On March 15, 1990, the Third Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR elected Mikhail Gorbachev as President of the country. He happened to work out only a third of the established five-year term.
The congress opened on March 12. In addition to establishing the post of president, he made another historic change to the constitution: he abolished Article 6 on the leading and guiding role of the CPSU.
17 deputies took part in the debate. Opinions ranged from "We see in the presidential power an important guarantee of the unity of our federation" (Nursultan Nazarbayev) and "Our country has raised a world-class leader, the author of new political thinking, a leader advocating disarmament, for peace" (Fyodor Grigoriev) to "Perestroika will bog down presidency" (Nikolai Dzhiba).
Let's not play hide and seek, today we are talking about the election of a specific leader as the president of the country - Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev Alexander Yakovlev
"An attempt to hastily, here, at the congress, introduce the post of president is the grossest, gravest political mistake, which will greatly aggravate our difficulties, anxieties and fears," said Yuri Afanasiev, co-chairman of the Interregional Deputy Group. Academician Vitaly Gol'danskii objected: "We cannot wait, we need resuscitation, not sanatorium treatment."
The proposal to ban the combination of the post of president and leader of a political party, supported by both radical democrats and orthodox communists, who dreamed of seeing Alexander Yakovlev and Yegor Ligachev or Ivan Polozkov in the role of general secretary, respectively, received 1303 votes and would have passed if it had not been for a constitutional amendment which required a two-thirds majority.
On March 14, a plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU was held, which nominated Gorbachev as a presidential candidate. A number of congress deputies nominated Prime Minister Nikolai Ryzhkov and Interior Minister Vadim Bakatin, but they refused, and the elections turned out to be uncontested.
We were in a hurry to elect the President. But, perhaps, having elected, it was not worth immediately here, on the stage of the Kremlin Palace, to raise him to this post. It was necessary to postpone it for one day, announcing that the solemn action would take place, for example, in the Georgievsky Hall of the Kremlin. In the presence of deputies, the government, representatives of the working people of the capital, soldiers, diplomatic corps, and the press, the Pravda newspaper
Of the 2,245 deputies (five seats were vacant at that time), exactly two thousand participated in the congress. 1329 votes were cast for Gorbachev (59.2% of the total number of deputies). 495 voted against, 54 ballots were spoiled. 122 people did not vote.
At the suggestion of Anatoly Lukyanov, who replaced Gorbachev as chairman of the Supreme Council, the elected president immediately took the oath - going to the podium and putting his hand on the text of the constitution, he uttered a single phrase: "I solemnly swear to faithfully serve the peoples of our country, strictly follow the Constitution of the USSR, guarantee the rights and freedoms citizens, conscientiously fulfill the high duties of the President of the USSR entrusted to me.
Foreign reaction was purely optimistic.
"The Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union made the greatest revolutionary transformations in the life of Soviet society, which have not been equaled in Russia since the 1917 revolution," Japanese television pointed out. "The decisions of the Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR consolidated perhaps the most important changes in the political and economic system of the USSR since the Bolshevik revolution in 1917," echoed the Washington Post.
At the pace of the military operation
Who owned the idea of introducing the post of president is unknown.
The topic has been discussed in the media since December 1989, but in the order of hypotheses and discussions.
Gorbachev's assistant Anatoly Chernyaev wrote in his memoirs that in January 1990, the "architect of perestroika" and secretary of the Central Committee, Alexander Yakovlev, told him in a terrible secret: once Gorbachev came into his office, upset, preoccupied, lonely. Like, what to do? Azerbaijan, Lithuania, economy, orthodoxies, radicals, people on the edge. Yakovlev said: "We must act. The most important obstacle to perestroika and your entire policy is the Politburo. It is necessary to convene a congress of people's deputies in the near future, let the congress elect you president." And Gorbachev agreed.
The decision on the presidency matured so urgently that they decided to go to the convocation of an extraordinary congress. I did not understand such urgency, since after the Second Congress of People's Deputies, where this issue was not even discussed, only two and a half months had passed Nikolai Ryzhkov
Be that as it may, on February 14, unexpectedly for everyone, Gorbachev voiced the idea at a session of the Supreme Council, and on February 27, the parliament decided to convene an extraordinary congress. There was not enough time for preparation and public discussion, to be honest.
The haste caused criticism from both the left and the right, who suspected some kind of trick and persistently, but unsuccessfully, tried to get a clear explanation from Gorbachev why he needed it.
The official version set out in the draft law on the establishment of the post of president and the introduction of appropriate additions to the constitution: "In order to ensure the further development of the deep political and economic transformations being carried out in the country, strengthen the constitutional order, the rights, freedoms and security of citizens, improve interaction between the highest bodies of state power and management of the USSR" did not satisfy anyone. One might think that Gorbachev had not had enough power before!
According to historians, the leading reason lay on the surface: the leader wanted, while remaining the General Secretary of the CPSU, to weaken his dependence on the Central Committee, which could at any moment convene a non-plenum and deal with him, as he once did with Khrushchev.
After Gorbachev was elected president and Article 6 was abolished, he no longer needed the party for his own legitimacy, but the party in him.
