics.
• The Gorbachev period witnessed a sharp decrease in the reproduction of the population of the USSR.
• Disappearance of products from stores, hidden inflation, the introduction of a rationing system for many types of food in 1989. The period of Gorbachev's rule is characterized by the washing out of goods from stores, as a result of pumping the economy with non-cash rubles, and subsequently hyperinflation.
• Under Gorbachev, the external debt of the Soviet Union reached a record high. Debts were taken by Gorbachev at high interest rates - more than 8% per annum - from different countries. With the debts made by Gorbachev, Russia was able to pay off only 15 years after his resignation. In parallel, the gold reserves of the USSR decreased tenfold: from more than 2,000 tons to 200. It was officially stated that all these huge funds were spent on the purchase of consumer goods. Approximate data are as follows: 1985, external debt - 31.3 billion dollars; 1991, external debt - 70.3 billion dollars (for comparison, total amount Russian external debt as of October 1, 2008 - 540.5 billion dollars, including state external debt in foreign currency - about 40 billion dollars, or 8% of GDP - for more details, see the article Russia's External Debt). The peak of the Russian public debt came in 1998 (146.4% of GDP).

• The reform of the CPSU, which led to the formation of several political platforms within it, and later the abolition of the one-party system and the removal of the constitutional status of the "leading and organizing force" from the CPSU.
• Rehabilitation of the victims of Stalinist repressions, who were not rehabilitated earlier under Khrushchev.
• The weakening of control over the socialist camp (the Sinatra doctrine), which led, in particular, to a change of power in most socialist countries, the unification of Germany in 1990, the end of the Cold War (the latter in the United States is usually regarded as a victory for the American bloc).
• The end of the war in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of Soviet troops.
• The introduction of Soviet troops into Baku on the night of January 19-20, 1990, against the Popular Front of Azerbaijan. More than 130 dead, including women and children.
• Concealment from the public of the facts of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986.
• On November 7, 1990, there was an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Gorbachev.

Foreign policy

Relations with the West

Once in power, Gorbachev tried to improve relations with the United States and Western Europe. One of the reasons for this was the desire to reduce exorbitant military spending (25% of the USSR state budget).

During the years of "perestroika", the foreign policy of the USSR underwent serious changes. The reason for this was the slowdown in economic growth and the stagnation of the economy in the first half of the 1980s. The Soviet Union was no longer able to withstand the US-imposed arms race.

During the years of his reign, Gorbachev put forward many peace initiatives. An agreement was reached on the liquidation of Soviet and American medium-range and short-range missiles in Europe. The government of the USSR unilaterally declared a moratorium on nuclear weapons testing. However, peacefulness was sometimes regarded as weakness.

As the economic situation in the country worsened, the Soviet leadership considered the reduction of armaments and military spending as a way to solve financial problems, and therefore did not require guarantees and adequate steps from their partners, while losing their positions in the international arena.

Foreign policy of the USSR in the second half of the 1980s.

The withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the victory of democratic forces in Eastern Europe, the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and the withdrawal of troops from Europe - all this has become a symbol of "the loss of the USSR in the Cold War."

On February 22, 1990, the head of the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU, V. Falin, sent a note to Gorbachev, in which he announced new archival finds proving the connection between the sending of Poles from the camps in the spring of 1940 and their execution. He pointed out that the publication of such materials would completely undermine the official position of the Soviet government (about "unproven" and "lack of documents") and recommended that a new position be urgently decided. In this regard, it was proposed to inform Jaruzelsky that no direct evidence (orders, instructions, etc.) was found that allows us to name the exact time and specific perpetrators of the Katyn tragedy, but “based on the aforementioned indications, we can conclude that the death of the Polish officers in the Katyn region - the work of the NKVD and personally Beria and Merkulov.

On April 13, 1990, during a visit to Moscow by Jaruzelsky, a TASS statement about the Katyn tragedy was published, which read:

Gorbachev handed over to Jaruzelsky the discovered milestone lists of the NKVD from Kozelsk, from Ostashkov and from Starobelsk.

