mikhail gorbachev

22
Mikhail Gorbachev “Gorbachev” redirects here. For other uses, see Gorbachev (disambiguation). This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; the patronymic is Sergeyevich and the family name is Gor- bachev. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (/ˈɡɔrbəˌtʃɔːf, - ˌtʃɒf/; [1] Russian: Михаи́л Серге́евич Горбачёв, tr. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachov; IPA: [mʲɪxɐˈil sʲɪrˈɡʲe- jɪvʲɪtɕ ɡərbɐˈtɕɵf]; born 2 March 1931) is a former Soviet statesman. He was the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991 when the party was dissolved. He served as the country’s head of state from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991 (titled as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 1988 to 1989, as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet from 1989 to 1990, and as President of the Soviet Union from 1990 to 1991). He was the only general secretary in the history of the Soviet Union to have been born after the October Revolution. Gorbachev was born in Stavropol Krai into a peasant UkrainianRussian family, and in his teens operated combine harvesters on collective farms. He graduated from Moscow State University in 1955 with a degree in law. While he was at the university, he joined the Communist Party, and soon became very active within it. In 1970, he was appointed the First Party Secretary of the Stavropol Regional Committee, First Secretary to the Supreme Soviet in 1974, and appointed a member of the Politburo in 1979. Within three years of the death of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, following the brief “in- terregna” of Andropov and Chernenko, Gorbachev was elected General Secretary by the Politburo in 1985. Be- fore he reached the post, he had occasionally been men- tioned in Western newspapers as a likely next leader and a man of the younger generation at the top level. Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost (“openness”) and perestroika (“restructuring”) and his reorientation of So- viet strategic aims contributed to the end of the Cold War. He removed the constitutional role of the Commu- nist Party in governing the state, and inadvertently led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Otto Hahn Peace Medal in 1989, the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 and the Harvey Prize in 1992, as well as honorary doctorates from various universities. In September 2008, Gorbachev and business oligarch Alexander Lebedev announced they would form the Independent Democratic Party of Russia, [2] and in May 2009 Gorbachev announced that the launch was imminent. [3] This was Gorbachev’s third attempt to es- tablish a political party, having started the Social Demo- cratic Party of Russia in 2001 and the Union of Social Democrats in 2007. [4] 1 Early and personal life Gorbachev was born on 2 March 1931 in Privolnoye, Stavropol Krai, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, into a mixed Russian-Ukrainian family [5] of migrants from Voronezh and Chernigov Governorates. As a child, Gor- bachev experienced the Soviet famine of 1932–1933. He recalled in a memoir that “In that terrible year [in 1933] nearly half the population of my native village, Privolnoye, starved to death, including two sisters and one brother of my father.” [6] Both of his grandfathers were arrested on false charges in the 1930s; his pater- nal grandfather Andrey Moiseyevich Gorbachev (Андрей Моисеевич Горбачев) was sent to exile in Siberia. [7][8] His father was a combine harvester operator and World War II veteran, named Sergey Andreyevich Gorbachev. His mother, Maria Panteleyevna Gorbacheva (née Gop- kalo), was a kolkhoz worker. [8] He was brought up mainly by his Ukrainian maternal grandparents. In his teens, he operated combine harvesters on collective farms. He graduated from Moscow State University in 1955 with a degree in law. In 1967 he qualified as an agricultural economist via a correspondence master’s degree at the Stavropol Institute of Agriculture. While at the univer- sity, he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and soon became very active within the party. Gorbachev met his future wife, Raisa Titarenko, daughter of a Ukrainian railway engineer, at Moscow State Uni- versity. They married in September 1953 and moved to Stavropol upon graduation. She gave birth to their only child, daughter Irina Mikhailovna Virganskaya (Ири́на Миха́йловна Вирга́нская), in 1957. Raisa Gorbacheva died of leukemia in 1999. [9] Gorbachev has two grand- daughters (Ksenia and Anastasia) and one great grand- daughter (Aleksandra). 1

Upload: jim

Post on 07-Sep-2015

29 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

DESCRIPTION

history

TRANSCRIPT

  • Mikhail Gorbachev

    Gorbachev redirects here. For other uses, seeGorbachev (disambiguation).This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; thepatronymic is Sergeyevich and the family name is Gor-bachev.

    Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (/rbtf, -tf/;[1] Russian: , tr.Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachov; IPA: [mxil sre-jvt rbtf]; born 2 March 1931) is a formerSoviet statesman. He was the eighth and last leader ofthe Soviet Union, having served as General Secretary ofthe Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985until 1991 when the party was dissolved. He served asthe countrys head of state from 1988 until its dissolutionin 1991 (titled as Chairman of the Presidium of theSupreme Soviet from 1988 to 1989, as Chairman of theSupreme Soviet from 1989 to 1990, and as President ofthe Soviet Union from 1990 to 1991). He was the onlygeneral secretary in the history of the Soviet Union tohave been born after the October Revolution.Gorbachev was born in Stavropol Krai into a peasantUkrainianRussian family, and in his teens operatedcombine harvesters on collective farms. He graduatedfrom Moscow State University in 1955 with a degreein law. While he was at the university, he joined theCommunist Party, and soon became very active withinit. In 1970, he was appointed the First Party Secretaryof the Stavropol Regional Committee, First Secretary tothe Supreme Soviet in 1974, and appointed a member ofthe Politburo in 1979. Within three years of the death ofSoviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, following the brief in-terregna of Andropov and Chernenko, Gorbachev waselected General Secretary by the Politburo in 1985. Be-fore he reached the post, he had occasionally been men-tioned in Western newspapers as a likely next leader anda man of the younger generation at the top level.Gorbachevs policies of glasnost (openness) andperestroika (restructuring) and his reorientation of So-viet strategic aims contributed to the end of the ColdWar. He removed the constitutional role of the Commu-nist Party in governing the state, and inadvertently led tothe dissolution of the Soviet Union. He was awarded theOtto Hahn Peace Medal in 1989, the Nobel Peace Prizein 1990 and the Harvey Prize in 1992, as well as honorarydoctorates from various universities.In September 2008, Gorbachev and business oligarchAlexander Lebedev announced they would form the

    Independent Democratic Party of Russia,[2] and inMay 2009 Gorbachev announced that the launch wasimminent.[3] This was Gorbachevs third attempt to es-tablish a political party, having started the Social Demo-cratic Party of Russia in 2001 and the Union of SocialDemocrats in 2007.[4]

    1 Early and personal life

    Gorbachev was born on 2 March 1931 in Privolnoye,Stavropol Krai, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, into amixed Russian-Ukrainian family[5] of migrants fromVoronezh and Chernigov Governorates. As a child, Gor-bachev experienced the Soviet famine of 19321933.He recalled in a memoir that In that terrible year [in1933] nearly half the population of my native village,Privolnoye, starved to death, including two sisters andone brother of my father.[6] Both of his grandfatherswere arrested on false charges in the 1930s; his pater-nal grandfather Andrey Moiseyevich Gorbachev ( ) was sent to exile in Siberia.[7][8]

    His father was a combine harvester operator and WorldWar II veteran, named Sergey Andreyevich Gorbachev.His mother, Maria Panteleyevna Gorbacheva (ne Gop-kalo), was a kolkhoz worker.[8] He was brought up mainlyby his Ukrainian maternal grandparents. In his teens,he operated combine harvesters on collective farms. Hegraduated from Moscow State University in 1955 witha degree in law. In 1967 he qualified as an agriculturaleconomist via a correspondence masters degree at theStavropol Institute of Agriculture. While at the univer-sity, he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union(CPSU) and soon became very active within the party.Gorbachevmet his future wife, Raisa Titarenko, daughterof a Ukrainian railway engineer, at Moscow State Uni-versity. They married in September 1953 and moved toStavropol upon graduation. She gave birth to their onlychild, daughter Irina Mikhailovna Virganskaya ( ), in 1957. Raisa Gorbachevadied of leukemia in 1999.[9] Gorbachev has two grand-daughters (Ksenia and Anastasia) and one great grand-daughter (Aleksandra).

    1

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorbachev_(disambiguation)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Slavic_naming_customshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patronymichttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_namehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanization_of_Russianhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Russianhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Russianhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Secretary_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Secretary_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidium_of_the_Supreme_Soviethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidium_of_the_Supreme_Soviethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Soviethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Revolutionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stavropol_Kraihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainianshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russianshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combine_harvesterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_farmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_State_Universityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politburohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Brezhnevhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Andropovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Chernenkohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasnosthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perestroikahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Hahn_Peace_Medalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Prizehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorary_doctorateshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorary_doctorateshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Lebedevhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Democratic_Party_of_Russiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Russiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Russiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_Social_Democratshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_Social_Democratshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privolnoye,_Krasnogvardeysky_District,_Stavropol_Kraihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stavropol_Kraihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_SFSRhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voronezh_Governoratehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernigov_Governoratehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_famine_of_1932%E2%80%931933https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privolnoye,_Krasnogvardeysky_District,_Stavropol_Kraihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_repression_in_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkhozhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raisa_Gorbachovahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainians_in_Russiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leukemia
  • 2 3 GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE CPSU

    2 Rise in the Communist Party

    Gorbachev attended the important twenty-second PartyCongress in October 1961, where Nikita Khrushchev an-nounced a plan to surpass the U.S. in per capita produc-tion within twenty years. Gorbachev rose in the Com-munist League hierarchy and worked his way up throughterritorial leagues of the party. He was promoted to Headof the Department of Party Organs in the Stavropol Re-gional Committee in 1963.[10]

    In 1970, he was appointed First Party Secretary of theStavropol Regional Committee, a body of the CPSU, be-coming one of the youngest provincial party chiefs in thenation.[10] In this position he helped reorganise the col-lective farms, improve workers living conditions, expandthe size of their private plots, and gave them a greatervoice in planning.[10]

    Identity cards of the General Secretary Central Committee of theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU)Mikhail Gorbachev(1986-1991 yy.)