Using the powers of the General Secretary, Gorbachev just strengthens the power of the Communist Party. Including her power over the general secretary himself. The two ideas - the abolition of Article 6 and the introduction of the presidency - are closely related. Only having received the fullness of state, and not party power, Gorbachev can carry out the abolition of the party monopoly. Otherwise, he will simply lose power Anatoly Sobchak
Since the CPSU had lost official authority, the vacuum needed to be filled.
After the events in Tbilisi and Baku, it turned out to be difficult to find out who made the decisions to use the army, and talks about the need for "a person who is responsible for everything" intensified. However, the presidency did not prevent Gorbachev from avoiding responsibility for the Vilnius drama.
There were other practical considerations.
According to the tradition laid down by Leonid Brezhnev, the Secretary General simultaneously headed the highest representative body. But, starting from the spring of 1989, the Supreme Council switched to work in a permanent mode. Gorbachev, who presided over it, had to spend a lot of time at meetings. Other members of the leadership did the same, always copying the behavior of the first person.
I call for voting for the presidency and I believe that under this condition there will be social justice, national security, including the Russian people Deputy Ivan Polozkov, an orthodox communist
Naturally, this made it difficult to govern the country. And in society, the question arose: who is doing business while the debate is going on?
Meanwhile, the opinion was expressed that Gorbachev, by his nature, was more suitable for the role of the speaker than the head of state. He knew how to manipulate a large heterogeneous audience and achieve the voting results he needed.
Anatoly Sobchak in his book "Journey to Power" noted that in personal communication, the magic of Gorbachev's influence was irresistible. "Succumb to this charm, and you will begin to act as if under hypnosis," he wrote.
Main riddle
The main question that researchers still puzzle over is why Gorbachev did not go to the national elections? Moreover, this was provided for by the law on the introduction of the post of president, and only for the first case did they make a special reservation.
Many consider this a fatal mistake. As Boris Yeltsin later proved, it is very difficult to legally remove a popularly elected president from power.
According to a number of historians, Gorbachev did not want to directly measure his popularity with Yeltsin.
Election not by citizens, but by deputies made Gorbachev's status insufficiently convincing, since the legitimacy of the congress itself was tarnished. He was elected under the 6th article, in the absence of an organized opposition everywhere, except for Moscow, Leningrad, Sverdlovsk and the Baltic states, a third of the deputies were representatives of public organizations.
Some historians suggest that Gorbachev, even with an objective advantage, experienced a mystical fear of Yeltsin, who somehow succeeded. Others say that he followed the lead of the nomenclature environment, which in principle did not like direct democracy and was afraid that the election campaign would give the reformers an additional opportunity to propagate their views.
In conditions of political and economic instability, once again tempting fate and going to popular elections is a risk, and Anatoly Sobchak
In public speeches, Mikhail Sergeevich mainly stressed that the situation was complicated, and the country would not get along without a president for an extra day.
"They [the inter-regional deputies] also spoke in favor of the presidency, but they conditioned it with such reservations and such approaches that it is possible to slow down for a long time, if not to bury this process. Serious decisions cannot be postponed in the current situation. The introduction of the institution of the presidency is necessary for the country today," he declared at the session of the Supreme Council on February 27.
Position of the Democrats
Supporters of perestroika and renewal split on the issue of Gorbachev's presidency.
Considering in principle the institution of the presidency to be progressive in comparison with the current form of government, the question of the President of the USSR and the procedure for his election cannot be resolved hastily, without the participation of the new Supreme Soviets of the republics, without a developed multi-party system in the country, without a free press, without strengthening the current Supreme Soviet . This question must be linked with the constitutions of the republics, with the new Union Treaty. Without these indispensable conditions, the adoption of a decision on the presidency will undoubtedly lead to a new aggravation of relations between the Center and the republics, to limiting the independence of local Soviets and self-government, to the threat of restoring a dictatorial regime in the country From a statement by the Interregional Deputy Group
Some continued to see him as the only chance and believed that Gorbachev should be supported in everything, because he knows what he is doing, and because otherwise it will be even worse. The point of view of these people was expressed in a remark from a place at the congress by a deputy who did not introduce himself: “Is it really that we have no food?
Some were simply impressed by the word "president": here, we will have it, as in civilized countries!
Others pointed out that this term is associated not only with America and France, but also with Latin American and Asian dictators, and most importantly, they demanded popular alternative elections.
"I believe that only the people can make an appropriate decision," Alexander Shchelkanov, a member of the Interregional Group, said in a debate at the congress.
On the opening day of the congress, Shuvalov, a resident of Zelenograd, went on a hunger strike on Theater Square "in protest against the election of the president only by deputies."
Anatoly Sobchak was a supporter of Gorbachev's presidency on the terms put forward by him, and Yuri Afanasiev and Yuri Chernichenko were opponents. The latter, in particular, was afraid that "we will again let ourselves be fooled; if the deputies cannot really control the actions of the chairman of the Supreme Council, then it will be even more impossible to keep track of the president."
One of the main opponents of Gorbachev at the congress was deputy Yuri Afanasiev
Boris Yeltsin, as far as is known, did not speak publicly on this issue.
