Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov (Gorbachev) {{Audio|ru-Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev.ogg|listen}} ({{lang-ru|??????? ?????????? ????????}}; pronunciation: {{IPA|/mixaˈɪɫ serˈgejevɪtʃ g?rbaˈtʃof/}}) (born March 2, 1931), was leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991. His attempts at reform led to the end of the Cold War, but also caused the end of the political supremacy of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

General Secretary of the CPSU

Upon the death of Konstantin Chernenko, Mikhail Gorbachev, at age 54, was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party on March 11, 1985. He became the Party's first leader to have been born after the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Related Topics:
March 11 - 1985 - Russian Revolution

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As de facto ruler of the Soviet Union, he tried to reform the stagnating Communist Party and the state economy by introducing glasnost ("openness"), perestroika ("restructuring"), and uskorenie ("acceleration", of economic development), which were launched at the 27th Congress of the CPSU in February 1986.

Related Topics:
Glasnost - Perestroika - February - 1986

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Reforms

Domestically, Gorbachev implemented economic reforms that he hoped would improve living standards and worker productivity as part of his perestroika program. However, many of his reforms were contrary to the beliefs of many in the Soviet government at the time.

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The enacted in May 1987 was perhaps the most radical of the economic reforms during the early part of the Gorbachev era. For the first time since Vladimir Lenin's New Economic Policy, the law permitted private ownership of businesses in the services, manufacturing, and foreign-trade sectors. The law initially imposed high taxes and employment restrictions, but these were later revised to avoid discouraging private-sector activity. Under this provision, cooperative restaurants, shops, and manufacturers became part of the Soviet scene.

Related Topics:
May - 1987 - Vladimir Lenin - New Economic Policy

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Gorbachev's introduction of glasnost gave new freedoms to the people, such as a greater freedom of speech. This was a radical change, as control of speech and suppression of government criticism had previously been a central part of the Soviet system. The press became far less controlled, and thousands of political prisoners and many dissidents were released. Gorbachev's goal in undertaking glasnost was to pressure conservatives within the CPSU who opposed his policies of economic restructuring, and he also hoped that through different ranges of openness, debate and participation, the Soviet people would support his reform initiatives.

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In January 1987, Gorbachev called for democratization: the infusion of democratic elements such as multi-candidate elections into the Soviet political process. In June 1988, at the CPSU's Nineteenth Party Conference, Gorbachev launched radical reforms meant to reduce party control of the government apparatus. In December 1988, the Supreme Soviet approved the establishment of a Congress of People's Deputies, which constitutional amendments had established as the Soviet Union's new legislative body. Elections to the congress were held throughout the USSR in March and April 1989. On March 15, 1990, Gorbachev was elected as the first executive President of the Soviet Union.

Related Topics:
1988 - Congress of People's Deputies - 1989 - March 15 - 1990 - President of the Soviet Union

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In international affairs, Gorbachev sought to improve relations and trade with the West. He establised close relationships with several Western leaders, such as Margaret Thatcher - who famously remarked: "I like Mr. Gorbachev - we can do business together" - West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, and U.S. President Ronald Reagan. On October 11 1986, Gorbachev and Reagan met in Reykjavik, Iceland to discuss reducing intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe. This led to the signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in 1987. In February 1988, Gorbachev announced the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan, which was completed the following year.

Related Topics:
Helmut Kohl - U.S. - Ronald Reagan - October 11 - Reykjavik - Iceland - Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty - Afghanistan

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Also during 1988, Gorbachev announced that the Soviet Union would abandon the Brezhnev Doctrine, and allow the Eastern bloc nations to determine their own internal affairs. This proved to be the most far-reaching of Gorbachev's foreign policy reforms with his Foreign Ministry spokesman Gennadi Gerasimov jokingly calling his new doctrine the Sinatra Doctrine. Moscow's abandonment of the Brezhnev Doctrine led to a string of revolutions in Eastern Europe throughout 1989, in which communism collapsed. With the exception of Romania, the democratic revolutions against the pro-Soviet Communist regimes were all peaceful ones. The loosening of Soviet hegemony over Eastern Europe effectively ended the Cold War, and for this, Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 15, 1990.

Related Topics:
Brezhnev Doctrine - Eastern bloc - Gennadi Gerasimov - Sinatra Doctrine - Eastern Europe - 1989 - Romania - Nobel Peace Prize - October 15

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Coup and collapse

Although intended to revitalize Soviet socialism, the democratization of the USSR and Eastern Europe irreparably undermined the power of the CPSU and Gorbachev himself. Gorbachev's relaxation of censorship and attempts to create more political openness had the unintended effect of re-awakening long-suppressed nationalist and anti-Russian feelings in the Soviet republics. Calls for greater independence from Moscow's rule grew louder, especially in the Baltic republics of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, which had been annexed into the Soviet Union by Stalin in 1940. Nationalist feeling also took hold in the Soviet republics of Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Gorbachev had accidentally unleashed a force that would ultimately destroy the Soviet Union.

Related Topics:
Soviet republics - Baltic republics - Estonia - Lithuania - Latvia - Stalin - 1940 - Georgia - Ukraine - Armenia - Azerbaijan

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Gorbachev's response to growing republic separatism was to draw up a new treaty of union which would have created a truly voluntary federation in an increasingly democratised USSR. The new treaty was strongly supported by the Central Asian republics, who needed the economic power and markets of the Soviet Union to prosper. However, the more radical reformists, such as Russian SFSR President Boris Yeltsin, were increasingly convinced that a rapid transition to a market economy was required and were more than happy to contemplate the disintegration of the USSR if that was required to achieve their aims.

Related Topics:
Central Asian - Russian SFSR - Boris Yeltsin

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In contrast to the reformers' lukewarm approach to the new treaty, the conservatives, still strong within the CPSU and military establishment, were completely opposed to anything which might lead to breakup of the Soviet motherland. On the eve of the treaty's signing the conservatives struck.

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Conservatives in the Soviet leadership launched the August Coup in 1991 in an attempt to remove Gorbachev from power and prevent the signing of the new union treaty. During this time, Gorbachev spent three days (August 19 to 21) under house arrest at a dacha in the Crimea before being freed and restored to power. However, upon his return, Gorbachev found that neither union nor Russian power structures heeded his commands as support had swung over to Yeltsin. Furthermore, Gorbachev was forced to fire large numbers of his Politburo and, in several cases, arrest them. Those arrested for high treason include the "Gang of Eight" that had led the coup.

Related Topics:
August Coup - 1991 - Dacha - Crimea

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Gorbachev had aimed to maintain the CPSU as a united party but move it in the direction of social democracy. The inherent contradictions in this approach - praising Lenin, admiring Sweden's social model and seeking to maintain the annexation of the Baltic states by military force - were difficult enough. But when the CPSU was proscribed after the August coup, Gorbachev was left with no effective power base beyond the armed forces. In the end Yeltsin won them round too with promises of more money. Gorbachev eventually resigned on December 25, 1991 as the USSR was officially dissolved.

Related Topics:
Social democracy - Lenin - Sweden - Annexation - Baltic states - December 25 - 1991

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• The entry entitled Collapse of the Soviet Union also discusses these events.

Gorbachev is generally well regarded in the West for having ended the Cold War. However in Russia, his reputation is very low because he is perceived to have brought about the collapse of the country and is held responsible for the misery that followed. Nevertheless, polls indicate that a majority of Russians are pleased with the result of the individual aims of perestroika, Gorbachev's chief legislative legacy.

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