Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev (born 1931) - Soviet and Russian state and public figure, President of the USSR. The period of his reign from 1985 to 1991 is called “perestroika.”
The future reformer was born into a peasant family. In 1950 he entered Moscow University. Since 1952 - member of the Communist Party.
After graduating from university, he returned to his homeland, where his career began, first along the Komsomol and then the party line.
Mikhail Sergeevich quickly rose through the ranks and in 1978 became Secretary of the Central Committee. Since 1985 - head of the party and state.
The main areas of Gorbachev's activities
Domestic policy:
- political reforms - the Supreme Council was transformed into parliament, the elimination of the CPSU monopoly on power, a two-tier system of supreme legislative power, the creation of the Cabinet of Ministers;
- economic restructuring - the introduction of elements of a market economy, the beginning of private entrepreneurship, openness, the abolition of party censorship.
Foreign policy:
- ending the war in Afghanistan;
- “new political thinking”: a course towards peaceful relations and cooperation between countries;
- dissolution of the Warsaw Pact Organization;
- Mikhail Sergeevich is one of the most controversial figures modern history Russia.
The course he proclaimed for acceleration, restructuring and democratization was caused by the deplorable state of the economy and the need for reforms. The result of his activities was the birth new Russia, but the price for transforming the country was the collapse of the Soviet Union, the impoverishment of the masses, and social differentiation. The “Parade of Sovereignties” ended with the Belovezhskaya Accords on the dissolution of the USSR. M.S. Gorbachev, as the president of a non-existent country, was forced to resign.
Results of Gorbachev's reign
- Democratization of the Soviet social and political system;
- freedom of speech and press;
- collapse of the socialist camp and the USSR;
- interethnic conflicts in Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Moldova;
- rapprochement with the West and the USA;
- hyperinflation and economic decline.
Secretary General Central Committee of the CPSU (1985-1991), President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (March 1990 - December 1991).
General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee (March 11, 1985 - August 23, 1991), first and last President USSR (March 15, 1990 - December 25, 1991).
Head of the Gorbachev Foundation. Since 1993, co-founder of New Daily Newspaper CJSC (from the Moscow register).
Biography of Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931 in the village. Privolnoye, Krasnogvardeisky district Stavropol Territory. Father: Sergei Andreevich Gorbachev. Mother: Maria Panteleevna Gopkalo.
In 1945, M. Gorbachev began working as an assistant combine operator together with 
by his father. In 1947, 16-year-old combine operator Mikhail Gorbachev received the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for high-threshing grain.
In 1950, M. Gorbachev graduated from school with a silver medal. I immediately went to Moscow and entered the Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov to the Faculty of Law.
In 1952, M. Gorbachev joined the CPSU.
In 1953 Gorbachev married Raisa Maksimovna Titarenko, a student at the Faculty of Philosophy at Moscow State University.
In 1955, he graduated from the university and was given a referral to the regional prosecutor's office of Stavropol.
In Stavropol, Mikhail Gorbachev first became deputy head of the agitation and propaganda department of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the Komsomol, then the 1st Secretary of the Stavropol City Komsomol Committee and finally the 2nd and 1st Secretary of the Regional Committee of the Komsomol.
Mikhail Gorbachev - party work
In 1962, Mikhail Sergeevich finally switched to party work. Received the position of party organizer of the Stavropol Territorial Production Agricultural Administration. Due to the fact that the reforms of N. Khrushchev are underway in the USSR, great attention is being given to agriculture. M. Gorbachev entered the correspondence department of the Stavropol Agricultural Institute.
In the same year, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev was approved as head of the department of organizational and party work of the Stavropol rural regional committee of the CPSU.
In 1966, he was elected 1st Secretary of the Stavropol City Party Committee.
In 1967 he received a diploma from the Stavropol Agricultural Institute.
The years 1968-1970 were marked by the consistent election of Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, first as the 2nd and then as the 1st secretary of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the CPSU.
In 1971, Gorbachev was admitted to the CPSU Central Committee.
In 1978, he received the post of Secretary of the CPSU for issues of the agro-industrial complex.
In 1980, Mikhail Sergeevich became a member of the Politburo of the CPSU.
In 1985, Gorbachev took the post of General Secretary of the CPSU, that is, he became the head of state.
In the same year, annual meetings between the leader of the USSR and the President of the United States and leaders of foreign countries resumed.
Gorbachev's Perestroika
The period of the reign of Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev is usually associated with the end of the era of the so-called Brezhnev “stagnation” and with the beginning of “perestroika” - a concept familiar to the whole world.
The Secretary General's first event was a large-scale anti-alcohol campaign (officially launched on May 17, 1985). Alcohol prices in the country rose sharply, and its sales were limited. Vineyards were cut down. All this led to the fact that people began to poison themselves with moonshine and all kinds of alcohol substitutes, and the economy suffered more losses. In response, Gorbachev puts forward the slogan “accelerate socio-economic development.”