Sobchak wrote in his memoirs that shortly before the death of Andrei Sakharov, he tried to discuss with him the prospects for Gorbachev's presidency, but the academician showed no interest in the topic, considering the issue insignificant compared to the development of a new constitution.
Not a new idea
We need to cast aside fears and despondency, gain faith in our strengths and capabilities. And they are huge. The Russian people and all the peoples who have united with them in a great multinational state will be able to revive their common homeland. And they will certainly achieve this on the paths of perestroika and socialist renewal From Mikhail Gorbachev's speech at the congress after his election
The idea of establishing the post of a popularly elected president in the USSR was seriously discussed in the past: during the preparation of the "Stalinist" constitution of 1936, in the last years of Nikita Khrushchev's rule, and at the dawn of perestroika.
Why Stalin rejected it is not entirely clear. Already, 99.99% of the votes were guaranteed to him, and the nationwide expression of support for the "beloved leader" could be turned into a powerful educational and propaganda event.
Khrushchev, according to researchers, simply did not have enough time, and his successors were guided by their deep conservatism and dislike for innovation.
According to the testimonies of people who knew him, Leonid Brezhnev liked the address "Mr. President" during his foreign visits, but he did not legitimize the title.
Third try
In 1985, the "architect of perestroika" Alexander Yakovlev suggested that Gorbachev begin political reform with the party and put forward a detailed plan: to arrange an all-party discussion, following its results, divide the CPSU into two parties - the reformist people's democratic and conservative socialist - to hold elections to the Supreme Soviet and instruct the winners government formation.
Now, as I observe, Gorbachev presses on the gas and at the same time presses on the brake. The motor roars to the whole world - this is our publicity. And the car stands still Olzhas Suleimenov, deputy, Kazakh poet
According to Yakovlev's plan, both parties were to declare their commitment to the basic values of socialism, join an alliance called the Union of Communists, delegate an equal number of members to its Central Council, and nominate the chairman of the council as a joint candidate for the presidency of the USSR.
A political construction in which two parties competing with each other in the elections simultaneously enter into a certain coalition with a single leader would show the world another "Russian miracle." At the same time, some researchers believe that the implementation of the "Yakovlev plan" would allow a smooth transition to multi-party democracy and avoid the collapse of the USSR.
Then Gorbachev did not support the idea. Five years later, it was too late.
Pyrrhic victory
Gorbachev rushed about in search of alternatives, compromises, the optimal combination of old and new methods of leadership. There were mistakes, miscalculations, delays, simply absurdities. But they are not the reason for the beginning of the disintegration of society and the state. It was inevitable by the very nature of the transition of a society, unique in world history, notorious and corrupted by a long dictatorship, to freedom Anatoly Chernyaev, Gorbachev's assistant
Historians consider the First Congress of People's Deputies in May 1989 to be the peak of Gorbachev's political career, and his election as president was the beginning of its end. Soon, the leader's rating rapidly and irreversibly went down.
That was the last credit of trust issued by society.
The conservatives hoped that Gorbachev needed presidential powers to "restore order", the democrats - for bold reformist steps. When neither one nor the other happened, although he got everything he wanted, the disappointment turned out to be universal and deadly.
The prediction made at the congress by deputy Teimuraz Avaliani came true: "You will rush back and forth, and at that time what we have now will happen."
After 660 days, Gorbachev resigned (more precisely, was forced to resign).
Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich 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, he lost his father, who died at the front. From the age of thirteen, he combined schooling with collective farm work.
When the young man was 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 without exams he entered the Lomonosov Moscow State University. He was admitted to the CPSU in 1952.
Political activity
After graduating from university, he began his journey 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 post of first secretary of the party city committee.
In 1978, he took the post of Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. In 1980 he became a member of the Politburo. In 1985, he accepted the post of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU.
In 1990, Gorbachev, without leaving the post of General Secretary, was elected President of the Soviet Union.
Domestic politics
On May 17, 1985, on the initiative of Gorbachev, an anti-alcohol campaign was launched. The price of alcoholic beverages increased by 45%. The production of alcohol and the cutting down of vineyards were reduced. Against the backdrop of moonshine that gained popularity, sugar disappeared from the sale.
In December 1985, on the advice of E. Ligachev, he appointed B. Yeltsin as the first secretary of the Moscow City Committee.
On May 1, 1986, after the Chernobyl tragedy, at the direction of Gorbachev, May Day demonstrations were held in Minsk and Kyiv.
November 19, 1986 became the initiator of the law "On individual labor activity." In the same year, cooperatives were gradually planted - the forerunner of modern emergency situations. Restrictions were removed from foreign exchange transactions.
In 1987 Perestroika was proclaimed.
In an effort to localize national conflicts, he took tough measures. In 1988, unprecedented measures were taken to disperse a Georgian demonstration and a rally of Alma-Ata 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 rule of the first Soviet president were overshadowed by resounding failures. Products began to rapidly disappear from the shelves, a rationing system was introduced for many types of food. The result of the washing out 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 a brief biography of Gorbachev, you should know that he always sought 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 the NATO countries.
During the reign of Gorbachev, the collapse of the Warsaw Pact was carried out, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. The fall of the Berlin Wall also happened. All this, according to historians, led to the loss of the USSR in the Cold War and contributed to its imminent collapse.