    He was soon made a member of the Communist PartyCentral Committee in 1971. Three years later, in 1974,he was made a Deputy to the Supreme Soviet of theSoviet Union and Chairman of the Standing Commis-sion on Youth Affairs. He was subsequently appointedto the Central Committees Secretariat for Agriculturein 1978, replacing Fyodor Kulakov, who had supportedGorbachevs appointment, after Kulakov died of a heartattack.[10][11] In 1979, Gorbachev was elected a candidate(non-voting) member of the Politburo, the highest author-ity in the country, and received full membership in 1980.Gorbachev owed his steady rise to power to the patron-age of Mikhail Suslov, the powerful chief ideologist ofthe CPSU.[12]

    During Yuri Andropovs tenure as General Secretary(19821984), Gorbachev became one of the Politburosmost visible and active members.[12] With responsibilityover personnel, working together with Andropov, 20 per-cent of the top echelon of government ministers and re-gional governors were replaced, often with younger men.During this time Grigory Romanov, Nikolai Ryzhkov,and Yegor Ligachev were elevated, the latter two work-ing closely with Gorbachev, Ryzhkov on economics, Lig-achev on personnel.[13]

    Gorbachevs positions within the CPSU created more op-portunities to travel abroad, and this would profoundly af-fect his political and social views in the future as leaderof the country. In 1972, he headed a Soviet delegation to

    Gorbachev in 1966

    Belgium,[10] and three years later he led a delegation toWest Germany; in 1983 he headed a delegation to Canadato meet with Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and mem-bers of the Commons and Senate. In 1984, he travelledto the United Kingdom, where he met British PrimeMin-ister Margaret Thatcher.Andropov died in 1984, and indicated that he wantedGorbachev to succeed him as General Secretary. Instead,the aged Konstantin Chernenko took power, even thoughhe himself was terminally ill.[14] After Chernenkos deaththe following year, it became clear to the party hierarchythat younger leadership was needed.[15] Gorbachev waselected General Secretary by the Politburo on 11 March1985, only three hours after Chernenkos death. Uponhis accession at age 54, he was the youngest member ofthe Politburo.[12] Hewas also the first person to be electedparty leader after having initially failed in a previous bidfor the post.[14]

    3 General Secretary of the CPSU

    Mikhail Gorbachev was the Partys first leader to havebeen born after the Revolution. As de facto ruler ofthe USSR, he tried to reform the stagnating Party andthe state economy by introducing glasnost (openness),perestroika (restructuring), demokratizatsiya (democ-ratization), and uskoreniye (acceleration of economicdevelopment), which were launched at the 27th Congressof the CPSU in February 1986.

    3.1 Domestic reforms

    Gorbachevs primary goal as General Secretary was torevive the Soviet economy after the stagnant Brezh-nev years.[12] In 1985, he announced that the econ-omy was stalled and that reorganization was needed.Gorbachev proposed a vague programme of reform,which was adopted at the April Plenum of the Cen-tral Committee.[11] He called for fast-paced technologicalmodernization and increased industrial and agricultural

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22nd_Congress_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22nd_Congress_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Khrushchevhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Secretary_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Committee_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Committee_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPSUhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Committee_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Committee_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Soviet_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Soviet_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyodor_Kulakovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Suslovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigory_Romanovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Ryzhkovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yegor_Ligachevhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Trudeauhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Commons_of_Canadahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Senatehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcherhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Chernenkohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Revolution_of_1917https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasnosthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perestroikahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratisation_in_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uskoreniyehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_economy
  • 3.1 Domestic reforms 3

    U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev shakinghands at the American-Soviet summit in Washington, D.C., in1987

    productivity, and tried to reform the Soviet bureaucracyto be more efficient and prosperous.[12]

    Gorbachev soon came to believe that fixing the Sovieteconomy would be nearly impossible without reform-ing the political and social structure of the Communistnation.[17] He also initiated the concept of gospriyomka(state acceptance of production) during his time asleader,[18] which represented quality control.[19]

    In a speech in May 1985 in Leningrad (now St. Peters-burg), he advocated widespread reforms. The reformsbegan with personnel changes, most notably by replac-ing Andrei Gromyko with Eduard Shevardnadze as Min-ister of Foreign Affairs. Gromyko, disparaged as MrNyet in the West, had served in the post for 28 yearsand was considered an 'old thinker'. Robert D. Englishnotes that, despite Shevardnadzes diplomatic inexperi-ence, Gorbachev shared with him an outlook and ex-perience in managing an agricultural region of the SovietUnion (Georgia), which meant that both had weak linksto the powerful military-industrial complex.[20]

    A number of reformist ideas were discussed by Polit-buro members. One of the first reforms Gorbachev in-troduced was the anti-alcohol campaign, begun in May1985, which was designed to fight widespread alcoholismin the Soviet Union. Prices of vodka, wine, and beerwere raised, and their sales were restricted. It was pur-sued vigorously and cut both alcohol sales and govern-ment revenue.[21] As a result, alcohol production mi-

    grated to the black market economy and dealt a blow tostate revenuea loss of approximately 100 billion rubles,according to Alexander Yakovlev. However, the programproved to be a useful symbol for change in the country.[21]

    The purpose of reform, was to prop up the centrallyplanned economy, not to transition to market socialism.Speaking in late summer 1985 to the secretaries for eco-nomic affairs of the central committees of the East Euro-pean communist parties, Gorbachev said: Many of yousee the solution to your problems in resorting to marketmechanisms in place of direct planning. Some of youlook at the market as a lifesaver for your economies. But,comrades, you should not think about lifesavers but aboutthe ship, and the ship is socialism.[22]

    3.1.1 Perestroika

    Main article: PerestroikaGorbachev initiated his new policy of perestroika (liter-

    Gorbachev at the Brandenburg Gate in 1986 during a visit to EastGermany

    ally restructuring in Russian) and its attendant radicalreforms in 1986; they were sketched, but not fully spelledout, at the XXVIIth Party Congress in FebruaryMarch1986. The reconstruction was proposed in an attemptto overcome the economic stagnation by creating a de-pendable and effective mechanism for accelerating eco-nomic and social progress.[23]

    According to Gorbachev, perestroikawas the conferenceof development of democracy, socialist self-government,encouragement of initiative and creative endeavor, im-proved order and disciple, more glasnost, criticism andself-criticism in all spheres of our society. It is utmostrespect for the individual and consideration for personaldignity.[23]

    Domestic changes continued. In a bombshell speech dur-ing Armenian SSR's Central Committee Plenum of the

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reaganhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospriyomkahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Petersburghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Petersburghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Gromykohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Shevardnadzehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_SSRhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military-industrial_complexhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_markethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Nikolaevich_Yakovlevhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_economyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_economyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_socialismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perestroikahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_Gatehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germanyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germanyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_the_CPSUhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_SSR
  • 4 3 GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE CPSU

    Communist Party, the young First Secretary of ArmeniasHrazdan Regional Communist Party, Hayk Kotanjian,criticised rampant corruption in the Armenian Commu-nist Partys highest echelons, implicating Armenian SSRCommunist Party First Secretary Karen Demirchyan andcalling for his resignation. Symbolically, intellectualAndrei Sakharov was invited to return to Moscow byGorbachev in December 1986 after six years of internalexile in Gorky. During the samemonth, however, signs ofthe nationalities problem that would haunt the later yearsof the Soviet Union surfaced as riots, named Jeltoqsan,occurred in Kazakhstan after Dinmukhamed Kunayevwas replaced as First Secretary of the Communist Partyof Kazakhstan.The Central Committee Plenum in January 1987 saw thecrystallisation of Gorbachevs political reforms, includingproposals for multi-candidate elections and the appoint-ment of non-Party members to government positions. Healso first raised the idea of expanding co-operatives. Eco-nomic reforms took up much of the rest of 1987, as a newlaw giving enterprises more independence was passed inJune and Gorbachev released a book, Perestroika: NewThinking for Our Country and the World, in November,elucidating his main ideas for reform. In 1987, he reha-bilitatedmany opponents of Joseph Stalin, another part ofthe De-Stalinization, which began in 1956, when LeninsTestament was published.

