Mikhail Sergeyevich 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 perestroika, which led to huge changes in the life of the country and the world. Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931 in the village of Privolnoe, Stavropol Territory.
The beginning of the way
Parents of Mikhail Gorbachev were peasants. The childhood of the future President of the USSR fell on the war years, the family had to survive the German occupation. Mikhail Sergeyevich's father, Sergey Andreyevich, fought at the front and was wounded twice.
In the postwar years, the collective farm sorely lacked workers. Mikhail Gorbachev had to combine his studies at school with working as a combine harvester 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 stop Gorbachev from graduating from high school with a silver medal and enrolling in the law faculty of Moscow State University. At the university, Mikhail Sergeyevich headed the Komsomol organization of the faculty.
In 1953, Mikhail Sergeyevich married a student of the philosophy department of Moscow State University, Raisa Maximovna Titarenko. They were together until her death in 1999.
Career in the CPSU
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 Sergeyevich 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 CPSU city committee in the Stavropol Territory.
The good harvests that were gathered in the Stavropol Territory created Gorbachev a reputation as a strong business executive. Since the mid-70s, he Gorbachev introduced a brigade row 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 becomes Secretary of the Central Committee for Agriculture
Years of rule
In the 80s, the need for change was brewing in the USSR. At that time, no one considered Gorbachev's candidacy as the country's leader. However, Gorbachev managed to rally the young secretaries of the Central Committee and gain the support of A.A. Gromyko, who enjoyed great authority among members of the Politburo.
In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev was officially elected Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Bolsheviks. He became the main initiator of the "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 prices for alcoholic beverages rose sharply. Instead of improving the population and increasing average life expectancy, a deficit was artificially created, people began to use alcohol of artisanal production of dubious quality, and the destroyed rare grape varieties have not yet been restored.
The soft foreign policy pursued by Gorbachev led to a radical change in the entire world structure. Mikhail Sergeyevich 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 tension.
The inconsistency and rashness of certain reforms within the country led the USSR to a deep crisis. It was during the reign of Gorbachev that bloody ethnic conflicts began to break out in Nagorno-Karabakh, Ferghana, Sumgait and other regions of the state. Mikhail Sergeyevich, as a rule, was not able to influence the resolution of these bloody ethnic wars. His reaction to events was always very slurred and belated.
The first of the USSR decided to leave the Baltic republics: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. In 1991, in Vilnius, during the assault on 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, which finally destroyed the USSR, occurred in August 1991. Former associates of Gorbachev staged a coup and were defeated. In December 1991, the USSR was liquidated, and Gorbachev was dismissed from the post of president of the USSR.