Other biography options
- The president's “gray eminence” was his wife, R. M. Gorbacheva. She was also the editor of his books.
- Together with
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 an ambiguous attitude 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, on March 2. It was then that Mikhail Sergeevich was born. He was born in Stavropol, in the village of Privolnoye. He was born and raised in a peasant family. In 1948, he worked with his father on a combine and received the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for success in harvesting. Gorbachev graduated from school with a silver medal in 1950. After that, he entered the law faculty of Moscow University. Gorbachev later admitted that at that time he had a rather vague idea of what law and jurisprudence were. However, he liked the position of a prosecutor or a judge.
In his student years, Gorbachev lived in a hostel, at one time received an increased scholarship for Komsomol work and excellent studies, but nevertheless he could barely make ends meet. He became a party member in 1952.
Once in a club Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich met Raisa Titarenko, a student of 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 for distribution. However, it was then that the government adopted a decree according to which it was forbidden to employ graduates of law schools in the central prosecutor's offices and courts. Khrushchev, as well as his associates, considered that one of the reasons for the repression carried out in the 1930s was the dominance of inexperienced young judges and prosecutors in the bodies, ready to obey any instructions from the leadership. So Mikhail Sergeevich, whose two grandfathers suffered from repression, became a victim of the struggle against the cult of personality and its consequences.
At administrative work
Gorbachev returned to Stavropol and decided not to contact the prosecutor's office anymore. He got a job in the department of agitation and propaganda in the regional committee of the Komsomol - he became the deputy head of this department. Komsomol, and then the party career of Mikhail Sergeevich developed very successfully. Gorbachev's political activity bore fruit. He was appointed in 1961 the first secretary of the local regional committee of the Komsomol. 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 shortcoming of this future reformer appeared: Mikhail Sergeevich, accustomed to selflessly working, could not ensure that his orders were conscientiously carried out by his subordinates. This characterization of Gorbachev, according to some, led to the collapse of the USSR.
Moscow
Gorbachev in November 1978 becomes the secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. An important role in this appointment was played by the recommendations of L. I. Brezhnev's closest associates - Andropov, Suslov and Chernenko. Mikhail Sergeevich after 2 years 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. Even the fact that Gorbachev, in essence, occupied a "penal post" - the secretary responsible for agriculture could not prevent this. 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 already 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 time, Mikhail Sergeevich became the second person in the party, as well as the most likely "heir" of this general secretary.
In the political circles of the West, Gorbachev was first known for his visit to Canada in 1983, in May. He went there for a week with the personal permission of Andropov, who was General Secretary at that time. Pierre Trudeau, the prime minister of this country, became the first major leader of the West to receive Gorbachev personally and treat him with sympathy. Meeting with other Canadian politicians, Gorbachev gained a reputation in that country as an energetic and ambitious politician who contrasted sharply with his elderly Politburo colleagues. He showed considerable interest in the methods of economic management and the moral values of the West, including democracy.
Gorbachev's perestroika
Chernenko's death opened the way to power for Gorbachev. On March 11, 1985, the Plenum of the Central Committee elected Gorbachev as General Secretary. Mikhail Sergeevich in the same year at the April plenum proclaimed a course towards accelerating the development of the country and perestroika. These terms, which appeared under Andropov, did not immediately become widespread. This happened only after the XXVII Congress of the CPSU, which was held in February 1986. Gorbachev called glasnost one of the main conditions for the success of the upcoming reforms. Gorbachev's time could not yet be called full-fledged freedom of speech. But it was possible, at least, to speak in the press about the shortcomings of society, without touching, however, the foundations of the Soviet system and the members of the Politburo. However, already in 1987, in January, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev declared that there should be no zones closed to criticism in society.
Principles of foreign and domestic policy
The new general secretary 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 performers 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 for all 6 years he spoke about the need for united and energetic actions, about the need for everyone to act constructively.
He hoped that, being the leader of a socialist state, he could win world prestige, based not on fear, but, above all, on a reasonable policy, unwillingness to justify the country's totalitarian past. Gorbachev, whose years of rule are often referred to as "perestroika", believed that new political thinking should prevail. 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 the reign of Gorbachev, general democratization began in our country. Political persecution has ceased. The oppression of censorship has weakened. Many prominent people returned from exile and prisons: Marchenko, Sakharov, and others. The policy of glasnost, which was launched by the Soviet leadership, changed the spiritual life of the country's population. Increased interest in television, radio, print media. In 1986 alone, magazines and newspapers acquired more than 14 million new readers. All these, of course, are essential advantages of Gorbachev and his policy.
Mikhail Sergeevich's slogan, under which he carried out all the transformations, 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, this only brought great damage to the country. Glasnost soon led to an even greater wave of anti-Stalinist criticism, which during the years of the "thaw" never dreamed of.
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 too 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 the income in this area went to the shadow sector. A lot of start-up capital in the 90s was knocked together on "drunk" money by private traders. The treasury quickly emptied. As a result of this reform, many valuable vineyards were cut down, which led to the disappearance of entire sectors of industry in some republics (in particular, in Georgia). The anti-alcohol reform also contributed to the growth of moonshine, substance abuse and drug addiction, and multibillion-dollar losses formed in the budget.