On September 27, 1990, the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office of the USSR began a criminal investigation into the murders in Katyn, which received serial number 159. The investigation launched by the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office of the USSR was continued by the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation and was conducted until the end of 2004; in the course of it, witnesses and participants in the massacres of the Poles were interrogated. On September 21, 2004, the GVP announced the termination of the Katyn case.

Results of foreign policy

• easing international tension;
• the real elimination of entire classes of nuclear weapons and the liberation of Europe from conventional weapons, the cessation of the arms race, the end of the "cold war";
• the collapse of the bipolar system of international relations, which ensured stability in the world;
• the transformation of the United States after the collapse of the USSR into the only superpower;
• the reduction of Russia's defense capability, the loss of Russia's allies in Eastern Europe and the Third World.

Interethnic conflicts and forceful solution of problems

December events in Kazakhstan

December events (kaz. Zheltoksan - December) - youth performances in Alma-Ata and Karaganda that took place on December 16-20, 1986, which began with Gorbachev's decision to remove Dinmukhamed Akhmedovich Kunaev, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, who had been in office since 1964, and replace him with one who had not previously worked in Kazakhstan ethnic Russian, Gennady Vasilyevich Kolbin, first secretary of the Ulyanovsk regional party committee. The participants in the speeches protested against the appointment to this position of a person who did not think about the fate of the autochthonous people. The speeches began on December 16, the first groups of young people came to the New (Brezhnev) square of the capital demanding the cancellation of Kolbin's appointment. Telephone communication was immediately cut off in the city, these groups were dispersed by the police. But rumors about the performance on the square instantly spread throughout the city. On the morning of December 17, crowds of young people came out to the L. I. Brezhnev Square in front of the Central Committee building, demanding their rights and democracy. The posters of the demonstrators read "We demand self-determination!", "To each nation - its own leader!", "Do not be the 37th!", "Put an end to the great-power madness!" There were rallies for two days, both times ending in riots. When dispersing the demonstration, the troops used sapper shovels, water cannons, service dogs; it is also stated that reinforcing scrap and steel cables were used. To maintain order in the city, workers' squads were used.

The situation in the Caucasus

In August 1987, the Karabakh Armenians sent a petition to Moscow, signed by tens of thousands of citizens, with a request to transfer the NKAO to the Armenian SSR. On November 18 of the same year, in an interview with the French newspaper L'Humanite, adviser to M. S. Gorbachev, A. G. Aganbegyan, makes a statement: “ I would like to know that Karabakh has become Armenian. As an economist, I believe that he is more connected with Armenia than with Azerbaijan.". Similar statements are made by other public and political figures. The Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh organizes demonstrations calling for the transfer of the NKAR to the Armenian SSR. In response, the Azerbaijani population of Nagorno-Karabakh began to demand the preservation of the NKAR as part of the Azerbaijan SSR. To maintain order, M. S. Gorbachev sent a battalion of motorized infantry of the 160th regiment of internal troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs to Nagorno-Karabakh from Georgia.

On December 7, 1990, a regiment of internal troops of the USSR from the Tbilisi garrison was introduced into Tskhinvali.

Conflict in the Ferghana Valley

The pogroms of the Meskhetian Turks in 1989 in Uzbekistan are better known as the Fergana events. In early May 1990, a pogrom of Armenians and Jews took place in the Uzbek city of Andijan.

The events of January 1990 in the city of Baku (the capital of the Azerbaijan SSR), ended with the entry of Soviet troops, as a result of which more than 130 people died.

Fighting in Yerevan

On May 27, 1990, an armed clash between Armenian armed groups and internal troops took place, as a result of which two soldiers and 14 militants were killed.

Baltic conflicts

In January 1991, events took place in Vilnius and Riga, accompanied by the use of military force. During the events in Vilnius, units of the Soviet army stormed the television center and other public buildings (the so-called "party property") in Vilnius, Alytus, Siauliai.

After resignation

After the signing of the Belovezhskaya Accords (bypassing Gorbachev's objections), and the actual denunciation of the union treaty, on December 25, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as head of state. From January 1992 to the present - President of the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Research (Gorbachev Foundation). At the same time, from March 1993 to 1996 - President, and since 1996 - Chairman of the Board of the International Green Cross.