The main events of Gorbachev's reign were as follows:
On April 8, 1986, at a speech in Togliatti at the Volzhsky Automobile Plant, Gorbachev first uttered the word “perestroika”; it 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 (the fight against tutors, flower sellers, drivers).
The anti-alcohol campaign, which began on May 17, 1985, led to a sharp increase in prices for alcoholic drinks, cutting down vineyards, disappearing sugar in stores and introducing sugar cards, increasing life expectancy among the population.
The main slogan was acceleration, associated with promises to dramatically increase industry and the well-being of the people in a short time.
Power reform, introduction of elections to the Supreme Council and local councils on an alternative basis.
Glasnost, the actual lifting of party censorship on the media.
Suppression of local national conflicts, in which the authorities took harsh measures (dispersal of demonstrations in Georgia, forceful dispersal of a youth rally in Almaty, deployment of troops to Azerbaijan, unfolding of a long-term conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, suppression of separatist aspirations of the Baltic republics).
During the Gorbachev period of rule there was a sharp decrease in the reproduction of the population of the USSR.
The disappearance of food from stores, hidden inflation, the introduction of a card system for many types of food in 1989. As a result of pumping the Soviet economy with non-cash rubles, hyperinflation occurred.
Under M.S. Gorbachev, the USSR's external debt reached a record high. Debts were taken out by Gorbachev at high interest rates from different countries. Russia was able to pay off its debts only 15 years after his removal from power. The USSR's gold reserves decreased tenfold: from more than 2,000 tons to 200.
Gorbachev's politics
Reform of the CPSU, abolition of the one-party system and removal from the CPSU 
constitutional status of “leading and organizing force”.
Rehabilitation of victims of Stalinist repressions who were not rehabilitated under.
Weakening control over the socialist camp (Sinatra doctrine). It led to a change of power in most socialist countries and the unification of Germany in 1990. The end of the Cold War in the United States is regarded as a victory for the American bloc.
The end of the war in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of Soviet troops, 1988-1989.
The introduction of Soviet troops against the Popular Front of Azerbaijan in Baku, January 1990, the result - 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.
In 1987, open criticism of Mikhail Gorbachev's actions began from the outside.
In 1988, at the 19th Party Conference of the CPSU, the resolution “On Glasnost” was officially adopted.
In March 1989, for the first time in the history of the USSR, free elections of people's deputies were held, as a result of which not party henchmen, but representatives of various trends in society, were allowed to power.
In May 1989, Gorbachev was elected chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In the same year, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan began. In October, through the efforts of Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, the Berlin Wall was destroyed and Germany was reunited.
In December in Malta, as a result of a meeting between Gorbachev and George H. W. Bush, the heads of state declared that their countries were no longer adversaries.
Behind the successes and breakthroughs in foreign policy lies a serious crisis within the USSR itself. By 1990, food shortages had increased. Local performances began in the republics (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Lithuania, Latvia).
Gorbachev President of the USSR
In 1990, M. Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR at the Third Congress of People's Deputies. In the same year, in Paris, the USSR, as well as European countries, the USA and Canada signed the “Charter for a New Europe”, which effectively marked the end of the Cold War, which lasted fifty years.
In the same year, most of the republics of the USSR declared their state sovereignty.
In July 1990, Mikhail Gorbachev ceded his post as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to Boris Yeltsin.
On November 7, 1990, there was an unsuccessful attempt on M. Gorbachev’s life.
The same year brought him the Nobel Peace Prize.
In August 1991, a coup attempt was made in the country (the so-called State Emergency Committee). The state began to rapidly disintegrate.
On December 8, 1991, a meeting of the presidents of the USSR, Belarus and Ukraine took place in Belovezhskaya Pushcha (Belarus). They signed a document on the liquidation of the USSR and the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
In 1992 M.S. Gorbachev became the head of the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Science Research (“Gorbachev Foundation”).
1993 brought new post- President of the international environmental organization Green Cross.
In 1996, Gorbachev decided to take part in presidential elections, the socio-political movement “Civil Forum” was created. In the 1st round of voting, he is eliminated from the elections with less than 1% of the votes.
In 1999 she died of cancer.
In 2000, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev became the leader of the Russian United Social Democratic Party and chairman of the NTV Public Supervisory Board.
In 2001, Gorbachev began filming a documentary about 20th-century politicians whom he personally interviewed.
In the same year, his Russian United Social Democratic Party merged with the Russian Party of Social Democracy (RPSD) of K. Titov, forming the Social Democratic Party of Russia.
In March 2003, M. Gorbachev’s book “The Facets of Globalization” was published, written by several authors under his leadership.
Gorbachev was married once. Spouse: Raisa Maksimovna, nee Titarenko. Children: Irina Gorbacheva (Virganskaya). Granddaughters - Ksenia and Anastasia. Great-granddaughter - Alexandra.
The years of Gorbachev's reign - results
The activities of Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev as head of the CPSU and the USSR are associated with a large-scale attempt at reform in the USSR - perestroika, which ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union, as well as the end of the Cold War. The period of M. Gorbachev's reign is assessed ambiguously by researchers and contemporaries.