Gorbachev's reforms in foreign policy
In November 1985, Gorbachev met with Ronald Reagan, President of the United States. Both sides recognized the need to improve bilateral relations, as well as to improve the entire international situation. Gorbachev's foreign policy led to the conclusion of the START treaties. Mikhail Sergeevich, with a statement dated 01/15/1986, put forward a number of major initiatives devoted to foreign policy issues. Chemical and nuclear weapons were to be completely eliminated by the year 2000, and strict control was to be exercised during their destruction and storage. All these are the most important reforms of Gorbachev.
Reasons for failure
In contrast to the course aimed at openness, when it was enough just to order the weakening and then actually abolish censorship, his other undertakings (for example, the sensational anti-alcohol campaign) were a combination with propaganda of administrative coercion. Gorbachev, whose years of rule were marked by an increase in freedom in all areas, at the end of his reign, becoming 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 general secretary into a convinced Menshevik. But Mikhail Sergeevich abandoned the dogmas of communism too slowly, only under the influence of the growth of anti-communist sentiments in society. Gorbachev, even during the events of 1991 (the August coup), 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, heading the reformed Communist Party. It is obvious that he was never able to rebuild himself. Mikhail Sergeevich in many respects 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 president of the country, took credit for the fact that the population of the state received freedom, spiritually and politically liberated. Freedom of the press, free elections, a multi-party system, representative bodies of power, and religious freedoms have become real. Human rights were recognized as the highest principle. A movement towards a new multi-structural economy began, the 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 disfigured the economy, morality and public consciousness, were stopped.
The foreign policy of Gorbachev, who finally liquidated the "Iron Curtain", ensured respect for Mikhail Sergeyevich all over the world. In 1990, the President of the USSR was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for activities aimed at developing cooperation between countries.
At the same time, some indecision of Mikhail Sergeyevich, his desire to find a compromise that would suit both radicals and conservatives, led to the fact that transformations in the state economy never began. The political settlement of contradictions, interethnic enmity, which eventually ruined the country, was never achieved. History is hardly capable of answering the question of whether, in Gorbachev's place, anyone else could have saved the USSR and the socialist system.
Conclusion
The subject of supreme power, as the ruler of the state, must have full rights. MS Gorbachev, the leader of the party, who concentrated state and party power in his person, without being popularly elected to this post, in this respect was significantly inferior in the eyes of the public to B. Yeltsin. The latter became, in the end, the president of Russia (1991). Gorbachev, as if compensating for this shortcoming during his reign, increased his power, tried to achieve various powers. However, he did not comply with the laws and did not force others to do so. Therefore, the characterization of Gorbachev is so ambiguous. Politics is, first of all, the art of acting wisely.
Among the many accusations leveled against Gorbachev, perhaps the most significant was that he was indecisive. However, if we compare the significant scale of the breakthrough made by him, and the short period of being in power, this can be argued. 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 the history of Russia, 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. One can relate to Gorbachev in different ways, but, of course, this is one of the largest figures in modern history.
Image copyright AP
On March 15, 1990, the Third Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR elected Mikhail Gorbachev as President of the country. He happened to work out only a third of the established five-year term.
The congress opened on March 12. In addition to establishing the post of president, he made another historic change to the constitution: he abolished Article 6 on the leading and guiding role of the CPSU.
17 deputies took part in the debate. Opinions ranged from "We see in the presidential power an important guarantee of the unity of our federation" (Nursultan Nazarbayev) and "Our country has raised a world-class leader, the author of new political thinking, a leader advocating disarmament, for peace" (Fyodor Grigoriev) to "Perestroika will bog down presidency" (Nikolai Dzhiba).
Let's not play hide and seek, today we are talking about the election of a specific leader as the president of the country - Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev Alexander Yakovlev
"An attempt to hastily, here, at the congress, introduce the post of president is the grossest, gravest political mistake, which will greatly aggravate our difficulties, anxieties and fears," said Yuri Afanasiev, co-chairman of the Interregional Deputy Group. Academician Vitaly Gol'danskii objected: "We cannot wait, we need resuscitation, not sanatorium treatment."
The proposal to ban the combination of the post of president and leader of a political party, supported by both radical democrats and orthodox communists, who dreamed of seeing Alexander Yakovlev and Yegor Ligachev or Ivan Polozkov in the role of general secretary, respectively, received 1303 votes and would have passed if it had not been for a constitutional amendment which required a two-thirds majority.
On March 14, a plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU was held, which nominated Gorbachev as a presidential candidate. A number of congress deputies nominated Prime Minister Nikolai Ryzhkov and Interior Minister Vadim Bakatin, but they refused, and the elections turned out to be uncontested.
We were in a hurry to elect the President. But, perhaps, having elected, it was not worth immediately here, on the stage of the Kremlin Palace, to raise him to this post. It was necessary to postpone it for one day, announcing that the solemn action would take place, for example, in the Georgievsky Hall of the Kremlin. In the presence of deputies, the government, representatives of the working people of the capital, soldiers, diplomatic corps, and the press, the Pravda newspaper
Of the 2,245 deputies (five seats were vacant at that time), exactly two thousand participated in the congress. 1329 votes were cast for Gorbachev (59.2% of the total number of deputies). 495 voted against, 54 ballots were spoiled. 122 people did not vote.