On May 30, 1994, Gorbachev was visiting Listyev in the first episode of the Rush Hour program. An excerpt from the conversation:

PSRL, vol. 25, M.-L, 1949, p. 201

After his resignation, he complained that he was “blocked in everything”, that his family was constantly “under the hood” of the FSB, that his phones were constantly tapped, that he could only publish his books in Russia “underground”, in small circulation.

In 1996, he put forward his candidacy for the election of the President of the Russian Federation and, according to the voting results, scored 386,069 votes (0.51%).

In 2000, he became the head of the Russian United Social Democratic Party, which in 2001 merged with the Social Democratic Party of Russia (SDPR); from 2001 to 2004 - leader of the SDPR.

On July 12, 2007, the SDPR was liquidated (removed from registration) by decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

October 20, 2007 became the head All-Russian public movement "Union of Social Democrats".

At the suggestion of the journalist Yevgeny Dodolev, the new US President Obama, some Russian journalists began to compare with Gorbachev.

In 2008, in an interview with Vladimir Pozner on Channel One, Mikhail Gorbachev said:

PSRL, vol. 25, M.-L, 1949, p. 201

PSRL, vol. 25, M.-L, 1949, p. 201

In 2009, in an interview with Euronews, Gorbachev again noted that his plan did not "fail", but on the contrary - then "democratic reforms began", and that Perestroika won.

In October 2009, in an interview with the editor-in-chief of Radio Liberty, Lyudmila Telen, Gorbachev admitted his responsibility for the collapse of the USSR:

PSRL, vol. 25, M.-L, 1949, p. 201

Family, personal life

Spouse - Raisa Maksimovna Gorbacheva(née Titarenko), died in 1999 of leukemia. She has lived and worked in Moscow for over 30 years.

• Ksenia Anatolyevna Virganskaya(1980) - journalist in a glossy magazine.
• First husband - Kirill Solod, the son of a businessman (1981), got married on April 30, 2003 in the Griboedovsky registry office,
• Second husband - Dmitry Pyrchenkov (former concert director of singer Abraham Russo), got married in 2009
• Great-granddaughter - Alexandra Pyrchenkova (October 2008).

• Anastasia Anatolyevna Virganskaya(1987) - a graduate of the journalism faculty of MGIMO, works as chief editor on the website Trendspase.ru,
• husband Dmitry Zangiev (1987), married on March 20, 2010. Dmitry graduated from the Eastern University under the Russian Academy of Sciences, in 2010 he studied at the postgraduate course of the Russian Academy of Civil Service under the President of the Russian Federation, in 2010 he worked in an advertising agency that advertises Louis Vuitton, Max Mara Fashion Group.

Brother - Alexander Sergeevich Gorbachev(September 7, 1947 - December 2001) - military man, graduated from the Higher Military School in Leningrad. He served in the strategic radar troops, retired with the rank of colonel.

Awards and honorary titles

Nobel Prize

"In recognition of his leading role in the peace process, which today characterizes an important part of the life of the international community," on October 15, 1990, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. At the award, Gorbachev gave a Nobel lecture, in the preparation of which one of his assistants, Vladimir Afanasyevich Zots, took part. (Instead of Gorbachev, the Nobel Prize was received by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Kovalev)

Criticism

The reign of Gorbachev was associated with radical changes that led to destruction and unjustified hopes. Therefore, in Russia, Gorbachev was criticized from different positions.

Here are some examples of critical statements related to perestroika and Gorbachev, which can be used to judge the discussions that unfolded on this topic:

• Alfred Rubiks: "We did not intend to seize power"

PSRL, vol. 25, M.-L, 1949, p. 201

• There is also an opinion that Gorbachev acted essentially unethically towards the officers of the Soviet Army. After the agreements in Sochi, Gorbachev hastily unilaterally ordered the withdrawal of the Soviet contingent from the GDR. At the same time, the withdrawal took place in unprepared places, in the so-called field towns.

• There is an opinion that Gorbachev conducted politics very naively, without taking into account historical realities. In his memoirs of his reign, Gorbachev writes that the chancellor invited him to visit Germany. “Thus,” Gorbachev is still convinced today, “we sealed our political friendship with personal obligations to be true to the given word, and included an emotional component in politics.” Alla Yaroshinskaya (Rosbalt) argues that Gorbachev relied excessively on the "given word" and the "emotional component", not supported by any serious international documents. In her opinion, today's Russia is still suffering from this.