    3.1.2 Glasnost

    Main article: Glasnost1988 would see Gorbachevs introduction of glasnost,

    Gorbachev with Erich Honecker, East Germany

    which gave the Soviet people freedoms that they hadnever previously known, including greater freedom ofspeech. The press became far less controlled, and thou-sands of political prisoners and many dissidents were re-leased. Gorbachevs goal in undertaking glasnost was topressure conservatives within the CPSU who opposed hispolicies of economic restructuring, and he also hoped thatthrough different ranges of openness, debate and partic-ipation, the Soviet people would support his reform ini-tiatives. At the same time, he opened himself and hisreforms up for more public criticism, evident in Nina An-

    dreyeva's critical letter in a March edition of SovetskayaRossiya.[11] Gorbachev acknowledged that his liberalis-ing policies of glasnost and perestroika owed a great dealto Alexander Dubek's Socialism with a human face.Indeed, when one reporter asked him what was the dif-ference between his policies and the Prague Spring, Gor-bachev replied, Nineteen years.[24]

    The Law on Cooperatives, enacted inMay 1988, was per-haps the most radical economic reform of the early Gor-bachev era. For the first time since Vladimir Lenin's NewEconomic Policy, the law permitted private ownershipof businesses in the service, manufacturing, and foreign-trade sectors. The law initially imposed high taxes andemployment restrictions, although these were ignored bysome SSRs. Later, the restrictions were revised to avoiddiscouraging private-sector activity. Under the provisionfor private ownership, cooperative restaurants, shops, andmanufacturers became part of the Soviet scene. Underthe new law, the restructuring of large All-Union in-dustrial organisations also began. Aeroflot was split up,eventually becoming several independent airlines. Thesenewly autonomous business organisations were encour-aged to seek foreign investment.In June 1988, at the CPSUs Party Conference, Gor-bachev launched radical reforms meant to reduce partycontrol of the government apparatus. He proposed a newexecutive in the form of a presidential system, as well as anew legislative element, to be called the Congress of Peo-ples Deputies.[11] Elections to the Congress of PeoplesDeputies were held throughout the Soviet Union inMarchand April 1989. This was the first free election in the So-viet Union since 1917. Gorbachev became Chairman ofthe Supreme Soviet (or head of state) on 25 May 1989.

    3.2 Presidency of the USSR

    On 15 March 1990, Gorbachev was elected as the firstexecutive President of the Soviet Union with 59% ofthe Deputies votes. He was the sole candidate on theballot. The Congress met for the first time on 25 Mayin order to elect representatives from Congress to sit onthe Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Nonetheless,the Congress posed problems for Gorbachev: its ses-sions were televised, airing more criticism and encour-aging people to expect ever more rapid reform. In theelections, many Party candidates were defeated. Further-more, Boris Yeltsin was elected in Moscow and returnedto political prominence to become an increasingly vocalcritic of Gorbachev.[11]

    Following American practice, Gorbachev chose a VicePresident. However, when first Shevardnadze, thenKazakh leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, turned it down,Gorbachev chose Gennady Yanayev, the head of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions and a knownhardliner. This decision would come back to haunt Gor-bachev later.[14]

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayk_Kotanjianhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Demirchyanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Sakharovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nizhny_Novgorodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeltoqsanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinmukhamed_Kunayevhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Kazakhstanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Kazakhstanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1953%E2%80%931985)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenin%2527s_Testamenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenin%2527s_Testamenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasnosthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Honeckerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germanyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Andreyevahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Andreyevahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovetskaya_Rossiyahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovetskaya_Rossiyahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Dub%C4%8Dekhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Springhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_on_Cooperativeshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Leninhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Economic_Policyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Economic_Policyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflothttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_People%2527s_Deputies_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_People%2527s_Deputies_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_leaders_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_leaders_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Yeltsinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_President_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_President_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakhstanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursultan_Nazarbayevhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gennady_Yanayevhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Union_Central_Council_of_Trade_Unionshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Union_Central_Council_of_Trade_Unions
  • 3.2 Presidency of the USSR 5

    3.2.1 Foreign engagements

    Gorbachev meets Romanian leader Nicolae Ceauescu, 1985

    In contrast to his controversial domestic reforms, Gor-bachev was largely hailed in the West for his 'new think-ing' in foreign affairs. During his tenure, he sought to im-prove relations and trade with the West by reducing ColdWar tensions. He established close relationships with sev-eral Western leaders, such as West German ChancellorHelmut Kohl, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, and BritishPrime Minister Margaret Thatcherwho famously re-marked: I like Mr. Gorbachev; we can do businesstogether.[25]

    Gorbachev understood the link between achieving inter-national dtente and domestic reform and thus beganextending New Thinking abroad immediately. On 8April 1985, he announced the suspension of the deploy-ment of SS-20s in Europe as a move towards resolvingintermediate-range nuclear weapons (INF) issues. Laterthat year, in September, Gorbachev proposed that the So-viets and Americans both cut their nuclear arsenals inhalf. He went to France on his first trip abroad as So-viet leader in October. November saw the Geneva Sum-mit between Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan. Though noconcrete agreement was made, Gorbachev and Reaganstruck a personal relationship and decided to hold furthermeetings.[11]

    January 1986 would see Gorbachev make his boldest in-ternational move so far, when he announced his pro-posal for the elimination of intermediate-range nuclearweapons in Europe and his strategy for eliminating allnuclear weapons by the year 2000 (often referred to asthe 'January Proposal'). He also began the process ofwithdrawing troops from Afghanistan and Mongolia on28 July.[11] Nonetheless, many observers, such as JackF. Matlock, Jr. (despite generally praising Gorbachev aswell as Reagan), have criticized Gorbachev for taking toolong to achievewithdrawal from theAfghanistanWar, cit-ing it as an example of lingering elements of old think-

    Reagan and Gorbachev with wives (Nancy and Raisa, respec-tively) attending a dinner at the Soviet Embassy in Washington,DC. 9 December 1987

    ing in Gorbachev.[26]

    On 11 October 1986, Gorbachev and Reagan met atHfi house in Reykjavk, Iceland, to discuss reducingintermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe. To theimmense surprise of both mens advisers, the two agreedin principle to removing INF systems from Europe andto equal global limits of 100 INF missile warheads. Theyalso essentially agreed in principle to eliminate all nu-clear weapons in 10 years (by 1996), instead of by theyear 2000 as in Gorbachevs original outline.[26] Contin-uing trust issues, particularly over reciprocity and Rea-gans Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), meant that thesummit is often regarded as a failure for not produc-ing a concrete agreement immediately, or for leading toa staged elimination of nuclear weapons. In the longterm, nevertheless, this would culminate in the signingof the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treatyin 1987, after Gorbachev had proposed this eliminationon 22 July 1987 (and it was subsequently agreed on inGeneva on 24 November).[11]

    In February 1988, Gorbachev announced the full with-drawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan. The with-drawal was completed the following year, although thecivil war continued as the Mujahedin pushed to over-throw the pro-Soviet Najibullah government. An esti-mated 28,000 Soviets were killed between 1979 and 1989as a result of the Afghanistan War.Also during 1988, Gorbachev announced that the SovietUnion would abandon the Brezhnev Doctrine, and allowthe Eastern bloc nations to freely determine their own in-ternal affairs. Jokingly dubbed the "Sinatra Doctrine"by Gorbachevs Foreign Ministry spokesman GennadiGerasimov, this policy of non-intervention in the affairsof the other Warsaw Pact states proved to be the mostmomentous of Gorbachevs foreign policy reforms. Inhis 6 July 1989 speech arguing for a "common Euro-pean home" before the Council of Europe in Strasbourg,France, Gorbachev declared: The social and politicalorder in some countries changed in the past, and it canchange in the future too, but this is entirely a matter for

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Ceau%C5%9Fescuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Kohlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcherhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT-21M_Pioneerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Summit_(1985)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Summit_(1985)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weaponhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weaponhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_Afghanistanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%2527s_Republic_of_Mongoliahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_F._Matlock,_Jr.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_F._Matlock,_Jr.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Afghan_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embassy_of_Russia_in_Washington,_D.C.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B6f%C3%B0ihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reykjav%C3%ADkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Defense_Initiativehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermediate-Range_Nuclear_Forces_Treatyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mujahedinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Najibullahhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Afghan_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brezhnev_Doctrinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_blochttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinatra_Doctrinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gennadi_Gerasimovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gennadi_Gerasimovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Pacthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_homehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_homehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Europehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strasbourg
  • 6 3 GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE CPSU

    Gorbachev in one-on-one discussions with Reagan

    each people to decide. Any interference in the internalaffairs, or any attempt to limit the sovereignty of anotherstate, friend, ally, or another, would be inadmissible. Amonth earlier, on 4 June 1989, elections had taken placein Poland and the communist government had alreadybeen deposed.Moscows abandonment of the Brezhnev Doctrine al-lowed the rise of popular upheavals in Eastern Europethroughout 1989, in which Communism was overthrown.By the end of 1989, revolts had spread from one EasternEuropean capital to another, ousting the regimes built inEastern Europe after World War II. Except in Romania,the popular upheavals against the pro-Soviet regimes wereall peaceful (see Revolutions of 1989). The loosening ofSoviet hegemony over Eastern Europe effectively endedthe Cold War, and for this, Gorbachev was awarded theOtto Hahn Peace Medal in Gold in 1989 and the NobelPeace Prize on 15 October 1990.