At the suggestion of Anatoly Lukyanov, who replaced Gorbachev as chairman of the Supreme Council, the elected president immediately took the oath - going to the podium and putting his hand on the text of the constitution, he uttered a single phrase: "I solemnly swear to faithfully serve the peoples of our country, strictly follow the Constitution of the USSR, guarantee the rights and freedoms citizens, conscientiously fulfill the high duties of the President of the USSR entrusted to me.
Foreign reaction was purely optimistic.
"The Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union made the greatest revolutionary transformations in the life of Soviet society, which have not been equaled in Russia since the 1917 revolution," Japanese television pointed out. "The decisions of the Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR consolidated perhaps the most important changes in the political and economic system of the USSR since the Bolshevik revolution in 1917," echoed the Washington Post.
At the pace of the military operation
Who owned the idea of introducing the post of president is unknown.
The topic has been discussed in the media since December 1989, but in the order of hypotheses and discussions.
Gorbachev's assistant Anatoly Chernyaev wrote in his memoirs that in January 1990, the "architect of perestroika" and secretary of the Central Committee, Alexander Yakovlev, told him in a terrible secret: once Gorbachev came into his office, upset, preoccupied, lonely. Like, what to do? Azerbaijan, Lithuania, economy, orthodoxies, radicals, people on the edge. Yakovlev said: "We must act. The most important obstacle to perestroika and your entire policy is the Politburo. It is necessary to convene a congress of people's deputies in the near future, let the congress elect you president." And Gorbachev agreed.
The decision on the presidency matured so urgently that they decided to go to the convocation of an extraordinary congress. I did not understand such urgency, since after the Second Congress of People's Deputies, where this issue was not even discussed, only two and a half months had passed Nikolai Ryzhkov
Be that as it may, on February 14, unexpectedly for everyone, Gorbachev voiced the idea at a session of the Supreme Council, and on February 27, the parliament decided to convene an extraordinary congress. There was not enough time for preparation and public discussion, to be honest.
The haste caused criticism from both the left and the right, who suspected some kind of trick and persistently, but unsuccessfully, tried to get a clear explanation from Gorbachev why he needed it.
The official version set out in the draft law on the establishment of the post of president and the introduction of appropriate additions to the constitution: "In order to ensure the further development of the deep political and economic transformations being carried out in the country, strengthen the constitutional order, the rights, freedoms and security of citizens, improve interaction between the highest bodies of state power and management of the USSR" did not satisfy anyone. One might think that Gorbachev had not had enough power before!
According to historians, the leading reason lay on the surface: the leader wanted, while remaining the Secretary General of the CPSU, to weaken his dependence on the Central Committee, which could at any moment convene a non-plenum and deal with him, as he once did with Khrushchev.
After Gorbachev was elected president and Article 6 was abolished, he no longer needed the party for his own legitimacy, but the party in him.
Using the powers of the General Secretary, Gorbachev just strengthens the power of the Communist Party. Including her power over the general secretary himself. The two ideas - the abolition of Article 6 and the introduction of the presidency - are closely related. Only having received the fullness of state, and not party power, Gorbachev can carry out the abolition of the party monopoly. Otherwise, he will simply lose power Anatoly Sobchak
Since the CPSU had lost official authority, the vacuum needed to be filled.
After the events in Tbilisi and Baku, it turned out to be difficult to find out who made the decisions to use the army, and talks about the need for "a person who is responsible for everything" intensified. However, the presidency did not prevent Gorbachev from avoiding responsibility for the Vilnius drama.
There was another practical consideration.
According to the tradition laid down by Leonid Brezhnev, the Secretary General simultaneously headed the highest representative body. But, starting from the spring of 1989, the Supreme Council switched to work in a permanent mode. Gorbachev, who presided over it, had to spend a lot of time at meetings. Other members of the leadership did the same, always copying the behavior of the first person.
I call for voting for the presidency and I believe that under this condition there will be social justice, national security, including the Russian people Deputy Ivan Polozkov, an orthodox communist
Naturally, this made it difficult to govern the country. And in society, the question arose: who is doing business while the debate is going on?
Meanwhile, the opinion was expressed that Gorbachev, by his nature, was more suitable for the role of the speaker than the head of state. He knew how to manipulate a large heterogeneous audience and achieve the voting results he needed.
Anatoly Sobchak in his book "Journey to Power" noted that in personal communication, the magic of Gorbachev's influence was irresistible. "Succumb to this charm, and you will begin to act as if under hypnosis," he wrote.
Main riddle
The main question that researchers still puzzle over is why Gorbachev did not go to the national elections? Moreover, this was provided for by the law on the introduction of the post of president, and only for the first case did they make a special reservation.
Many consider this a fatal mistake. As Boris Yeltsin later proved, it is very difficult to legally remove a popularly elected president from power.
