Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev - the last general secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The first and only President of the USSR. The initiator of restructuring, which led to tremendous changes in the life of the country and the world. Laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize. Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931 in the village of Privolnoye, Stavropol Territory.
The beginning of the way
Mikhail Gorbachev's parents were peasants. The childhood of the future President of the USSR fell on the war years, the family had to go through the German occupation. Mikhail Sergeevich's father, Sergei Andreevich, fought at the front and was wounded twice.
In the post-war years, the collective farm was sorely lacking workers. Mikhail Gorbachev had to combine his studies at school with the work of a combine operator on collective farm fields. When Gorbachev was 17 years old, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for overfulfilling the plan.
Working childhood did not prevent Gorbachev from graduating from high school with a silver medal and entering the law faculty of Moscow State University. At the university, Mikhail Sergeevich headed the Komsomol organization of the faculty.
In 1953, Mikhail Sergeevich married a student of the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow State University, Raisa Maksimovna Titarenko. They were together until her death in 1999.
Career in the KPSS
The life of the capital and the atmosphere of the "thaw" had a great influence on the formation of the worldview of the future head of state. In 1955, Gorbachev graduated from the university and was sent to the Stavropol Regional Prosecutor's Office. However, Mikhail Sergeevich found himself in party work. On the line of the Komsomol, he is making a good career. In 1962, he was already appointed party organizer and became a deputy of the next congress of the CPSU. Since 1966, Gorbachev is already the first secretary of the city committee of the CPSU in the Stavropol Territory.
The good harvests that were gathered in the Stavropol Territory gave Gorbachev a reputation as a tough business executive. Since the mid-70s, he Gorbachev introduced brigade contracts in the region, which brought high yields. Gorbachev's articles on rationalization methods in agriculture were often published in the central press. In 1971, Gorbachev became a member of the CPSU. Gorbachev was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1974.
Gorbachev finally moved to Moscow in 1978, where he became secretary of the Central Committee for the agro-industrial complex
Years of reign
In the 1980s, the need for change was maturing in the USSR. At the time, no one was considering Gorbachev's candidacy as the country's leader. However, Gorbachev managed to rally around himself the young secretaries of the Central Committee and get the support of A. A. Gromyko, who enjoyed great prestige among the members of the Politburo.
In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev was officially elected General Secretary of the TsKKPSS. He became the main initiator of "perestroika". Unfortunately, Gorbachev did not have a clear plan for reforming the state. The consequences of some of his actions were simply disastrous. For example, the so-called anti-alcohol company, thanks to which huge areas of vineyards were cut down and the prices of alcoholic beverages rose sharply. Instead of improving the health of the population and increasing the average life expectancy, a deficit was artificially created, people began to use handicraft alcohol of dubious quality, and the destroyed rare grape varieties have not yet been restored.
Gorbachev's soft foreign policy led to a radical change in the entire world order. Mikhail Sergeevich withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan, ended the "cold war" and played a huge role in the unification of Germany. In 1990, Gorbachev received the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to easing international tensions.
The inconsistency and thoughtlessness of some reforms within the country led the USSR to a deep crisis. It was during the reign of Gorbachev that bloody interethnic conflicts began to flare up in Nagorno-Karabakh, Fergana, Sumgait and other regions of the state. Mikhail Sergeevich, as a rule, was not able to influence the resolution of these bloody interethnic wars. His reaction to events was always very vague and belated.
The first to leave the USSR were the Baltic republics: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. In 1991, in Vilnius, during the storming of a television tower by Soviet troops, 13 people died. Gorbachev began to disown these events and stated that he had not given the order for the assault.
The crisis that finally destroyed the USSR took place in August 1991. Former associates of Gorbachev organized a coup d'état and were defeated. In December 1991, the USSR was liquidated, and Gorbachev was dismissed from the post of President of the USSR.
Life after power
After Gorbachev's political career ended, he begins to lead an active public life. Since January 1992, Gorbachev has been President of the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Research.
In 2000, he created the Social Democratic Party (SDPR), which he headed until 2007.
On the day of his eightieth birthday, March 2, 2011, Gorbachev was awarded the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called.
In March 2014, Gorbachev hailed the outcome of the referendum in Crimea, and called the annexation of Crimea to Russia a correction of a historical mistake.