Literary activity

• "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 World" (1988)
• "August coup. Causes and Effects (1991)
• “December-91. My position "(1992)
• "Years of Difficult Decisions" (1993)
• "Life and Reforms" (2 volumes, 1995)
• "Reformers are not happy" (dialogue with Zdeněk Mlynář, in Czech, 1995)
• "I want to warn ..." (1996)
• "Moral Lessons of the 20th Century" in 2 volumes (dialogue with D. Ikeda, in Japanese, German, French, 1996)
• "Reflections on the October Revolution" (1997)
• “New thinking. Politics in the Age of Globalization” (co-authored with V. Zagladin and A. Chernyaev, in it. lang., 1997)
• "Reflections on the Past and Future" (1998)
• "Understanding Perestroika... Why It Matters Now" (2006)

In 1991, Gorbachev's wife R. M. Gorbachev personally agreed with the American publisher Murdoch to publish her book of "reflections" with a fee of $3 million. Some publicists believe that this was a disguised bribe, since the publication of the book is unlikely to cover the fee.

In 2008, Gorbachev presented the first 5 books from his own 22-volume collected works at a book exhibition in Frankfurt, which will include all his publications from the 1960s to the early 1990s.

Discography

• 2009 - "Songs for Raisa" (Together with A. V. Makarevich)

Acting activity

• Mikhail Gorbachev played himself in Wim Wenders' feature film So Far, So Close! (1993), and also participated in a number of documentaries.
• In 1997, he appeared in an advertisement for the Pizza Hut pizzeria chain. According to the video, Gorbachev's main achievement as head of state was the appearance of "Pizza Huts" in Russia.
• In 2000, he appeared in an advertisement for the Austrian National Railways.
• In 2004 - "Grammy" for dubbing the musical fairy tale by Sergei Prokofiev "Peter and the Wolf" (Grammy Awards of 2004, "Best Spoken Word Album for Children", together with Sophia Loren and Bill Clinton).
• In 2007, he starred in an advertisement for the manufacturer of leather accessories Louis Vuitton. In the same year, he starred in Leonardo DiCaprio's documentary The Eleventh Hour, which tells about environmental problems.
• In 2009, he took part in the Minute of Glory project (jury member).
• In 2010, he was a featured guest on the Japanese culinary entertainment TV show SMAPxSMAP.

In works of culture

• “He came to give us freedom” - doc/f, Channel One, 2011

Parodies

• Gorbachev's recognizable voice and characteristic gestures were parodied by many pop artists, including Gennady Khazanov, Vladimir Vinokur, Mikhail Grushevsky, Mikhail Zadornov, Maxim Galkin, Igor Khristenko and others. And not only on stage. Here is what Vladimir Vinokur said.

• Gorbachev was also parodied by many KVN players - in particular, members of the KVN team of the DSU in the room "Foros" (to the tune of Vladimir Vysotsky's song "The one who used to be with her").

• The GKChP tried to remove Gorbachev "for health reasons", while he himself left the post four months later "for reasons of principle", although in his last decree he did not indicate the reason for his resignation from the post of head of the Soviet state.
• The text of the USSR constitution did not mention the resignation of the president.
• Military rank - colonel of the reserve (assigned by order of the Minister of Defense of the USSR in 1978)
• November 12, 1992 in Grozny in honor of Gorbachev was renamed Revolution Avenue, but due to the deterioration of relations between Chechnya and the central authorities, Gorbachev Avenue was renamed back. Now it bears the name of the dancer Makhmud Esambaev.
• Gorbachev is the only leader of the USSR born after the 1917 revolution.