Image copyright RIA Novosti Image caption According to a number of historians, Gorbachev did not want to directly measure his popularity with Yeltsin.Election not by citizens, but by deputies made Gorbachev's status insufficiently convincing, since the legitimacy of the congress itself was tarnished. He was elected under the 6th article, in the absence of an organized opposition everywhere, except for Moscow, Leningrad, Sverdlovsk and the Baltic states, a third of the deputies were representatives of public organizations.
Some historians suggest that Gorbachev, even with an objective advantage, experienced a mystical fear of Yeltsin, who somehow succeeded. Others say that he followed the lead of the nomenclature environment, which in principle did not like direct democracy and was afraid that the election campaign would give the reformers an additional opportunity to propagate their views.
In conditions of political and economic instability, once again tempting fate and going to popular elections is a risk, and Anatoly Sobchak
In public speeches, Mikhail Sergeevich mainly stressed that the situation was complicated, and the country would not get along without a president for an extra day.
"They [the inter-regional deputies] also spoke in favor of the presidency, but they conditioned it with such reservations and such approaches that it is possible to slow down for a long time, if not to bury this process. Serious decisions cannot be postponed in the current situation. The introduction of the institution of the presidency is necessary for the country today," he declared at the session of the Supreme Council on February 27.
Position of the Democrats
Considering in principle the institution of the presidency to be progressive in comparison with the current form of government, the question of the President of the USSR and the procedure for his election cannot be resolved hastily, without the participation of the new Supreme Soviets of the republics, without a developed multi-party system in the country, without a free press, without strengthening the current Supreme Soviet . This question must be linked with the constitutions of the republics, with the new Union Treaty. Without these indispensable conditions, the adoption of a decision on the presidency will undoubtedly lead to a new aggravation of relations between the Center and the republics, to limiting the independence of local Soviets and self-government, to the threat of restoring a dictatorial regime in the country From a statement by the Interregional Deputy Group
Supporters of perestroika and renewal split on the issue of Gorbachev's presidency.
Some continued to see him as the only chance and believed that Gorbachev should be supported in everything, because he knows what he is doing, and because otherwise it will be even worse. The point of view of these people was expressed in a remark from a place at the congress by a deputy who did not introduce himself: “Is it really that we have no food?
Some were simply impressed by the word "president": here, we will have it, as in civilized countries!
Others pointed out that this term is associated not only with America and France, but also with Latin American and Asian dictators, and most importantly, they demanded popular alternative elections.
"I believe that only the people can make an appropriate decision," Alexander Shchelkanov, a member of the Interregional Group, said in a debate at the congress.
On the opening day of the congress, Shuvalov, a resident of Zelenograd, went on a hunger strike on Theater Square "in protest against the election of the president only by deputies."
Anatoly Sobchak was a supporter of Gorbachev's presidency on the terms put forward by him, and Yuri Afanasiev and Yuri Chernichenko were opponents. The latter, in particular, was afraid that "we will again let ourselves be fooled; if the deputies cannot really control the actions of the chairman of the Supreme Council, then it will be even more impossible to keep track of the president."
Image copyright RIA Novosti Image caption One of the main opponents of Gorbachev at the congress was deputy Yuri AfanasievBoris Yeltsin, as far as is known, did not speak publicly on this issue.
Sobchak wrote in his memoirs that shortly before the death of Andrei Sakharov, he tried to discuss with him the prospects for Gorbachev's presidency, but the academician showed no interest in the topic, considering the issue insignificant compared to the development of a new constitution.
Not a new idea
We need to cast aside fears and despondency, gain faith in our strengths and capabilities. And they are huge. The Russian people and all the peoples who have united with them in a great multinational state will be able to revive their common homeland. And they will certainly achieve this on the paths of perestroika and socialist renewal From Mikhail Gorbachev's speech at the congress after his election
The idea of establishing the post of a popularly elected president in the USSR was seriously discussed in the past: during the preparation of the "Stalinist" constitution of 1936, in the last years of Nikita Khrushchev's rule, and at the dawn of perestroika.
Why Stalin rejected it is not entirely clear. Already, 99.99% of the votes were guaranteed to him, and the nationwide expression of support for the "beloved leader" could be turned into a powerful educational and propaganda event.
Khrushchev, according to researchers, simply did not have enough time, and his successors were guided by their deep conservatism and dislike for innovation.
According to the testimonies of people who knew him, Leonid Brezhnev liked the address "Mr. President" during his foreign visits, but he did not legitimize the title.
Third try
In 1985, the "architect of perestroika" Alexander Yakovlev suggested that Gorbachev begin political reform with the party and put forward a detailed plan: to arrange an all-party discussion, following its results, divide the CPSU into two parties - the reformist people's democratic and conservative socialist - to hold elections to the Supreme Soviet and instruct the winners government formation.
Now, as I observe, Gorbachev presses on the gas and at the same time presses on the brake. The motor roars to the whole world - this is our publicity. And the car stands still Olzhas Suleimenov, deputy, Kazakh poet
According to Yakovlev's plan, both parties were to declare their commitment to the basic values of socialism, join an alliance called the Union of Communists, delegate an equal number of members to its Central Council, and nominate the chairman of the council as a joint candidate for the presidency of the USSR.
A political construction in which two parties competing with each other in the elections simultaneously enter into a certain coalition with a single leader would show the world another "Russian miracle." At the same time, some researchers believe that the implementation of the "Yakovlev plan" would allow a smooth transition to multi-party democracy and avoid the collapse of the USSR.
