Mikhail Gorbachev was a Soviet politician of Russian nationality who was marked in history as the last to govern the Soviet Union, before its dissolution. Gorbachev assumed the post of general secretary in 1985, making a series of reforms that did not show results, and resigned in December 1991, marking the end of that nation.
Gorbachev joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the 1950s and had a significant political career. During his rule, he promoted glasnost, effecting great political openness, and perestroika, which carried out economic reform in the Soviet Union. He passed away in 2022, aged 91.
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Summary about Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev was a politician born in the Soviet Union and marked as the last Soviet ruler.
He had a meteoric career, spending part of his life in Stavropol, and moving to Moscow after joining the Central Committee.
He was appointed general secretary in 1985, finding the Soviet Union in a state of disarray.
He promoted reforms known as glasnost and perestroika.
He resigned in December 1991, which consolidated the break-up of the USSR.
Mikhail Gorbachev's Political Career
In 1955, Gorbachev started working in the Komsomol section in Stavropol, acting as director of a department. His work included studying ways to apply improvements in the lives of the inhabitants of the region. Gorbachev quickly rose through the ranks of the Komsomol because he was considered a reliable member.
In September 1956, he became First Secretary of the Komsomol of the city of Stavropol, and, in April 1958 he took command of the Komsomol in the whole region (krai) from Stavropol. the term krai is used in the Russian language to refer to the provinces or administrative regions that made up Soviet territory.
Gorbachev's rise continued, and in 1970 he was named first secretary of the entire Stavropol region by the party. This rise, naturally, reflected in his prestige within the Communist Party. That's because his appointment as First Secretary of the Stavropol Region guaranteed him entry into the Politburo, the Central Committee of the party that controlled the Soviet Union.
Gorbachev's work as First Secretary of Stavropol focused on the region's agricultural production., affected by droughts. Politically, Gorbachev sought to cultivate good relations with important party names, such as the country's secretary general Leonid Brezhnev and Yuri Andropov, one of the great names of the Politburo.
In 1978, he was appointed secretary of the Central Committee, and with that he and his wife returned to Moscow. In the same year, he assumed the secretThelaugh at agriculture in a context of production crisis in the Soviet Union, which forced the country to import grain. In 1980, Gorbachev reached the highest level of the Central Committee.
In 1982, Yuri Andropov was named Secretary General of the Soviet Union, and Gorbachev was one of that leader's great allies. After Andropov's death in 1984, the Central Committee nominated Konstantin Chernenko, which frustrated Gorbachev, who had been waiting to be chosen to take the job. Before being chosen as Secretary General of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev still served on the Foreign Affairs Committee.
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Government of Mikhail Gorbachev
In March 1985, Chernenko passed away, and again it was necessary to choose the general secretary who would govern the country. At that time, Gorbachev was the most influential name on the Central Committee and, therefore, was chosen to assume the government of the country. He assumed this role on March 11, 1985.
Gorbachev took on the government in a critical situation. The country had a weakened agriculture, it was dealing with a conflict that had been dragging on in Afghanistan for six years and that had contributed to draining the country, the Soviet economy was bad, and the bloc socialist was on the verge of ruin in Europe.
Gorbachev has always shown himself to be a politician in favor of the need for reforms within the Soviet Union. Therefore, to reverse the situation he found when he took over the country, he implemented two important reforms, understood to this day as largely responsible for the end of the USSR. The two reforms were perestroika (economic reconstruction) and glasnost (political transparency):
Perestroika: led some reforms in the Soviet economy, allowing private investment in the country, something that had not happened for decades. In addition, the measure sought to reduce the involvement of the Soviet state with the country's economy, which naturally opened space for private initiative.
Glasnost: he promoted a reform in the Soviet Union that sought to make its policy more open, combating the authoritarianism and lack of political freedom, two major problems of Soviet governments throughout the 20th century. There was an amnesty for political prisoners, permission for the circulation of books hitherto banned, among other measures. In practice, Gorbachev initiated a process of democratization of the Soviet Union.
The Gorbachev government also made a series of changes to its military policy, seeking to reduce military spending. military, with the aim of using that money that would be left over to invest in solving other problems that affected the country. In addition, the leader encouraged national nuclear disarmament.
The reforms did not solve the country's problems and increased pressure about Gorbachev from all sides. With political freedom, critics emerged in civil society, and within the party, Gorbachev was also heavily questioned for his actions. Criticism of the leader and the weakening of Soviet central power, because of the reforms, gave strength to movements nationalists.
end of soviet union
In July 1931, Mikhail Gorbachev suffered a coup attempt by opponents within the party and was held hostage for three days. The coup, however, failed, and Gorbachev regained Soviet power. The Secretary General remained in office until December 25, 1991, when he resigned, which formalized the dissolution of the USSR.
Gorbachev's resignation was in response to declarations of independence by three Soviet nations: Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. With that, the Soviet Union broke up into 15 nations, who made the transition from socialist governments to capitalist governments based on free trade.
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Birth of Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev was born in Privolnoye, a village near Stavropol, in the south of Russia, in day March 2, 1931. He was the son of Sergey Gorbachev and Maria Gopkalo Gorbachev, a peasant couple who earned their living by working on collective farms in the Soviet Union. His father was of Russian descent, and his mother was Ukrainian.
Gorbachev's childhood was marked by a series of significant events in Soviet history during the period Stalinist. Witnessed close relatives die during the great hunger that hit the nation, and there were also grandparents who were sent to gulags, forced labor camps.
He also saw his father go to the front during the war. Second World War, in addition to having lived in territory temporarily controlled by the nazis. Sergey Gorbachev survived the war and returned to his family.
Education of Mikhail Gorbachev
Gorbachev's records show that he was an excellent student, and, in addition to studying, he worked to help support his family. After he finished his basic education, he went to moscow university, being accepted and enrolling in the Law course. So Gorbachev moved to Moscow in 1950.
During his university phase, Gorbachev joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, forming part of the Komsomol, the youth organization that existed within the party. During his studies, he met Raisa Titarenko, whom he married in 1953.
Gorbachev graduated in law in 1955 and intended to remain in Moscow, but received an offer to return to Stavropol. There he began his prominent work in the regional Komsomol, from 1955 onwards, achieving various posts. In 1955 he was appointed secretary of the General Committee and thus returned to Moscow, where he lived until his last days.
Last years of Mikhail Gorbachev
After leaving the Soviet presidency, the former leader devoted himself to Fundation Gorbachev, created in March 1992. This foundation was dedicated to analyzes of the changes promoted in Russia by the glasnost and perestroika reforms. Gorbachev also lectured around the world and was active in organizations that advocated a sustainable development.
In 1996, he tryor, unsuccessfully, be elected president of Russia. He got just over 386,000 votes, totaling 0.5% of the vote. Already in the 21st century, he became a critic of the growth of the president's authoritarianism Vladimir Putin.
Mikhail Gorbachev treated several health problems in the last years of his life, even missing important events. On August 30, 2022, aged 91, he passed away, and the news announced from Russia stated that his death followed a prolonged illness.
image credits
[1] mark reinstein It is Shutterstock
By Daniel Neves
History teacher
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/mikhail-gorbachev.htm