Conservative politicians criticize him for the economic devastation, the collapse of the Union and other consequences of the perestroika he invented.
Radical politicians blamed him for the inconsistency of reforms and the attempt to preserve the previous administrative-command system and socialism.
Many Soviet, post-Soviet and foreign politicians and journalists assessed positively Gorbachev’s reforms, democracy and glasnost, the end of the Cold War, and the unification of Germany. The assessment of M. Gorbachev’s activities abroad of the former Soviet Union is more positive and less controversial than in the post-Soviet space.
List of works written by M. Gorbachev:
"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 whole world” (1987)
“August putsch. Causes and Effects" (1991)
“December-91. My position" (1992)
"Years difficult decisions"(1993)
“Life and Reforms” (2 vols., 1995)
“Reformers are never happy” (dialogue with Zdenek Mlynar, in Czech, 1995)
“I want to warn you...” (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 era of globalization" (co-authored with V. Zagladin and A. Chernyaev, in German, 1997)
"Reflections on the Past and Future" (1998)
“Understand perestroika... Why is it important now” (2006)
During his reign, Gorbachev received the nicknames “Bear”, “Humpbacked”, “Marked Bear”, “Mineral Secretary”, “Lemonade Joe”, “Gorby”.
Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev played himself in the feature film by Wim Wenders “So Far, So Close!” (1993) and participated in a number of other documentaries.
In 2004, he received a Grammy Award for scoring Sergei Prokofiev's musical fairy tale "Peter and the Wolf" together with Sophia Loren and Bill Clinton.
Mikhail Gorbachev has been recognized by many prestigious foreign awards and bonuses:
Prize named after Indira Gandhi for 1987
Golden Dove for Peace Award for contributions to peace and disarmament, Rome, November 1989.
Peace Prize named after Albert Einstein for his enormous contribution to the struggle for peace and understanding between peoples (Washington, June 1990)
Honorary Award “Historical Figure” from an influential US religious organization - “Call of Conscience Foundation” (Washington, June 1990)
International Peace Prize named after. Martin Luther King's "For a World Without Violence 1991"
Benjamin M. Cardoso Award for Democracy (New York, USA, 1992)
International Prize "Golden Pegasus" (Tuscany, Italy, 1994)
King David Award (USA, 1997) and many others.
Awarded the following orders and medals: Order of the Red Banner of Labor, 3 Orders of Lenin, Order of the October Revolution, Order of the Badge of Honor, Gold Commemorative Medal of Belgrade (Yugoslavia, March 1988), Silver Medal of the Sejm of the People's Republic of Poland for outstanding contribution to the development and strengthening international cooperation, friendship and interaction between the People's Republic of Poland and the USSR (Poland, July 1988), Commemorative Medal of the Sorbonne, Rome, Vatican, USA, “Star of the Hero” (Israel, 1992), Golden medal Thessaloniki (Greece, 1993), Gold Badge of the University of Oviedo (Spain, 1994), Republic of Korea, Order of the Association of Latin American Unity in Korea “Simon Bolivar Grand Cross for Unity and Freedom” (Republic of Korea, 1994).
Gorbachev is Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Agatha (San Marino, 1994) and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Liberty (Portugal, 1995).
Speaking at various universities around the world, giving lectures in the form of stories about the USSR, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev also has honorary titles and honorary academic degrees, mainly as a good messenger and peacemaker.
He is also an Honorary Citizen of many foreign cities, including Berlin, Florence, Dublin, etc.
Gorbachev's biography began in a village with the remarkable name Privolnoye, in the Krasnogvardeysky district in the Stavropol region. Mikhail Sergeevich was born in the spring (March 2) 1931 into an ordinary family. His father was a tractor driver, his mother a collective farmer. However, Gorbachev’s grandfather on his mother’s side was the chairman of a collective farm, despite the fact that he had to go to prison in connection with charges of participation in a counter-revolutionary conspiracy. During the war, the family of the future General Secretary of the Communist Party almost lost their father - they received a “funeral” in 1944. But after some time, grief gave way to joy, because a letter came from Sergei Alexandrovich saying that he was alive, but wounded in the leg.
After the war, Mikhail worked with his father at MTS, and here Gorbachev’s biography points to his first achievement: at the age of 16, the boy was awarded the Order (of the Red Banner of Labor) for high-threshing grain. Subsequently, perseverance and perseverance allowed the young man to receive a medal upon graduation and enter the school in 1950.
Gorbachev's biography reports that during his years at the institute he was distinguished by his activity and showed himself in the party field (he joined the CPSU in 1952 and was a Komsomol activist). In 1953, he married Raisa Maksimovna Titarenko, a student at the Faculty of Philosophy at Moscow State University, who would later become the first lady of the USSR. In 1957 they had a daughter (Irina).
After university, the married couple went to the Stavropol region, where Mikhail Sergeevich received an assignment (to the regional prosecutor's office). Here Gorbachev's biography received new round development. He worked at his destination for only 10 days, after which he was appointed deputy head of the Komsomol propaganda department. Next active young specialist with good organizational talent, they were appointed to leading positions in the city and regional committees of the Komsomol, and then in the regional committees of the CPSU.