Then Gorbachev did not support the idea. Five years later, it was too late.
Pyrrhic victory
Gorbachev rushed about in search of alternatives, compromises, the optimal combination of old and new methods of leadership. There were mistakes, miscalculations, delays, simply absurdities. But they are not the reason for the beginning of the disintegration of society and the state. It was inevitable by the very nature of the transition of a society, unique in world history, notorious and corrupted by a long dictatorship, to freedom Anatoly Chernyaev, Gorbachev's assistant
Historians consider the First Congress of People's Deputies in May 1989 to be the peak of Gorbachev's political career, and his election as president was the beginning of its end. Soon, the leader's rating rapidly and irreversibly went down.
That was the last credit of trust issued by society.
The conservatives hoped that Gorbachev needed presidential powers to "restore order", the democrats - for bold reformist steps. When neither one nor the other happened, although he got everything he wanted, the disappointment turned out to be universal and deadly.
The prediction made at the congress by deputy Teimuraz Avaliani came true: "You will rush back and forth, and at that time what we have now will happen."
After 660 days, Gorbachev resigned (more precisely, was forced to resign).
Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich - politician, statesman, the first and only President of the USSR.
Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for establishing relations with foreign countries, including for ending the Cold War with the United States.
During his activity, the most significant events took place that had a great influence on the further development of the country.
Childhood and youth
On March 2, 1931, Mikhail Gorbachev was born in the Stavropol Territory, in the village of Privolnoye. His parents were ordinary peasants.
Father - Sergey Andreevich Gorbachev was a foreman, and his father was the chairman of the local collective farm. Mom Gopkalo Maria Panteleevna was Ukrainian.
The childhood of the future statesman coincided with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.
Father immediately went to the front, and Misha and his mother ended up in a village occupied by the Nazis.
Michael with his parents in childhood
Under the yoke of German soldiers, they lived for 5 months. After the release, the family received news from the front about the death of their father.
Mikhail had to combine his studies at school with work on a collective farm. At the age of 15, he already held the position of assistant combine operator.
For conscientious work and overfulfillment of 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 had rather free-thinking fellow students in his environment.
His circle of friends included Zdenek Mlynář, 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 prosecutor's office in Stavropol.
In 1967 he received a second higher education as an agronomist.
Early 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 the first secretary of the city Komsomol committee, then the post of 2nd and 1st secretary of the regional committee of the Komsomol.
After, having the support of F.D. Kulakov, Mikhail Gorbachev's career quickly began to grow upwards.
By 1970, he was the first secretary in the regional committee of the CPSU. In addition, Mikhail has gained a good reputation in the field of agriculture.
Then he was elected a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU. He served in this service for 12 years. He rose to the position of Chairman.
Presidency years and removal from office
In March 1985, a plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU was held, at which Mikhail Gorbachev officially assumed the post of general secretary of the central committee.
He became the political leader of one of the world's superpowers - the USSR. Subsequently, his career growth began to grow rapidly.
In 1989, he was a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR as its chairman.
A year later, he becomes President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
He initiated a number of major reforms, called "perestroika", which lasted 6 years in the country (1985-1991).
As head of state, he conducted an anti-alcohol campaign, which was recognized as 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 inside the country, and against its background, external achievements did not look advantageous.
On June 12, 1990, a decree was signed declaring the independence of the RSFSR. As a result, other republics began to follow this example.
In 1991, the August Putsch took place, 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.
Some time later, 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.
After he became the head of an international foundation that was engaged in socio-economic and political research.
The people called it the "Gorbachev Fund". After 2 years, he led the international environmental organization "Green Cross".
Activities after retirement
In 1996, Mikhail re-participated in the election of the President of the Russian Federation. However, his candidacy was able to gain only 0.51% of the total number of votes.
In 2000, he took over as head of the Russian Social Democratic 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 a court decision, the 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 the transfer to Vladimir Pozner. In an interview, he admitted his mistakes that led to the collapse of the USSR.
By the 80th anniversary of March 2, 2011, the current President signed a decree on awarding M. Gorbachev the Order. Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called.
In 2014, he went to Germany, where he opens an exhibition dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the fall of the barrier 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, in his fund.
In the spring of 2016, a meeting was held with future economists at the Moscow School of Moscow State University.
At it, he publicly acknowledged responsibility for his government decisions.
Personal life
Mikhail Gorbachev was married once. Titarenko Raisa Maksimovna became his first, faithful and only legitimate companion.
They met in their student years at one of the parties organized by Raisa's friend.
Raisa was an exemplary student, she spent all her time in the library. And at first she did not like Michael.
However, the case changed everything. Raisa had serious health problems, and the only person who was around all the time was Mikhail.
With wife Raisa
On September 25, 1953, the young couple registered their relationship. Parents were simply put before the fact.
Family life almost immediately began to test the feelings of a young family for strength.
In the first year, Raisa became pregnant, but the doctors forbade her to give birth because of 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 successfully gives birth to a girl, Irina.
At first, Raisa helps Mikhail in every possible way in his career. However, she also does not sit at home.