    Reagan and Vice-President Bush meeting with Gorbachev onGovernors Island, New York City, 7 December 1988

    On 9 November, people in East Germany (the GermanDemocratic Republic, GDR) were suddenly allowed tocross through the Berlin Wall into West Berlin, followinga peaceful protest against the countrys dictatorial admin-istration, including a demonstration by some one millionpeople in East Berlin on 4 November. Unlike earlier ri-ots which were ended by military force with the help of

    the USSR, Gorbachev, who came to be lovingly calledGorby in West Germany, now decided not to interferewith the process in Germany.[27] He stated that Germanreunification was an internal German matter.The rest of 1989 was taken up by the increasingly prob-lematic question of nationalities and the dramatic frag-mentation of the Eastern Bloc. Despite unprecedentedinternational dtente, due to Soviet withdrawal fromAfghanistan completed in January and continuing talksbetween Gorbachev and George H. W. Bush, domesticreforms suffered from increasing divergence between re-formists, who wanted faster change, and conservatives,who wanted to limit change. Gorbachev states that hetried to find middle ground between both groups, but thiswould draw more criticism towards him.[11] The storyfrom this point onmoves away from reforms and becomesone of the nationalities question and the eventual dissolu-tion of the Soviet Union.

    Gorbachev and George H. W. Bush, 1990

    Coit D. Blacker wrote in 1990 that the Soviet leadershipappeared to have believed that whatever loss of authoritythe Soviet Union might suffer in Eastern Europe wouldbe more than offset by a net increase in its influence inWestern Europe.[28] Nevertheless, it is unlikely that Gor-bachev ever intended for the dismantling of Communismin Warsaw Pact countries. Rather, he assumed that theCommunist parties of Eastern Europe could be reformedin a similar way to the reforms he hoped to achieve in theCPSU. Just as perestroikawas aimed at making the USSRmore efficient economically and politically, Gorbachevbelieved that the Comecon and Warsaw Pact could be re-formed into more effective entities. Alexander Yakovlev,a close advisor to Gorbachev, would later state that itwould have been absurd to keep the system in EasternEurope. In contrast to Gorbachev, Yakovlev had come tothe conclusion that the Soviet-dominated Comecon wasinherently unworkable and that the Warsaw Pact had norelevance to real life.[29]

    3.2.2 Dissolution of the Soviet Union

    Main article: Dissolution of the Soviet Union

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reaganhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutions_of_1989https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Hahn_Peace_Medalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor%2527s_Islandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Cityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germanyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wallhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Berlinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afghanistanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._W._Bushhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._W._Bushhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coit_D._Blackerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comeconhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Pacthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union
  • 3.2 Presidency of the USSR 7

    While Gorbachevs political initiatives were positive forfreedom and democracy in the Soviet Union and its East-ern bloc allies, the economic policy of his governmentgradually brought the country close to disaster. By theend of the 1980s, severe shortages of basic food supplies(meat, sugar) led to the reintroduction of the war-timesystem of distribution using food cards that limited eachcitizen to a certain amount of product per month. Com-pared to 1985, the state deficit grew from 0 to 109 billionrubles; gold funds decreased from 2,000 to 200 tons; andexternal debt grew from 0 to 120 billion dollars.Furthermore, the democratisation of the Soviet Unionand Eastern Europe had irreparably undermined thepower of the CPSU and Gorbachev himself. The relax-ation of censorship and attempts to create more politi-cal openness had the unintended effect of re-awakeninglong-suppressed nationalist and anti-Russian feelings inthe Soviet republics. Calls for greater independence fromMoscows rule grew louder, especially in the Baltic re-publics of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, which had beenannexed into the Soviet Union by Joseph Stalin in 1940.Nationalist feeling also took hold in Georgia, Ukraine,Armenia, and Azerbaijan.In December 1986, the first signs of the nationalitiesproblem that would haunt the later years of the SovietUnions existence surfaced as riots, named Jeltoqsan, oc-curred in Alma Ata and other areas of Kazakhstan af-ter Dinmukhamed Kunayev was replaced as First Secre-tary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. National-ism would then surface in Russia in May 1987, as 600members of Pamyat, a nascent Russian nationalist group,demonstrated in Moscow and were becoming increas-ingly linked to Boris Yeltsin, who received their repre-sentatives at a meeting.[11]

    Glasnost hastened awareness of the national sovereigntyproblem. The free flow of information had been so com-pletely suppressed for so long in the Soviet Union thatmany of the ruling class had all but forgotten that theSoviet Union was an empire conquered through militaryforce. Thus, the extreme degree of local desire for inde-pendent control of their own affairs took these leaders bysurprise, and the leaders were unprepared for the depthof the long pent-up feelings that were released.Violence erupted in Nagorno-Karabakhan Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijanbetween February andApril, when Armenians living in the area began a newwave of demands to transfer of NKAO from Azerbaijanto Armenia which eventually led to full scale Nagorno-KarabakhWar.[30] Gorbachev imposed a temporary solu-tion, but it did not last, as fresh trouble arose in Nagorno-Karabakh between June and July. Turmoil would onceagain return in late 1988, this time in Armenia itself,when the Spitak earthquake hit the region on 7 Decem-ber. Poor local infrastructure magnified the hazard andsome 25,000 people died.[11] Gorbachev was forced tobreak off his trip to the United States and cancel planned

    travel to Cuba and the UK.[11]

    In March and April 1989 elections to the Congressof Peoples Deputies took place throughout the SovietUnion. This returned many pro-independence repub-licans, as many CPSU candidates were rejected. Thetelevised Congress debates allowed the dissemination ofpro-independence propositions. Indeed, 1989 would seenumerous nationalistic protests; for example, beginningwith the Baltic republics in January, laws were passed inmost non-Russian republics giving precedence for the lo-cal language over Russian.

    Gorbachev addressing the United Nations General Assembly inDecember 1988. During the speech he dramatically announceddeep unilateral cuts in Soviet military forces in Eastern Europe.

    9 April would see the crackdown of nationalist demon-strations by Soviet troops in Tbilisi, Georgia. Therewould be further bloody protests in Uzbekistan in June,where Uzbeks and Meskhetian Turks clashed in Fergana,Uzbekistan. Apart from this violence, three major eventsthat altered the face of the nationalities issue occurred in1989. Estonia had declared its sovereignty on 16 Novem-ber 1988, to be followed by Lithuania inMay 1989 and byLatvia in July (the Communist Party of Lithuania wouldalso declare its independence from the CPSU in Decem-ber). This brought the Union and the republics into clearconfrontation and would form a precedent for other re-publics.Around the 50th anniversary of the signing of the 1939Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in July 1989, the Soviet gov-

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_(political)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratisation_in_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republics_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_stateshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_stateshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeltoqsanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almatyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinmukhamed_Kunayevhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Kazakhstanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamyathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Yeltsinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NKAOhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagorno-Karabakh_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagorno-Karabakh_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Armenian_earthquakehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union_legislative_election,_1989https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assemblyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9_April_tragedyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tbilisihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferganahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbekistanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonian_Sovereignty_Declarationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Lithuaniahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molotov-Ribbentrop_Pact
  • 8 3 GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE CPSU

    ernment formally acknowledged that the plan had in-cluded the placing of the Baltic states into the Sovietsphere of influence, which paved the way for their an-nexation into the USSR in 1940. The revelation sup-ported the long-denied proposition that the Baltic stateshad been involuntarily brought into the Soviet Union, andso it boosted the Baltic aspirations to reestablish their in-dependence. Finally, the Eastern bloc fragmented in theautumn of 1989, raising hopes that Gorbachev would ex-tend his non-interventionist doctrine to the internal work-ings of the USSR.[11]

    Crisis of the Union: 19901991 1990 began withnationalist turmoil in January. Azerbaijanis riotedand troops were sent in to restore order; manyMoldovans demonstrated in favour of unification withpost-Communist Romania; and Lithuanian demonstra-tions continued. The same month, in a hugely signifi-cant move, Armenia asserted its right to veto laws com-ing from the All-Union level, thus intensifying the warof laws between republics and Moscow.[11]

    Soon after, the CPSU, which had already lost muchof its control, began to lose even more power as Gor-bachev deepened political reform. The February CentralCommittee Plenum advocated multi-party elections; lo-cal elections held between February and March returneda large number of pro-independence candidates. TheCongress of Peoples Deputies then amended the SovietConstitution in March, removing Article 6, which guar-anteed the monopoly of the CPSU. Thus, the political re-form came from above and below, and gainedmomentumthat would augment republican nationalism. Soon afterthe constitutional amendment, Lithuania declared inde-pendence and elected Vytautas Landsbergis as Chairmanof the Supreme Council (head of state).[11]

    On 15 March, Gorbachev himself was elected as thefirstand as it turned out, onlyPresident of the So-viet Union by the Congress of Peoples Deputies andchose a Presidential Council of 15 politicians. Gorbachevwas essentially creating his own political support base in-dependent of CPSU conservatives and radical reform-ers. The new Executive was designed to be a power-ful position to guide the spiraling reform process, andthe Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union and Congress ofPeoples Deputies had already given Gorbachev increas-ingly presidential powers in February. This was againcriticized by reformers. Despite the apparent increase inGorbachevs power, he was unable to stop the process ofnationalistic assertion. Further embarrassing facts aboutSoviet history were revealed in April, when the govern-ment admitted that the NKVD had carried out the in-famous Katyn Massacre of Polish army officers duringWorld War II; previously, the USSR had blamed NaziGermany. More significantly for Gorbachevs position,Boris Yeltsin reached a new level of prominence, as hewas elected Chairman of the Presidium of the SupremeSoviet of the Russian SFSR in May, effectively making

    him the de jure leader of the Russian Soviet FederativeSocialist Republic. Problems for Gorbachev once againcame from the Russian parliament in June, when it de-clared the precedence of Russian laws over All-Union-level legislation.[11]