Nicknames

• "Bear"
• Gorby (English) Gorby) - familiar and friendly naming of Gorbachev in the West.
• "Tagged" - for a birthmark on the head (retouched in early photographs). It got into one of Nikita Dzhigurda’s songs (“We read books//Tagged Bear//And delve into important matters”), currently this nickname is occasionally used as an allusion to the nickname of the protagonist of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
• "Hunchbacked" (association with the character of the film "The meeting place cannot be changed") or abbreviated "Hunchback". During Gorbachev's rule, the proverbs "The humpbacked grave will correct" and "God marks the rogue" among the broad masses of the people were often pronounced with a double malevolent meaning.
• "Mineral Secretary", "Sokin's son", "Lemonade Joe" - for the anti-alcohol campaign (at the same time, Gorbachev himself claimed: "They tried to make me an inveterate teetotaler during the period of the anti-alcohol campaign").
• G.O.R.B.A.CH.E.V - abbreviation: citizens - wait - rejoice - Brezhnev - Andropov - Chernenko - more - remember (Option: “Citizens - Rejoiced - Early - Brezhnev - Andropov - Chernenko - More - Remember). Another option - “Ready to Cancel the Decisions of Brezhnev, Andropov, Chernenko, If I Survive” - appeared after he came to power, it was immediately noticed that his name contains a chronologically correct listing of the names of the leaders of the USSR, and doubt about the duration of his reign, then people were under impression of a series of funerals of predecessors.
• The first president of the USSR himself deciphered the CIS as "We managed to harm Gorbachev."

How Mikhail Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR. June 4th, 2016

The story of Alexander Borisovich Borin:

About the author: Born in Leningrad in 1930. In 1951 he graduated from the Moscow Law Institute, worked as a legal adviser in industry, in 1961 he graduated from the Gorky Literary Institute. The books were published by the publishing houses Soviet Writer, Young Guard, Politizdat, Agraf. Feature films were staged according to his scripts. Published in the magazines Znamya and Novy Mir. For more than thirty years he worked as a columnist for the Literaturnaya Gazeta. Twice winner of the Golden Pen of Russia award.