At the age of 39, Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich, whose biography indicates meteoric rise became the First Secretary in the regional committee of the CPSU of Stavropol. Historians believe that in his position he was able to develop and partially implement a long-term program for the development of the region. Here he was noticed by party bosses from the center who came on vacation (Kosygin, Andropov), which contributed to the fact that Gorbachev was elected secretary of the CPSU in 1978 (in the Central Committee).
Gorbachev’s biography reports that already at that time he traveled a lot abroad on issues of functioning Agriculture. Some sources do not rule out that he or his wife could have been recruited by foreign intelligence services. He quickly entered the Politburo, and in March 1985 he was elected General Secretary. Immediately after Gorbachev’s election to the highest post in the West, his biography was published, while none of the Soviet leaders received such an “honor” in such a short time.
From 1985 to 1991, under the leadership of Gorbachev, the country underwent perestroika, the results of which are assessed ambiguously; relations with the countries of the Western world changed. In 1991, the powers of the head of state were removed from Gorbachev. He founded the Gorbachev Foundation (1992), created the environmental organization Green Cross, survived the death of his wife (1999), acted in films and commercials (Pizza Hut), organized parties, movements and forums to solve various problems. It is believed that he lives in Moscow, although his last significant anniversaries were celebrated abroad (London). This is Gorbachev's biography briefly.
Age - 87 years old, zodiac sign - Pisces, place of birth - the village of Privolnoye, Stavropol Territory.
Mikhail Gorbachev does not need any special introduction, because his activities as president of the country are already part of not only Russian, but also world history. Where do future presidents come from?
Before big politics
The leader's parents were simple peasants; the family lived modestly, without luxury. In the 40s, the Gorbachevs found themselves under German occupation, which left an indelible mark on Misha’s soul.
A 13-year-old boy studied and worked hard - tractor mechanic, combine operator.
According to the recollections of fellow villagers, the young man was not afraid of any work, which is probably why he was awarded the Order of TKZ after he exceeded the plan for harvesting grain crops.
Despite his labor exploits, Gorbachev devoted most of his time to study. It is not surprising that after graduating from school, the silver medalist easily became a student at the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University.
At the age of 21 he became a member of the Communist Party, and upon graduation educational institution was appointed secretary of the Stavropol city committee of the Komsomol.
The path to big politics
Since then, Mikhail decided to build political career, which developed very dynamically. At the age of 31, he became a party organizer of the agricultural department in Stavropol. Focusing on work skills and work qualities, he showed himself to be a good business executive and a promising manager.
Good harvests allowed Gorbachev to take the post of ideologist for the development of the agricultural sector. Steps of the career ladder quickly replaced one another:
- at 43, Gorbachev became head of the Commission on Youth Problems;
- at 47 years old - Secretary of the Central Committee;
- at 49 - member of the Politburo, reformed the market economy and political system.
“Global reformer”—that’s what those around him called Mikhail Sergeevich. No wonder he was elected in 1985 Secretary General Central Committee of the CPSU. The main course was aimed at democratizing society, later it was called “perestroika”.
The country was in deep stagnation when Gorbachev began to carry out fundamental changes.
He stopped the war in Afghanistan, introduced a ban on the purchase of alcohol and self-financing, suspended the long-term cold war, and weakened censorship. However, the leader did not have a clear plan for reform, which ultimately led to the collapse of one of the superpowers.
As President
Experts are sure: main mistake Gorbachev – inconsistent economic reforms, which aggravated the crisis in the country and resulted in a decline in the living standards of the population. However, in 1990, presidential elections in the USSR took place, in which Gorbachev won a landslide victory.
Meanwhile, the situation continued to remain tense. Empty shelves and total shortages are the main signs of that time.
In 1991, Gorbachev's allies State Emergency Committee was created. As a result, Mikhail Sergeevich resigned during an armed coup.
In 1991, an agreement was signed in Belovezhskaya Pushcha on the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which in reality meant the complete collapse of the USSR. Subsequently, Gorbachev dealt exclusively with social work, headed the foundation for socio-economic and political research, which finances with its own funds and attracts international investment.
Many people today criticize Mikhail Sergeevich for the collapse of the country, but the first and only president of the USSR himself denies this.
Today he supports well Russian President , however, warns that latest events could lead to a worsening of relations between the Russian Federation and the EU, and the threat of a nuclear confrontation.
A little about personal
Mikhail Sergeevich met his future and only wife at a dance. He liked the modesty and inner attractiveness of Raisa Titarenko. They married in 1953 and lived happily ever after. Raisa Gorbacheva was considered the most stylish first lady of the country. Many women of those years tried to imitate her and copied her outfits.
The misfortune happened in 1999, after a long illness, Raisa Maksimovna passed away... The couple had a daughter, Irina, who lives in Russia.
Mikhail Sergeevich’s health is unstable, as he was diagnosed with a severe form of diabetes. Despite this, Gorbachev continues to engage in creative activities, actively writing and publishing books and scientific articles.