    Anti-Armenian and anti-government Dushanbe riots inTajikistan, 1990

    Gorbachevs personal position continued changing. Atthe 28th CPSU Congress in July, Gorbachev was re-elected General Secretary but this position was now com-pletely independent of Soviet government, and the Polit-buro had no say in the ruling of the country. Gorbachevfurther reduced Party power in the same month, whenhe issued a decree abolishing Party control of all areasof the media and broadcasting. At the same time, Gor-bachev worked to consolidate his presidential position,culminating in the Supreme Soviet granting him specialpowers to rule by decree in September in order to passa much-needed plan for transition to a market economy.However, the Supreme Soviet could not agree on whichprogram to adopt. Gorbachev pressed on with politicalreform, his proposal for setting up a new Soviet govern-ment, with a Soviet of the Federation consisting of repre-sentatives from all 15 republics, was passed through theSupreme Soviet in November. In December, Gorbachevwas once more granted increased executive power by theSupreme Soviet, arguing that such moves were necessaryto counter the dark forces of nationalism". Such movesled to Eduard Shevardnadze's resignation; Gorbachevsformer ally warned of an impending dictatorship. Thismove was a serious blow to Gorbachev personally and tohis efforts for reform.[11]

    Meanwhile, Gorbachev was losing further ground tonationalists. October 1990 saw the founding ofDemRossiya, the Russian pro-reform coalition; a fewdays later, both Ukraine and Russia declared their lawscompletely sovereign over Soviet laws. The 'war of lawshad become an open battle, with the Supreme Soviet re-fusing to recognise the actions of the two republics. Gor-bachev would publish the draft of a new union treaty inNovember, which envisioned a continued union calledthe Union of Sovereign Soviet Republics, but, going into1991, Gorbachevs actions of were steadily overpowered

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphere_of_influencehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-interventionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldovahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vytautas_Landsbergishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanian_Supreme_Councilhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Council_(USSR)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NKVDhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katyn_Massacrehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_German_Workers_Partyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_German_Workers_Partyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chairman_of_the_Presidium_of_the_Supreme_Soviet_of_the_Russian_SFSRhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chairman_of_the_Presidium_of_the_Supreme_Soviet_of_the_Russian_SFSRhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Soviet_Federative_Socialist_Republichttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Soviet_Federative_Socialist_Republichttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Dushanbe_riotshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajikistanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28th_Congress_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Shevardnadzehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Russiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_Sovereign_States
  • 3.2 Presidency of the USSR 9

    by secessionism.[11]

    Berlin Wall, Thank you, Gorbi!", October 1990

    January and February would see a new level of turmoilin the Baltic republics. On 10 January 1991, Gorbachevissued an ultimatum-like request addressing the Lithua-nian Supreme Council demanding the restoration of thevalidity of the constitution of the Soviet Union in Lithua-nia and revocation of all anti-constitutional laws.[31] Inhis Memoirs, Gorbachev asserts that on 12 January heconvened the Council of the Federation which agreed topolitical measures to prevent bloodshed, including send-ing representatives of the Council of the Federation on afact-finding mission to Vilnius. However, before thedelegation arrived, the local branches of the KGB andarmed forces had worked together to seize the TV towerin Vilnius; Gorbachev asked the heads of the KGB andmilitary if they had approved such action, and there is noevidence that they, or Gorbachev, ever did. Gorbachevcites documents found in the RSFSR Prokuratura afterthe August coup, which only mentioned that some 'au-thorities" had sanctioned the actions.[11]

    The book Alpha the KGBs Top Secret Unit also suggeststhat a KGB operation co-ordinated with the militarywas undertaken by the KGB Alpha Group.[32] ArchieBrown, in The Gorbachev Factor, uses the memoirs ofmany people around Gorbachev and in the upper eche-lons of the Soviet political landscape, to implicate Gen-eral Valentin Varennikov, a member of the August coupplotters, and General Vladislav Achalov, another Augustcoup conspirator. These persons were characterised as in-dividuals who were prepared to remove Gorbachev fromhis presidential office unconstitutionally and were morethan capable of using unauthorised violence against na-tionalist separatists some months earlier. Brown crit-icises Gorbachev for a conscious tilt in the directionof the conservative forces he was trying to keep withinan increasingly fragile coalition who would later betrayhim; he also criticises Gorbachev for his tougher line andheightened rhetoric against the Lithuanians in the dayspreceding the attack and for his slowness in condemningthe killings but notes that Gorbachev did not approve anyaction and was seeking political solutions.[33]

    In continued violence, at least 14 civilians were killed andmore than 600 injured from 1113 January 1991 in Vil-

    nius, Lithuania. News of support for Lithuanians fromWestern governments began to appear. The strong West-ern reaction and actions of Russian democratic forces putthe Soviet president and government into an awkward po-sition. Further problems surfaced in Riga, Latvia, on 20and 21 January, where OMON (special Ministry of theInterior troops) killed 4 people. Archie Brown suggeststhat Gorbachevs response this time was better, condemn-ing the rogue action, sending his condolences and suggest-ing that secession could take place if it went through theprocedures outlined in the Soviet constitution. Accord-ing to Gorbachevs aide, Shakhnazarov, Gorbachev wasfinally beginning to accept the inevitability of losing theBaltic republics, although he would try all political meansto preserve the Union. Brown believes that this put himin imminent danger of being overthrown by hard-linersopposing secession.[33]

    Gorbachev thus continued to draw up a new treaty ofunion which would have created a truly voluntary feder-ation in an increasingly democratised Soviet Union. Thenew treaty was strongly supported by the Central Asianrepublics, who needed the economic power and marketsof the Soviet Union to prosper. However, the more rad-ical reformists, such as Russian SFSR President BorisYeltsin, were increasingly convinced that a rapid transi-tion to a market economy was required and were morethan happy to contemplate the disintegration of the So-viet Union if that was required to achieve their aims.Nevertheless, a referendum on the future of the SovietUnion was held in March (with a referendum in Russiaon the creation of a presidency), which returned an av-erage of 76.4% in the nine republics where it was taken,with a turnout of 80% of the adult population.[33] Esto-nia, Latvia, Lithuania, Armenia, Georgia and Moldovadid not participate. Following this, an April meeting atNovo-Ogarevo between Gorbachev and the heads of thenine republics issued a statement on speeding up the cre-ation of a new Union treaty.In May, a hardline newspaper published Architectamidst the Ruins, an open letter criticizing Yakovlev (of-ten referred to as the architect of perestroika") which wassigned by Gennady Zyuganov. Many also saw this publi-cation as the start of a campaign to oust Gorbachev.Meanwhile, on 12 June 1991 Boris Yeltsin was electedPresident of the Russian Federation by 57.3% of the vote(with a turnout of 74%).[11]

    Coup of August 1991 Main article: 1991 Soviet coupd'tat attempt

    In contrast to the reformers moderate approach to thenew treaty, the hard-line apparatchiks, still strong withinthe CPSU and military establishment, completely op-posed anything which might lead to the break-up of theSoviet Union. On the eve of the treatys signing, hardlineSoviet leaders, calling themselves the 'State Committee

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_republicshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilniushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KGBhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Soviet_coup_d%2527%C3%A9tat_attempt#August_couphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Grouphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Brownhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Brownhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentin_Varennikovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladislav_Achalovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Brownhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novo-Ogarevohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architect_amidst_the_Ruinshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architect_amidst_the_Ruinshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_letterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gennady_Zyuganovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_Russian_Federationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Soviet_coup_d%2527%C3%A9tat_attempthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Soviet_coup_d%2527%C3%A9tat_attempthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apparatchikhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Committee_on_the_State_of_Emergency
  • 10 4 POST-PRESIDENCY

    on the State of Emergency', launched the August coupin 1991 in an attempt to remove Gorbachev from powerand prevent the signing of the new union treaty. Underthe pretense that Gorbachev was ill, his vice president,Yanayev, took over as president. Gorbachev spent threedays (19, 20, and 21 August) under house arrest at hisdacha in the Crimea before being freed and restored topower. However, upon his return, Gorbachev found thatneither union nor Russian power structures heeded hiscommands as support had swung over to Yeltsin, whosedefiance had led to the coups collapse.Furthermore, Gorbachev was forced to fire large num-bers of his Politburo and, in several cases, arrest them.Those arrested for high treason included the "Gangof Eight" that had led the coup, including Kryuchkov,Yazov, Pavlov and Yanayev. Pugo was found shot; andAkhromeyev, who had offered his assistance but wasnever implicated, was found hanging in his Kremlin of-fice. Most of these men had been former allies of Gor-bachevs or promoted by him, which drew fresh criticism.