In February 1990, at a session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, a heated discussion began on the introduction of the post of president. Speaking at the session, Gorbachev said: “At this meeting of the Supreme Council, I had to face the thoughtful, coordinated point of view of a number of deputies belonging to the interregional group. They also spoke in favor of the presidency, but conditioned it with such reservations and such approaches that it was possible to slow down for a long time, if not to bury this process... Serious decisions cannot be postponed in the current situation. This is not about Gorbachev, but about constitutional changes, and the president will be elected at the congress on an alternative basis. The introduction of the Institute of Presidency today is necessary for the country.”
But in fact, it was just about Gorbachev, it could not have been otherwise. And although I had great sympathy for the interregional deputy group, it included people close to me, I sincerely believed that now, in an atmosphere of complete discord and uncertainty, it was impossible to drag out all this bodya. I wasn't even sure it was time for alternative choices. Later, someday, at the best of times.
The Third Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR opened on March 12, 1990. He was supposed to establish a new post of president in the country.
Among several journalists of Literaturnaya Gazeta who received accreditation, I watched what was happening from the balcony of the Grand Kremlin Palace.
By 1,817 votes against 133 votes, with 61 abstentions, the post of President of the USSR was established.
The controversy that took place a month ago at the session of the Supreme Council flared up here with even greater force.
Deputy Yuri Afanasiev said that an attempt to hastily, here, at the congress, introduce the post of president is "a gross, grave political mistake" that "will exacerbate our difficulties, anxieties and fears many times over." The deputy, academician Vitaly Goldansky objected to him: but we can’t wait, “we need resuscitation, not sanatorium treatment.”
Usually I willingly agreed with Yuri Afanasiev, I generally liked him: a bright, brave, handsome person. When he came to the editorial office of Moscow News, I saw him surrounded by enthusiastic admirers and admirers, and Afanasiev fully deserved this. But now, at the congress, I thought that Vitaly Gol'danskii was entirely right: we really cannot wait, we really need resuscitation, not sanatorium treatment. It seemed to me that Afanasiev was making the same mistake that ten authors recently made in their letter published in the Le Figaro newspaper: we want everything at once. But this does not happen, at least in the current circumstances it cannot be so. Much closer to me was Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev, who said at the congress that the idea of ​​a popular vote sounds very attractive, and it is true. But we are politicians, and therefore we are obliged to give preference to a concrete state, rather than abstract reflections, delay can set us back ...
In those days, I read in the newspaper: a resident of Zelenograd, V.A. Shuvalov, went on a hunger strike on Moscow's Sverdlov Square ... "in protest against the election of the president only by deputies." I would appreciate such an act from Zelenograd V.A. these lines, when the country was seized by complete public apathy, one can only belatedly bow to this man, take off his hat to him. But then, I will not dissemble, his hunger strike seemed ridiculous to me, even ridiculous: what kind of circus?
The editor-in-chief of the journal Voprosy ekonomiki, Gavriil Popov, suggested that it be prohibited orally or in writing in any state institutions to demand from a citizen of the USSR an answer about his belonging to any political party. And soon a completely revolutionary proposal was made: should the president be banned from heading any political party? In other words, shouldn't Mikhail Gorbachev, if he is elected president, leave the post of general secretary? By a narrow margin (1,497 votes to 1,303 with 64 abstentions), this bold proposal was rejected.
The nomination of candidates for the presidency has begun.
M. Gorbachev, V. Bakatin and N. Ryzhkov were nominated. However, there was also a self-nominated deputy from Murmansk, engineer Alexander Obolensky. He was unexpectedly supported by Anatoly Sobchak. He said that the election of the head of state should be alternative, stop playing with one goal, and, moreover, Obolensky is not a member of the party, and this is very good. And here I would have to pay tribute to Anatoly Alexandrovich: he certainly understood that the unknown Obolensky had no chance of being elected, however, principle is principle, elections are elections, they cannot be uncontested, no elections without rivalry does not exist. But then Sobchak only annoyed me: the most serious, fateful issue is being resolved, the country is falling deeper and deeper into the abyss, and Anatoly Alexandrovich - out of coquetry, or what? - is playing with toys. Drawn? What matters most to him is a beautiful democratic phrase?
But Obolensky was not even included on the ballot. Bakatin and Ryzhkov recused themselves. Only Gorbachev remained. The elections became, as could be expected in advance, uncontested.
However, the passions did not subside. I sat and listened. Deputy A. Shchelkanov doubted very much that Gorbachev should be elected. And if his candidacy can be considered, then only at a nationwide discussion, “only the people can make an appropriate decision,” he said.
Deputy A. Avaliani directly addressed Mikhail Sergeevich: “You will rush back and forth, and at that time what we have today will happen.”
And the debate continued.
The well-known writer O. Suleimenov also spoke out categorically against Gorbachev. He said: “Now, as I observe, Gorbachev presses the gas of this machine, perestroika, and at the same time presses the brake. The engine roars to the whole world - this is our publicity. The car is in place."
Can not argue. But I again wanted to agree with Alexander Nikolayevich Yakovlev, who said: let's not play hide-and-seek, today we are talking about the election of a specific leader as president of the country - Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev. Almost everyone seems to agree with this...
Almost all? What about performances like this?
The longer I listened, the more doubts crept in that Gorbachev, despite the absence of rivals, would win the necessary votes. If openly, without hiding, people are so ardently opposed to him, then where is the guarantee that those who are now silent will not throw black balls at him during a secret ballot? But he still won the majority, not the overwhelming majority, but the majority. 1,329 deputies voted for him, 59.2 percent, against 495.
I felt somewhat calmer...

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I invite everyone to the group "Perestroika - an era of change"

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Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev He was elected President of the USSR on March 15, 1990 at the Third Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR.
On December 25, 1991, in connection with the termination of the existence of the USSR as a state entity, M.S. Gorbachev announced his resignation from the post of President and signed a Decree on the transfer of control of strategic nuclear weapons to Russian President Yeltsin.

On December 25, after Gorbachev's resignation, the red state flag of the USSR was lowered in the Kremlin and the flag of the RSFSR was raised. The first and last President of the USSR left the Kremlin forever.

The first president of Russia, then still the RSFSR, Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin was elected on June 12, 1991 by popular vote. B.N. Yeltsin won in the first round (57.3% of the vote).

In connection with the expiration of the term of office of the President of Russia, Boris N. Yeltsin, and in accordance with the transitional provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the election of the President of Russia was scheduled for June 16, 1996. It was the only presidential election in Russia where it took two rounds to determine the winner. The elections were held on June 16 - July 3 and were distinguished by the sharpness of the competitive struggle between the candidates. The main competitors were the current President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin and the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation G. A. Zyuganov. According to the election results, B.N. Yeltsin received 40.2 million votes (53.82 percent), well ahead of G. A. Zyuganov, who received 30.1 million votes (40.31 percent). 3.6 million Russians (4.82%) voted against both candidates .