For a long time he lived in Germany, but today he moved to Russia, closer to his relatives and two granddaughters who are married.
At a meeting with Moscow State University students in 2016, the leader said that it was he who destroyed the USSR. Because of harsh statements about Crimea, Gorbachev banned from entering Ukraine, however, Mikhail Sergeevich himself said that he was not going there in the near future.
One of his latest autobiographical books is called “Remaining an Optimist,” and it is impossible to doubt this.
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev
Born: March 2, 1931
Biography
Born on March 2, 1931 in the village of Privolnoye, Medvedensky district, Stavropol region (North Caucasus region), into a peasant family. Father - Gorbachev Sergei Andreevich (1909-1976), Russian. Mother - Gopkalo Maria Panteleevna (1911-1993), Ukrainian. Paternal grandfather, Andrei Moiseevich, individual peasant; for failure to fulfill the sowing plan in 1934 he was sent into exile in the Irkutsk region. Maternal grandfather, Panteley Efimovich Gopkalo (1894-1953), came from peasants in the Chernigov province, was the eldest of 5 children, lost his father at the age of 13, and later moved to Stavropol. He became the chairman of a collective farm and was arrested in 1937 on charges of Trotskyism. While under investigation, he spent 14 months in prison and endured torture and abuse. Pantelei Efimovich was saved from execution by a change in the “party line”, the February plenum of 1938, dedicated to the “fight against excesses.” As a result, in September 1938, the head of the GPU of the Krasnogvardeisky district shot himself, and Panteley Efimovich was acquitted and released. Mikhail Gorbachev stated that his grandfather’s stories were one of the factors that inclined him to reject the Soviet regime. During the war, when Mikhail was 10 extra years, father went to the front. After some time, German troops entered the village, and the family spent more than five months under occupation. January 21-22, 1943 liberated Soviet troops with a blow from under Ordzhonikidze. After his release, a notification came that his father had died a heroic death. From the age of 13, he combined his studies at school with periodic work at MTS and on a collective farm. From the age of 15 he worked as an assistant combine operator at a machine and tractor station. In 1948 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor as a noble combine operator. In the 10th grade, at the age of 19, he became a candidate member of the CPSU, recommendations were given by the school director and teachers. In 1950, he entered M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University without exams. After graduating from the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University in 1955, he was sent to Stavropol to the regional prosecutor's office, but did not work as assigned. He worked as Deputy Head of the Agitation and Propaganda Department 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). In 1952 he was accepted into the CPSU. Since March 1962 - party organizer of the regional committee of the CPSU of the Stavropol territorial production collective and state farm administration. In November 1961 he was a delegate to the XXII Congress of the CPSU. 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. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the Stavropol Agricultural Institute (in absentia, 1967) with a degree in agronomist-economist. Twice Gorbachev’s candidacy was considered to go to work in the KGB. In 1966, he was proposed for the post of head of the KGB department of the Stavropol Territory, but his candidacy was rejected by V. Semichastny. In 1969, Yu. Andropov considered Gorbachev as a possible candidate for the post of deputy chairman of the KGB of the USSR. From August 1968, the second, and from April 1970, the first secretary of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the CPSU. In 1970, he was elected a member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, where until 1974 he was a member Commission for Nature Protection of one of the chambers, then until 1979 Chairman of the Commission on Youth Affairs of the Union Council of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In 1973, Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Peter Demichev made him an offer to head the propaganda department of the CPSU Central Committee, where for several years Alexander Yakovlev was acting director. After consulting with Mikhail Suslov, Gorbachev refused. According to the testimony of the former chairman of the State Planning Committee Baibakov, he offered Gorbachev the post of his deputy on agricultural issues. After the removal of Politburo member Dmitry Polyansky from the post of Minister of Agriculture of the USSR (1976), Gorbachev’s mentor Kulakov started talking about the post of Minister of Agriculture, but the minister Valentin Mesyats was appointed. The administrative department of the CPSU Central Committee proposed Gorbachev for the post of Prosecutor General of the USSR instead of R. A. Rudenko, but Gorbachev’s candidacy was rejected by Politburo member, Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee A. P. Kirilenko. In 1971-1992 he was a member of the CPSU Central Committee. According to Gorbachev himself, he was patronized by Yuri Andropov, who contributed to his transfer to Moscow. In November 1978, he was elected secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. From 1979 to 1980 - candidate member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. Chairman of the Commission for Legislative Proposals of the Council of the Union of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1979-1984. In the early 80s, he made a series of foreign visits, during which he met Margaret Thatcher and became friends with Alexander Yakovlev, who then headed the Soviet embassy in Canada. 