    Final collapse For all intents and purposes, the coupdestroyed Gorbachev politically. On 24 August, he ad-vised the Central Committee to dissolve, resigned as Gen-eral Secretary and dissolved all party units within thegovernment. Shortly afterward, the Supreme Soviet sus-pended all Party activities on Soviet territory. In effect,Communist rule in the Soviet Union had endedthuseliminating the only unifying force left in the country.Gorbachevs hopes of a new Union were further hit whenthe Congress of Peoples Deputies dissolved itself on5 September. Though Gorbachev and the representa-tives of eight republics (excluding Azerbaijan, Geor-gia, Moldova, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia)signed an agreement on forming a new economic com-munity on 18 October, events were overtaking him.[11]The Soviet Union collapsed with dramatic speed duringthe latter part of 1991, as one republic after another de-clared independence. By the autumn, Gorbachev couldno longer influence events outside Moscow, and he waschallenged even there by Yeltsin. Following the coup,Yeltsin suspended all CPSU activities on Russian terri-tory and closed the Central Committee building at StarayaSquare. He also ordered the Russian flag raised alongsidethe Soviet flag at the Kremlin. In the waning months of1991, Russia began taking over what remained of the So-viet government, including the Kremlin.With the country in a state of near collapse, Gorbachevsvision of a renewed union effectively received a fatalblow by a Ukrainian referendum on 1 December, wherethe Ukrainian people overwhelmingly voted for indepen-dence. Ukraine had been the second most powerful re-public in the Soviet Union after Russia, and its secessionended any realistic chance of the Soviet Union stayingunited even on a limited scale. The presidents of Russia,Ukraine and Belarus met in Belovezh Forest, near Brest,

    Belarus, on 8 December and signed the Belavezha Ac-cords, which declared the Soviet Union had ceased to ex-ist and formed the Commonwealth of Independent Statesas its successor. Gorbachev initially denounced this moveas illegal.[11]

    However, on 12 December, the RSFSR Supreme Sovietratified the Belevezha Accords and denounced the 1922Union Treaty. It was now apparent that the momentumtowards dissolution could not be stopped. Shortly afterthe RSFSR ratified the Accords, Gorbachev hinted thathe was considering stepping aside.[34] On 17 December,he accepted the fait accompli and reluctantly agreed withYeltsin to dissolve the Soviet Union.[11] Four days later,the leaders of 11 of the 12 remaining republicsall ex-cept Georgia (the Baltic states had already seceded inAugust)--signed the Alma-Ata Protocol which formallyestablished the CIS. They also preemptively acceptedGorbachevs resignation. When Gorbachev learned whathad transpired, he told CBS that he would resign as soonas he saw that the CIS was indeed a reality.[35]

    On the night of 25 December, in a nationally tele-vised speech, Gorbachev announced his resignation aspresidentas he put it, I hereby discontinue my activi-ties at the post of President of the Union of Soviet Social-ist Republics. He declared the office extinct and handedover its functionsincluding control of the Soviet nuclearcodesto Yeltsin. The Soviet Union was formally dis-solved the following day. Two days after Gorbachev leftoffice, on 27 December, Yeltsin moved into Gorbachevsold office.[11]

    Gorbachev had aimed to maintain the CPSU as a unitedparty but move it in the direction of Scandinavian-stylesocial democracy.[36] But when the CPSUwas proscribedafter the August coup, Gorbachev was left with no ef-fective power base beyond the armed forces. In the af-termath of the coup, his rival Yeltsin quickly worked toconsolidate his hold on the Russian government as well asthe remnants of the Soviet armed forces, paving the wayfor Gorbachevs downfall.

    4 Post-presidency

    Following his resignation and the dissolution of the So-viet Union, Gorbachev remained active in Russian pol-itics. During the early years of the post-Soviet era, heexpressed criticism at the reforms carried out by Rus-sian president Boris Yeltsin. When Yeltsin called a ref-erendum for 25 April 1993 in an attempt to achieve evengreater powers as president, Gorbachev did not vote andinstead called for new presidential elections.[37]

    Following a failed run for the presidency in 1996, Gor-bachev established the Social Democratic Party of Rus-sia, a union between several Russian social democraticparties. He resigned as party leader in May 2004 follow-ing a disagreement with the partys chairman over the di-

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Committee_on_the_State_of_Emergencyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_coup_attempt_of_1991https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimeahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang_of_Eight_(Soviet_Union)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang_of_Eight_(Soviet_Union)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Kryuchkovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitriy_Yazovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentin_Pavlovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Pugohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Akhromeyevhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Committeehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staraya_Squarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staraya_Squarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Russiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kremlinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_independence_referendum,_1991https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belovezh_Foresthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brest,_Belarushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brest,_Belarushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belavezha_Accordshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belavezha_Accordshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Independent_Stateshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alma-Ata_Protocolhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_modelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_democracyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_presidential_election,_1996
  • 11

    Gorbachev with Indian spiritual master Sri Chinmoy

    rection taken in the 2003 election campaign. The partywas later banned in 2007 by the Supreme Court of theRussian Federation due to its failure to establish local of-fices with at least 500 members in the majority of Rus-sian regions, which is required by Russian law for a po-litical organization to be listed as a party.[38] Later thatyear, Gorbachev founded a new political party, called theUnion of Social Democrats.[4] In June 2004, he repre-sented Russia at the funeral of Ronald Reagan.

    Gorbachev, daughter Irina and his wifes sister Lyudmila at thefuneral of Raisa, 1999

    Gorbachev appeared in numerous media channels afterhis resignation from office. In 1993, he appeared as him-self in the WimWenders film Faraway, So Close!, the se-quel to Wings of Desire. In 1997, Gorbachev appearedwith his granddaughter Anastasia in an internationallyscreened television commercial for Pizza Hut.[39] TheU.S. corporations payment for the 60-second ad wentto Gorbachevs non-profit Gorbachev Foundation.[40] In2007, French luxury brand Louis Vuitton announced thatGorbachev would be shown in an ad campaign, shotby Annie Leibovitz, for their signature luggage.[41] InFebruary 2014, during the winter Olympic Games heldin Sochi, Russia, 82-year-old Gorbachev made a rareappearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in asegment where he was tracked down and interviewed

    by comedic correspondent Jason Jones on location fromMoscow.[42]

    Following Boris Yeltsins death on 23 April 2007, Gor-bachev released a eulogy for him, stating that Yeltsin wasto be commended for assuming the difficult task of lead-ing the nation into the post-Soviet era, and on whoseshoulders are both great deeds for the country and seri-ous errors.[43]

    On 16 June 2009, Gorbachev announced that he hadrecorded an album of old Russian romantic ballads enti-tled Songs for Raisa to raise money for a charity dedicatedto his late wife. On the album, he sings the songs him-self accompanied by Russian musician Andrei Makare-vich.[44]

    Gorbachev (left) with former Canadian Prime Minister BrianMulroney and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcherat the funeral of Ronald Reagan, 11 June 2004

    Since his resignation, Gorbachev has remained involvedin world affairs. He founded theGorbachev Foundation in1992, headquartered in San Francisco. He later foundedGreenCross International, with which hewas one of threemajor sponsors of the Earth Charter. He also became amember of the Club of Rome and the Club of Madrid,an independent non-profit organization composed of 81democratic former presidents and Prime Ministers from57 different countries.In the decade that followed the Cold War, Gorbachev op-posed both the U.S.-led NATO bombing of Yugoslaviain 1999 and the U.S.-led Iraq War in 2003. On 27 July2007, Gorbachev criticized U.S. foreign policy: Whathas followed are unilateral actions, what has followedare wars, what has followed is ignoring the UN SecurityCouncil, ignoring international law and ignoring the willof the people, even the American people, he said.[45]That same year, he visited New Orleans, a city hard-hitby Hurricane Katrina, and promised he would return in2011 to personally lead a local revolution if the U.S. gov-ernment had not repaired the levees by that time. He saidthat revolutionary action should be a last resort.[46]

    In May, 2008, The Telegraph (UK), published an arti-cle, Gorbachev: US could start new Cold War, whichquotes Gorbachev saying, The Americans promised that

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Chinmoyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_legislative_election,_2003https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_Russian_Federationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_Russian_Federationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_funeral_of_Ronald_Reaganhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Wendershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraway,_So_Close!https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wings_of_Desirehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizza_Huthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorbachev_Foundationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Vuittonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Leibovitzhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Show_with_Jon_Stewarthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Makarevichhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Makarevichhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Mulroneyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Mulroneyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_State_funeral_of_Ronald_Reaganhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorbachev_Foundationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Cross_Internationalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Charterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_of_Romehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_of_Madridhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_bombing_of_Yugoslaviahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_foreign_policyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleanshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina
  • 12 4 POST-PRESIDENCY

    NATO wouldn't move beyond the boundaries of Ger-many after the Cold War but now half of central andeastern Europe are members, so what happened to theirpromises? It shows they cannot be trusted.[47]

    Concerning the 2008 South Ossetia war, started by aGeorgian attack on Tskhinvali, the capital of pro-RussianSouth Ossetia,[48] in a 12 August 2008 op-ed essay in TheWashington Post, Gorbachev criticized the United Statessupport for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili andfor moving to bring the Caucasus into the sphere of itsnational interest.[49] He later said the following:

    Russia did not want this crisis. The Rus-sian leadership is in a strong enough positiondomestically; it did not need a little victori-ous war. Russia was dragged into the frayby the recklessness of the Georgian presi-dent, Mikheil Saakashvili...The decision by theRussian president, Dmitri Medvedev, to nowcease hostilities was the right move by a re-sponsible leader. The Russian president actedcalmly, confidently and firmly...The plannersof this campaign clearly wanted to make surethat, whatever the outcome, Russia would beblamed for worsening the situation. The Westthen mounted a propaganda attack against Rus-sia, with the American news media leading theway.[50]