December 31, 1999 at 12:00 Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin voluntarily ceased to exercise the powers of the President of the Russian Federation and transferred the powers of the President to Prime Minister Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. On April 5, 2000, the first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, was presented with certificates of a pensioner and labor veteran.

December 31, 1999 Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin became acting president.

In accordance with the Constitution, the Federation Council of the Russian Federation has set March 26, 2000 as the date for the early presidential elections.

On March 26, 2000, 68.74 percent of the voters included in the voting lists, or 75,181,071 people, took part in the elections. Vladimir Putin received 39,740,434 votes, which amounted to 52.94 percent, that is, more than half of the votes. On April 5, 2000, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation decided to recognize the elections of the President of the Russian Federation as valid and valid, to consider Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin elected to the post of President of Russia.

politics perestroika parliamentary crisis

In the spring of 1990, elections were held for delegates to the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR. At the same time, the political crisis was growing in the country, the economic situation was deteriorating at the same time, and the controllability in the country was weakening. A decrease in production volumes began, inflationary trends were growing, the state budget deficit was growing, and the country's gold and foreign exchange resources were rapidly declining. The old methods of government - through the nomenklatura, through the use of terror - have already become impossible. The position of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU has lost a significant part of its managerial potential.

After the 1990 elections, "it becomes obvious that the union center is deprived of the opportunity to decide the fate of the country without resorting to negotiations with new political and state entities that enjoy the support of the people and demand power that would correspond to this support."

This meant the end of the communist regime. The communist regime provided for the Communist Party's monopoly on power. Now she was gone. Political pluralism reigned in the country. Although Article 6 was formally abolished in March at the III Congress, this no longer meant anything. As a result of the elections, as a result of the rise of the civil movement, the communist monopoly on power ceased to exist. The USSR turned into a country of Soviets, not party committees.

Under these conditions, M.S. Gorbachev initiated the introduction of a new post in the country - the post of President of the USSR. In order to pass the Law on the President through the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, where M.S. Gorbachev had many opponents, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU attracted some of them to his side, proposing to cancel the article of the Constitution, which proclaimed the CPSU as the "core" of the political system.

On March 14, 1990, the Law "On the establishment of the post of President of the USSR and the introduction of amendments and additions to the Constitution of the USSR" was adopted. Under this law, the President becomes the head of state. A citizen of the USSR no younger than 35 and no older than 65 could be elected to this post. The President of the USSR was not elected by direct vote, but at a meeting of the Congress of People's Deputies. At the suggestion of the candidate for the Presidency of the USSR and together with him, the Vice-President of the USSR was elected, who performed certain functions of the President on behalf of the President, and replaced the President in case of his absence and the impossibility of fulfilling his duties.

The President was supposed to ensure the interaction of authorities and administration, annually report to the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR on the state of the country, submit to the Supreme Council of the highest officials - the Chairman of the Government of the USSR, the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General and the Chairman of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the USSR, the personal composition of the Committee for Constitutional Supervision of the USSR . The President was simultaneously the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the USSR.

In March 1990, Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR at the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR. Union power was transferred from the Central Committee and the Politburo to presidential structures. G.I. became Vice President. Yanaev. The system of government in the country has changed. First of all, meetings of the Politburo of the Central Committee have practically ceased to meet. Instead, a presidential council was formed (it lasted until November 1990), and later - the Security Council of the USSR. B.N. became the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. Yeltsin. At the First Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR, on June 12, 1990, a huge majority adopted the Declaration on the Sovereignty of the RSFSR. A month after the adoption of this Declaration, at the XXVIII Congress of the CPSU, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR B.N. Yeltsin from the rostrum of the congress announced his withdrawal from the CPSU. Yeltsin declared that, as the head of the highest legislative power, he must obey the will of the people who elected him, and therefore leaves the party. And so that no one had any doubts, he confirmed this clearly - he stepped down from the podium and, to the roar of the shocked delegates, calmly, without looking back, walked along the long passage to the doors.