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 11, 1985 to August 24, 1991 - General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. On 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-in-Chief Armed Forces THE USSR. Reserve colonel. During the events of August 1991, he was removed from power by the State Emergency Committee, led by Vice-President Gennady Yanaev, and isolated in Foros; after the arrest of members of the State Emergency Committee, he returned from vacation to his post, which he held until the collapse of the USSR in December 1991. He was elected as a delegate. XXII (1961), XXIV (1971) and all subsequent (1976, 1981, 1986, 1990) congresses of the CPSU. From 1970 to 1989 he was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 8th-11th 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 on Youth Affairs of the Union Council 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 Commission on foreign affairs 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 of the 10th-11th convocations (1980-1990). On November 4, 1991, the head of the department for supervision over the implementation of laws on state security of the USSR Prosecutor General's Office, Viktor Ilyukhin, opened a criminal case against M. S. Gorbachev under Article 64 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR (Treason Motherland) in connection with the signing of resolutions of the USSR State Council of September 6, 1991 on granting independence to Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia; USSR Prosecutor General Nikolai Trubin closed the case, and two days later Ilyukhin was fired from the prosecutor's office. On June 13, 1992, convened with the permission of the Constitutional Court of the RSFSR, the plenum of the CPSU Central Committee expelled M. S. Gorbachev from the party. After the signing of the Belovezhskaya Agreement (overcoming Gorbachev’s objections), and the actual denunciation of the union treaty, on December 25, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as head states. From January 1992 to present - President International Foundation socio-economic and political science 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. In September 1993, he condemned the unconstitutional dissolution of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, describing the actions of President Boris Yeltsin as “stupid and undemocratic” and called on him “before it’s too late” to cancel his decree on the dissolution of the Congress and the Supreme Council. He supported the idea of early elections of the president and people's deputies of Russia. The real reason crisis Gorbachev called the failure of the economic policy pursued by the President and the Supreme Council of Russia since the end of 1991. Ex-president The USSR criticized the bias of the media, especially television, in covering events. In 1994, Gorbachev was visiting Vladislav Listyev in live Rush Hour programs. Excerpt from their conversation: - Mikhail Sergeevich, tell me, do you now intend to return... to politics, or to run for President of Russia? - I am often asked this. So Raisa Maksimovna suggested something similar the other day... And I thought: What? And I firmly decided: I will run for President. - And then? - And then, as the people decide. After his resignation, he complained that he was “blocked in everything,” that his family was constantly “under the surveillance” of the FSB, that his phones were constantly tapped, that he could only publish his books in Russia “underground”, in small editions. In 1996, he exhibited his candidacy in the elections of the President of the Russian Federation and, according to the voting results, received 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, SDPR was liquidated (deregistered) by decision Supreme Court Russian Federation. On October 20, 2007, he became the head of the All-Russian public movement “Union of Social Democrats.” In 2008, in an interview with Vladimir Pozner on the first TV channel, Gorbachev said: - I regret now: I should not have left for Foros in August 1991. I think that Soviet Union would have been preserved... Just as there was another mistake - that I did not send Yeltsin forever to some country to procure bananas after the well-known processes when the Plenum demanded: “Exclude Yeltsin from the membership of the Central Committee!” - But I’ll tell you: we all made mistakes three more times. We were late in reforming the party. Secondly, we are late in reforming the Union. And third... When things got tight here, especially after 1989, in 1990 - when the whole country was in queues and we didn’t have enough goods to satisfy these requests, when we could get broken in line for Italian shoes... It was necessary to find 10-15 billion dollars. They could be found... In a 2009 interview with Euronews, Gorbachev reiterated that his plan did not “fail”, but on the contrary, then “democratic reforms began” and that perestroika won. If in the first years of Putin's reign Gorbachev supported him, then he began to be more and more critical of Putin’s policies. In January 2008, in an interview with The New York Times, Gorbachev severely criticized the state of the Russian electoral system. He called for a radical reform of the system in which all power is in the hands of the president’s entourage Putin. “There is something wrong with our elections, and our electoral system needs serious adjustment,” the former Soviet president said. In February 2011, in an interview with Radio Liberty, Gorbachev again formulated the main complaints against the “tandem”: the rollback of democracy, corruption and the dominance of security officers. Gorbachev is also dissatisfied with the fact that he was not allowed to register his Social Democratic Party. On March 2, 2011, on his 80th birthday, by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation D. Medvedev, he was awarded the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. On March 2, 2013, in a congratulatory telegram on the occasion of the 82nd birthday of the former Soviet leader Russian President V. Putin noted significant initiatives Gorbachev in the field of international cooperation and his desire to strengthen Russia’s authority in the world.Awards and honorary titles