    In September 2008, Gorbachev announced he wouldmake a comeback to Russian politics along with a for-mer KGB officer, Alexander Lebedev.[51] Their party isknown as the Independent Democratic Party of Russia.He also is part owner of the opposition newspaperNovayaGazeta.[52]

    Gorbachev (right) being introduced to Barack Obama by JoeBiden, 20 March 2009

    On 20 March 2009, Gorbachev met with United StatesPresident Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Bidenin efforts to reset strained relations between Russia andthe United States.On 27 March 2009, Gorbachev visited Eureka College,Illinois, which is the alma mater of former U.S. Presi-

    dent Ronald Reagan with whom he had negotiated his-toric nuclear arms reduction treaties. Gorbachev touredthe Reagan Museum on campus, met with students, andspoke at a convocation in the Reagan Center; he then trav-eled to the nearby Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, Illinois,as the keynote speaker at the combined George Washing-ton/Ronald Reagan Day Dinner where college presidentJ. David Arnold named him an Honorary Reagan Fellowof Eureka College.[53]

    To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall ofthe Berlin Wall, Gorbachev accompanied former Pol-ish leader Lech Wasa and German Chancellor AngelaMerkel at a celebration in Berlin on 9 November 2009.[54]

    On 7 June 2010, Gorbachev gave an interview beforealmost an annual pilgrimage to London for a summergala to raise money for the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation,which funds cancer care for children. The clinic in St.Petersburg can house 80 child patients.From the interview: Her death, after several years ofill-health, left Gorbachev bereft. He lives in Moscow,has not remarried and finds solace with his daughter andgrand-daughters. He would not be coaxed to talk aboutRaisa, except fleetingly in the context of the charity.[55]

    Gorbachev has defended the referendum that led toRussias annexation of Crimea in March 2014: WhileCrimea had previously been joined to Ukraine [in 1954]based on the Soviet laws, which means [Communist]party laws, without asking the people, now the peoplethemselves have decided to correct that mistake.[56]

    On 10 October 2014, it was reported that Gorbachev wasin hospital and in deteriorating health.[57] However, on16 October he granted an interview with Russian statenewspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, opining on the Ukrainecrisis and calling for a repeal of the sanctions.[58]

    On 9 November 2014, Gorbachev attended the Licht-grenze at the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin to mark 25 yearssince the fall of the Berlin Wall. On 9 November 2014,Gorbachev criticized the West for its Russian policy.[59]

    Speaking on the war in eastern Ukraine, Gorbachev saidin December 2014 that Both sides in the Ukrainian con-flict are breaching the ceasefire. Both sides are guilty ofusing especially dangerous types of weapons and breach-ing human rights.[60]

    4.1 Criticism of Vladimir Putin

    Although he has credited Vladimir Putin for stabiliz-ing Russia in the aftermath of the initial and turbulentyears of the post-Soviet era, Gorbachev has become crit-ical of both Putin and Dmitry Medvedev since at leastMarch 2011.[61] His main grievances about the tandemare backsliding on democracy, corruption, and the domi-nance of security officers. Gorbachev is also dissatisfiedby the fact that he has not been allowed to register his

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_South_Ossetia_warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tskhinvalihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Ossetiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Posthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Posthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikheil_Saakashvilihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Medvedevhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novaya_Gazetahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novaya_Gazetahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obamahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Bidenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Bidenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obamahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Bidenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_Collegehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoria,_Illinoishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_the_Berlin_Wallhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_the_Berlin_Wallhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lech_Wa%C5%82%C4%99sahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Merkelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Merkelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annexationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimeahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rossiyskaya_Gazetahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_Gatehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Donbasshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Putinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry_Medvedev
  • 13

    Inauguration of Vladimir Putin, 7 May 2000

    social democratic party.[62]

    When being interviewed by the BBC to reflect on the20th anniversary of the August Coup, Gorbachev againannounced his dissatisfaction with the policies and ruleof Putin. Speaking of the status of democracy in theRussian Federation, he proclaimed: The electoral sys-temwe hadwas nothing remarkable but they have literallycastrated it. Gorbachev also stated that he believed thatPutin should not have sought a third term as the Russianpresident in 2012.[63]

    In response to the 2011 Russian protests as a result ofUnited Russia's controversial victory in the 2011 leg-islative election, he called on the authorities to hold anew election, citing electoral irregularities and ballot boxstuffing.[64]

    In a political lecture delivered to the RIA-Novosti newsagency in April 2013, Gorbachev decried Putins retreatfrom democracy, noting that in Russia politics is increas-ingly turning into imitation democracy with all powerin the hands of the executive branch. Gorbachev ad-dressed Putin directly, stating that to go further on thepath of tightening the screws, having laws that limit therights and freedoms of people, attacking the news mediaand organizations of civil society, is a destructive pathwith no future.[65]

    5 Call for global restructuring

    Gorbachev calls for a kind of perestroika or restructuringof societies around the world, starting in particular withthat of the United States, because he is of the view thatthe late-2000s financial crisis shows that the WashingtonConsensus economic model is a failure that will sooner orlater have to be replaced. According to Gorbachev, coun-tries that have rejected theWashington Consensus and theInternational Monetary Fund approach to economic de-velopment, such as Brazil and China, have done far bettereconomically on the whole and achieved far fairer resultsfor the average citizen than countries that have acceptedit.[66]

    Gorbachev is also a member of the Club of Madrid,a group of more than 80 former leaders of democraticcountries, which works to strengthen democratic gover-nance and leadership.[67]

    6 Honours and accolades

    Former President of the United States Ronald Reagan awardsGorbachev the first ever Ronald Reagan Freedom Award at theReagan Library, 4 May 1992

    6.1 Soviet Union and Russia decorations

    Order of St. Andrew (2011), the highest state dec-oration of Russia, awarded for work during USSRleadership

    Order of Honour (2001)

    Order of Lenin (1971, 1973, 1981)

    Order of October Revolution (1978)

    Order of the Badge of Honour (1966)

    Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1947). He wasawarded when he was only 16 and was one of theyoungest recipients of the award.

    Medal For Labour Valour

    Medal For Strengthening Military Cooperation

    Medal In Commemoration of the 1500th Anniver-sary of Kiev

    Jubilee Medal Forty Years of Victory in the GreatPatriotic War 1941-1945

    6.2 Foreign decorations and awards

    In 1987, Gorbachev was awarded the Indira GandhiPrize from Government of India.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Couphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Russian_protestshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Russiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_legislative_election,_2011https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_legislative_election,_2011https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late-2000s_financial_crisishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Consensushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Consensushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Monetary_Fundhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_of_Madridhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reaganhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan_Freedom_Awardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan_Presidential_Libraryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_St._Andrewhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USSRhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Honour_(Russian_Federation)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Leninhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_October_Revolutionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Badge_of_Honourhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Red_Banner_of_Labourhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medal_%2522For_Labour_Valour%2522https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medal_%2522For_Strengthening_Military_Cooperation%2522https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medal_%2522In_Commemoration_of_the_1500th_Anniversary_of_Kiev%2522https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medal_%2522In_Commemoration_of_the_1500th_Anniversary_of_Kiev%2522https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubilee_Medal_%2522Forty_Years_of_Victory_in_the_Great_Patriotic_War_1941-1945%2522https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubilee_Medal_%2522Forty_Years_of_Victory_in_the_Great_Patriotic_War_1941-1945%2522https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indira_Gandhi_Prizehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indira_Gandhi_Prizehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_India
  • 14 7 ATTITUDE TO RELIGION

    In 1989, Gorbachev was awarded the Otto HahnPeace Medal in Gold of the United Nations Asso-ciation of Germany (DGVN) in Berlin for his con-tributions to nuclear disarmament of the great pow-ers and the creation of a fundamentally new politicalorder in Europe.

    In 1990, Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel PeacePrize for his leading role in the peace process whichtoday characterizes important parts of the interna-tional community.[68]

    On 4 May 1992, Gorbachev was awarded thefirst ever Ronald Reagan Freedom Award at theRonald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley,California.[69]

    On 6 May 1992, Gorbachev was awarded the hon-orary degree of Doctor of Laws from WestminsterCollege in Fulton, Missouri.[70]

    In 1993 Gorbachev was awarded a Legum Doctor,honoris causa from Carleton University in Ottawa,Canada. He was also given an honorary degreefrom The University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta,Canada.[71] In the same year, he was conferred withthe Freedom of the City of Aberdeen.

    Gorbachev on 12 March 2013

    Gorbachev was the 1994 recipient of theGrawemeyer Award for ideas improving worldorder, awarded by the University of Louisville,Kentucky.[72]

    In 1995, Gorbachev received an Honorary Doc-torate from Durham University, County Durham,England for his contribution to the cause of po-litical tolerance and an end to Cold War-styleconfrontation.[73][74]

    For his historic role in the evolution of glasnost, andfor his leadership in the disarmament negotiationswith the United States during the Reagan admin-istration, Gorbachev was awarded the Courage ofConscience award 20 October 1996.[75]

    In 1998, Gorbachev received the Freedom Awardfrom the National Civil Rights Museum inMemphis, Tennessee.[76]

    In 2002, Gorbachev received an honorary degreeof a Doctor in Laws (LL.D.) in recognition of hispolitical service and contribution to peace fromTrinity College, Dublin, Ireland.[77]

    Gorbachev, together with Bill Clinton and SophiaLoren, were awarded the 2004 Grammy Award forBest Spoken Word Album for Children for theirrecording of Sergei Prokofievs Peter and the Wolf.