USSR - Russian Federation
Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (March 2, 2011) - for great personal contribution to strengthening peace and friendship between peoples and many years of fruitful public activityOrder of Honor (February 28, 2001) - for his great contribution to the development of democratic reforms and in connection with his seventieth birthday
Order of Lenin - August 27, 1971, No. 401067 - for the successes achieved in the development of agricultural production, the implementation of the five-year plan for the sale of agricultural and livestock products to the state
Order of Lenin - December 7, 1973, No. 421714 - for successes achieved in the All-Union Socialist Competition and demonstrated labor valor in carrying out accepted obligations to increase production and sales to the state of grain and other agricultural products in 1973
Order of Lenin - February 28, 1981, No. 458897 - for great services to Communist Party and the Soviet state and in connection with the fiftieth anniversary of the birth
Order of the Red Banner of Labor - April 16, 1949, No. 88292 - for excellence in harvesting with the Stalinets-6 combine, which threshed 8854.14 centners of grain crops from the area harvested by it in 20 working days
Order of the October Revolution - February 22, 1978, No. 52596 - for the successes achieved in the All-Union Socialist Competition and demonstrated labor valor in fulfilling plans and socialist obligations to increase production and sales to the state of grain and other agricultural products in 1977
Order of the Badge of Honor - March 22, 1966, No. 207556 - for achievements achieved in the development of livestock farming, increasing the production and procurement of meat, milk, eggs, wool and other products
Medal "For Labor Valor" - January 11, 1957
Medal "For Strengthening the Military Commonwealth" - June 2, 1980
Medal "In memory of the 1500th anniversary of Kyiv" - 1982
Jubilee medal "Forty years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War" Patriotic War 1941-1945." - April 23, 1985
Yugoslavia
Gold Commemorative Medal of Belgrade (Yugoslavia, March 1988)Commemorative Medal of the Assembly of Yugoslavia (1988)
Poland
Silver medal of the Sejm of the People's Republic of Poland for outstanding contribution to the development and strengthening of international cooperation, friendship and interaction between the People's Republic of Poland and the USSR (Poland, July 1988)Warsaw Commemorative Medal (1986)
Bulgaria
Medal "100 years since the birth of Georgiy Dimitrov" (1984)Medal "40 years since
socialist Bulgaria" (1984)
France
Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters (1997)Commemorative Medal of the Sorbonne (Paris, July 1989)
Vatican
Vatican Commemorative Medal (December 1, 1989)Italy
Commemorative Medal of the Municipality of Rome (November 1989)Award "Courageous Mind - Smart Courage" (May 22, 2009). Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded the "courage" award, while the late US President Ronald Reagan was posthumously awarded the "intelligence" award.
USA
“Medal of Freedom named after. Franklin Delano Roosevelt" (Washington, June 1990)International award Statesman"Philadelphia Council on World Affairs" (USA, 1993)
Commemorative award "Gates of Freedom" in honor of the 10th anniversary of the granting of former USSR opportunities to emigrate freely (Israel Bonds Company, New York, 1998)
"Medal of Freedom" for 2008, awarded by the National Constitution Center of the United States, with the wording "for his courageous role in ending the Cold War." The medal was presented by US President George W. Bush at a ceremony in Philadelphia on September 18, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Grammy Award: Mikhail Gorbachev and Bill Clinton - for scoring the musical fairy tale “Peter and the Wolf” 2004
Israel
"Star of the Hero" Ben-Gurion University (Israel, 1992)Doctor of Philosophy Honoris causa from the University. Bar-Ilana (Israel, 1992)
Greece
Gold medal of the National Technical University of Athens "Prometheus" (Greece, 1993)Gold medal of Thessaloniki (Greece, 1993)
Spain
Prince of Asturias Award (Spain, 1989)Gold Badge of the University of Oviedo (Spain, 1994)
The Republic of Korea
Order of the Association of Latin American Unity in Korea "Grand Cross of Simon Bolivar for Unity and Freedom" (Republic of Korea, 1994)San Marino
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Agatha (San Marino, 1994)Portugal
Grand Cross of the Order of Liberty (Portugal, 6 September 1995)Czech
Grand Cross of the Order of the White Lion (Czech Republic, 1999)Dominican Republic
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Christopher Columbus (July 2001)Ranks
Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of ArtsHonorary titles:
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Virginia (USA, 1993)Honorary Doctorate in Leadership from the Jepson School of Leadership (Richmond, USA, 1993)
Honorary Doctorate from the Faculty of Law of the University of Westphalia (Münster, Germany, 2005)
Honorary degrees:
Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain, Madrid, October 1990)Complutense University (Spain, Madrid, October 1990)
University of Buenos Aires (Argentina, 1992)
University of Cuyo (Mendoza, Argentina 1992)
University of C. Mendes (Brazil, 1992)
University of Chile (Chile, 1992)
University of Anahuac (Mexico, 1992) Bar-Ilan University (Israel, 1992)
Ben-Gurion University (Israel, 1992) Emory University (Atlanta, USA, 1992)
Pandion University (Piraeus, Greece, 1993)
Institute international law And international relations at the Aristotelian University (Thessaloniki, Greece, 1993)
Faculty of Law, Aristotle University (Thessaloniki, Greece, 1993)
University of Bristol (England, 1993)
University of Calgary (Canada, 1993)
Carleton University (Canada, 1993)
Soka Gakkai International (Pres. Ikeda) (Japan, 1993)
Kung Khi University (Republic of Korea, 1995)
Durnham University (England, 1995)
Modern University of Lisbon (Portugal, 1995)
Soka University (Japan, 1997)
University of Tromso (Norway, 1998)
Honorary citizen of the cities:
Badolatos (province of Seville, Spain, 1987) - honorary member of the municipalityTerrazine (Sicily, Italy, 1987)
Berlin (Germany, 1992)
Aberdeen (UK, 1993)
Piraeus (Greece, 1993)
Florence (Italy, 1994)
Sesto San Giovanni (Italy, 1995)
Kardamily (Chios Island, Greece, 1995)
El Paso (Key to the City) (USA, 1998)
Terni (Italy, 2001)
Dublin (Ireland, 2002)
Quito (Ecuador, 2004)
Awards
Annual Prize of the Mexican Human Rights Movement (December 1987, Mexico)Prize International organization"A World Without War" (September 1988)
International Literary Prize "Mondello" (September 1988, Italy)
Peace Prize named after Indira Gandhi Award for 1987 (awarded November 19, 1988, India)
Commemorative medal “Personality of the Year” by the international jury “Personality of the Year” (January 1989, France)
Peace Prize of the Irish organization "County Tipperary Peace Convention" (January 1989, Ireland)
Golden Dove for Peace Award for contributions to peace and disarmament (pacifist organization Italian Disarmament Documentation Center and National League of Cooperatives, Rome, November 1989)
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.” (1990)
Peace Prize named after Albert Einstein for his enormous contribution to the struggle for peace and mutual understanding between peoples (Washington, June 1990)
Honorary Award “Historical Figure” from an influential US religious organization - “Call of Conscience Foundation” (Washington, June 1990)
Honorary title"Humanist of the Century" and the Albert Schweitzer Medal of Honor (August 1990)
International Peace Prize named after. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "A Peace Without Violence 1991" for his outstanding role in the struggle for world peace and human rights (Washington, June 1990)
International Fiuggi Prize (Fiuggi Foundation, operating in Italy) as “a person whose activities in the political and social fields can serve as an exceptional example of the struggle for the promotion of human rights” (Italy, 1990)
Benjamin M. Cardoso Award for Democracy (Yeshiva University, New York, USA, 1992)
Sir Winston Churchill Award in recognition of his contribution to peace in the Middle East (UK, 1993)
La Pleiade Prize (Piacenza, Italy, 1993)
International Journalism and Literary Award (Modena, Italy, 1993)
Hero of the Year Award from the Association of Small and Medium-sized Entrepreneurs of the Province of Bologna (Italy, 1993)
International Prize "Golden Pegasus" (Tuscany, Italy, 1994)
Prize of the University of Genoa (Italy, 1995)
King David Award (USA, 1997)
Enron Baker Institute Award for Distinguished Public Service (Houston, USA, 1997)
Milestone Award from the weekly Politika (Poland, 1997)
Budapest Club Prize (Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 1997)
Comet Prize (Germany, 1998)
International Women's Zionist Organization Award (Miami, USA, 1998)
National Freedom Award for Anti-Oppression (Memphis, USA, 1998)
Prize named after Dr. Friedrich Joseph Haas, awarded by the German-Russian Forum for special services in the field of German-Russian mutual understanding (2007)
Quadriga Prize with the formulation “Dynamism of Hope” (Berlin, Germany, 2009)
Dresden Prize for Nuclear Disarmament (Dresden, Germany, 2010)
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 and new thinking for our country and for the whole world” (1st ed. - 1987)
“August putsch. Causes and Effects" (1991)
“December-91. My position" (1992)
"Years of Hard Decisions" (1993)
“Life and Reforms” (2 vols., 1995)
“Reformers are never happy” (dialogue with Zdenek Mlynar, in Czech, 1995)
“I want to warn you...” (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 era of globalization" (co-authored with V. Zagladin and A. Chernyaev, in German, 1997)
"Reflections on the Past and Future" (1998)
“Understand perestroika... Why is it important now” (2006)
“Alone with myself” (M.: Green Street, 2012)
Gorbachev’s wife, R. M. Gorbacheva, in 1991 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 was unlikely to cover the fee. In 2008 Gorbachev At the book exhibition in Frankfurt, he presented the first 5 books from his own 22-volume collected works, which will include all his publications from the 1960s until the early 1990s.
Discography
2009 - “Songs for Raisa” (Together with A.V. Makarevich)Acting
Mikhail Gorbachev played himself (cameo) in the feature film by Wim Wenders “So Far, So Close!” (German: In weiter Ferne, so nah!; English: Faraway, So Close!; 1993), and also participated in a number of documentaries.In 1997, he starred 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 Hut in Russia.
In the 1990s, he starred in computer advertisements in the German magazine Stern.
In 2000 he starred in a commercial for National railways Austria.
In 2004, he received a Grammy Award for scoring Sergei Prokofiev’s musical fairy tale “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 leather accessories manufacturer Louis Vuitton. The same year he starred in documentary film Leonardo DiCaprio's The Eleventh Hour, which talks about environmental issues.
In 2009, he took part in the “Minute of Fame” project (member of the jury).
In 2010, he was an invited guest on a Japanese entertainment television show with a culinary focus - SMAPxSMAP.