    In 2005, Gorbachev was awarded the Point AlphaPrize for his role in supporting German reunifica-tion. He also received an honorary doctorate fromthe University of Mnster.,[78]

    In 2011, Gorbachev was awarded a honoris causadoctorate from University of Lige in Lige,Belgium.[79]

    7 Attitude to religion

    At the end of a November 1996 interview on C-SPAN'sBooknotes, Gorbachev described his plans for futurebooks. He made the following reference to God: I don'tknow how many years God will be giving me, [or] whatHis plans are.

    Gorbachev at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, 16 June 1992

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Hahn_Peace_Medalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Hahn_Peace_Medalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan_Freedom_Awardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan_Presidential_Libraryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simi_Valleyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_College_(Missouri)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_College_(Missouri)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton,_Missourihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carleton_Universityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Calgaryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgaryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_the_City_of_Aberdeenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grawemeyer_Awardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Louisvillehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham_Universityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasnosthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Ronald_Reaganhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Ronald_Reaganhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Civil_Rights_Museumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis,_Tennesseehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_College,_Dublinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clintonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophia_Lorenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophia_Lorenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_Awardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_Award_for_Best_Spoken_Word_Album_for_Childrenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Prokofievhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_and_the_Wolfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reunificationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reunificationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Li%C3%A8gehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li%C3%A8gehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-SPANhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Wallhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem
  • 15

    In 2005, he said that Pope John Paul II's devotion to hisfollowers is a remarkable example to all of us follow-ing the pontiffs death. What can I sayit must havebeen the will of God. He acted really courageously.[80]In a 1989 meeting, he had told him: We appreciate yourmission on this high pulpit, we are convinced that it willleave a great mark on history.[81]

    Gorbachev was the recipient of the Athenagoras Hu-manitarian Award of the Order of St. Andrew Archonsof the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople on 20November 2005.[82]

    In 2013, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported a1992 meeting between Gorbachev and Otis Gatewood, aChristian minister sent with a relief effort for orphans andelderly people in Russia by Churches of Christ in Texas.In themeeting, Gorbachev reportedly claimed that he wasindeed a Christian and had been baptized by his grand-father in the Volga River many years before.[83]

    On 19 March 2008, during a surprise visit to pray at thetomb of Saint Francis in Assisi, Italy, Gorbachev made anannouncement which has been interpreted to the effectthat he was a Christian. Gorbachev stated: St Francisis, for me, the alter Christus, another Christ. His storyfascinates me and has played a fundamental role in mylife. He added: It was through St Francis that I arrivedat the Church, so it was important that I came to visit histomb.[84] However, a few days later, he reportedly toldthe Russian news agency Interfax: Over the last few dayssome media have been disseminating fantasiesI can'tuse any other wordabout my secret Catholicism, [...]To sum up and avoid any misunderstandings, let me saythat I have been and remain an atheist".[85]

    8 Port-wine birthmark

    The prominent crimson port-wine stain birthmark onGorbachevs forehead was the source of much attentionfrom critics and cartoonists. Though some suggested thathe might have the mark surgically removed, Gorbachevopted not to, as once he was publicly known to have themark, he believed it would be perceived as his being moreconcernedwith his appearance than othermore importantissues.[86]

    9 See also

    April 9 Tragedy Soviet crackdown on Georgianprotests in 1989

    Black January Soviet crackdown on Azeri protestsin 1990

    Index of Soviet Union-related articles

    List of peace activists

    SergeiM. Plekhanov former Gorbachev advisor onthe United States and Canada

    10 References[1] Gorbachev. Random House Websters Unabridged Dic-

    tionary.

    [2] Gray, Sadie (30 September 2008). Gorbachev launchespolitical party with Russian billionaire. The Guardian(UK). Retrieved 1 October 2008.

    [3] Mikhail Gorbachev will found new political party.mosnews.com. 13 May 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2009.

    [4] Gorbachev sets up Russia movement. BBC News. 20October 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2007.

    [5] Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, Daisaku Ikeda (2005)."Moral lessons of twentieth century: Gorbachev and Ikedaon Buddhism and Communism". I.B.Tauris. p. 11. ISBN1-85043-976-1

    [6] Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev (2006). "Manifesto forthe Earth: action now for peace, global justice and a sus-tainable future". CLAIRVIEW BOOKS. p.10. ISBN 1-905570-02-3

    [7] Mikhail Gorbachev (2000). Gorbachev: On My Countryand the World. George Shriver (Translator). New York:Columbia University Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-231-11515-5.

    [8] Biography of Mikhail Gorbachev. The GorbachevFoundation. Retrieved 13 January 2012.

    [9] Raisa Gorbachyovas Biography on the GorbachyovFoundation website.

    [10] Current Biography, 1985. New York: The H. W. WilsonCo. 1985.

    [11] Gorbachev, M. S., Memoirs, 1996 (London: BantamBooks)

    [12] Mikhail Gorbachev. Encyclopdia Britannica. Re-trieved 2 April 2009.

    [13] Roxburgh, Angus (1991). The Second Russian Revolu-tion: The Struggle for Power in the Kremlin. London: BBCBooks.

    [14] Union of Soviet Socialist Republics at Encyclopedia Bri-tannica

    [15] Mikhail Gorbachev Biography: Glasnost, Perestroika,and Leadership. American Academy of Achievement.1 February 2005. Retrieved 2 April 2009.

    [16] Oliver, Michael J.; Aldcroft, Derek Howard (2007). Eco-nomic Disasters of the Twentieth Century. Edward ElgarPublishing. p. 294. ISBN 978-1840645897.

    [17] " (Mikhail SergeyevihGorbahv)". Archontology.org. 27 March 2009. Re-trieved 3 April 2009.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archons_of_the_Ecumenical_Patriarchatehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecumenical_Patriarchate_of_Constantinoplehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lubbock_Avalanche-Journalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Gatewoodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_(Christianity)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churches_of_Christhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volga_Riverhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Francis_of_Assisihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisi,_Italyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interfaxhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheisthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port-wine_stainhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthmarkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_9_Tragedyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(country)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Januaryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_of_Soviet_Union-related_articleshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_peace_activistshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_M._Plekhanovhttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gorbachevhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_House_Webster%2527s_Unabridged_Dictionaryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_House_Webster%2527s_Unabridged_Dictionaryhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/30/russiahttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/30/russiahttps://web.archive.org/web/20110716085011/http://mosnews.com/politics/2009/05/13/gorbiedem/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7054274.stmhttp://books.google.com/books?id=-fKiVBBHB-0C&pg=&dq&hl=en#v=onepage&q=&f=falsehttp://books.google.com/books?id=-fKiVBBHB-0C&pg=&dq&hl=en#v=onepage&q=&f=falsehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1850439761https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1850439761http://books.google.com/books?id=JLQ2RZRtOFkC&pg=&dq&hl=en#v=onepage&q=&f=falsehttp://books.google.com/books?id=JLQ2RZRtOFkC&pg=&dq&hl=en#v=onepage&q=&f=falsehttp://books.google.com/books?id=JLQ2RZRtOFkC&pg=&dq&hl=en#v=onepage&q=&f=falsehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1905570023https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1905570023https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-231-11515-5https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-231-11515-5http://www.gorby.ru/en/gorbachev/biography/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gorbachev_Foundationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gorbachev_Foundationhttp://www.gorby.ru/en/gorbacheva/biography/http://www.gorby.ru/en/gorbacheva/biography/http://www.britannica.com/nobelprize/article-9037405http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/614785/Union-of-Soviet-Socialist-Republicshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia_Britannicahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia_Britannicahttp://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/gor0bio-1http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/gor0bio-1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Elgar_Publishinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Elgar_Publishinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1840645897http://www.archontology.org/nations/ussr/ussr_state/gorbachev.phphttp://www.archontology.org/nations/ussr/ussr_state/gorbachev.php
  • 16 10 REFERENCES

    [18] Chiesa, Giulietto (1991). Time of change: an insidersview of Russias transformation. I.B.Tauris. p. 30.

    [19] Hosking, Geoffrey Alan (1991). The awakening of theSoviet Union. Harvard University Press. p. 139.

    [20] English, R., D, Russia and the Idea of the West: Gor-bachev, Intellectuals and the End of the Cold War, 2000(Columbia University Press)

    [21] Hough, Jerry F. (1997), pp. 124125

    [22] Bialer, Seweryn, and Joan Afferica. "The Genesis of Gor-bachevs World", Foreign Affairs 64, no. 3 (1985): 605644.

    [23] Kishlansky, Mark (2001), p. 322

    [24] Sebetsyen, Victor (2009). Revolution 1989: The Fall ofthe Soviet Empire. New York City: Pantheon Books.ISBN 0-375-42532-2.

    [25] Gorbachev becomes Soviet leader. BBC News. March1985. Retrieved 22 May 2006.

    [26] Matlock, J. F. Jr., Reagan and Gorbachev: How the ColdWar Ended, 2004

    [27] Reuters, Moscow could have started WW3 over BerlinWall: Gorbachev by Guy Faulconbridge. Reuters. 3November 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2009.

    [28] Coit D. Blacker.