Age - 87 years old, zodiac sign - Pisces, place of birth - the village of Privolnoye, Stavropol Territory.
Mikhail Gorbachev does not need any special introduction, because his activities as president of the country are already part of not only Russian, but also world history. Where do future presidents come from?
Before big politics
The leader's parents were simple peasants; the family lived modestly, without luxury. In the 40s, the Gorbachevs found themselves under German occupation, which left an indelible mark on Misha’s soul.
A 13-year-old boy studied and worked hard - tractor mechanic, combine operator.
According to the recollections of fellow villagers, the young man was not afraid of any work, which is probably why he was awarded the Order of TKZ after he exceeded the plan for harvesting grain crops.
Despite his labor exploits, Gorbachev devoted most of his time to study. It is not surprising that after graduating from school, the silver medalist easily became a student at the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University.
At the age of 21 he became a member of the Communist Party, and upon graduation educational institution was appointed secretary of the Stavropol city committee of the Komsomol.
The path to big politics
Since then, Mikhail decided to build a political career, which developed very dynamically. At the age of 31, he became a party organizer of the agricultural department in Stavropol. Focusing on work skills and work qualities, he showed himself to be a good business executive and a promising manager.
Good harvests allowed Gorbachev to take the post of ideologist for the development of the agricultural sector. steps career ladder quickly replaced one another:
- at 43, Gorbachev became head of the Commission on Youth Problems;
- at 47 years old - Secretary of the Central Committee;
- at 49 - member of the Politburo, reformed market economy and the political system.
“Global reformer”—that’s what those around him called Mikhail Sergeevich. It is not surprising that in 1985 he was elected General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. The main course was aimed at democratizing society, later it was called “perestroika”.
The country was in deep stagnation when Gorbachev began to carry out fundamental changes.
He stopped the war in Afghanistan, introduced a ban on the purchase of alcohol and self-financing, suspended the long-term cold war, and weakened censorship. However, the leader did not have a clear plan for reform, which ultimately led to the collapse of one of the superpowers.
As President
Experts are sure: Gorbachev’s main mistake is inconsistent economic reforms, which aggravated the crisis in the country and, as a result, led to a decline in the living standards of the population. However, in 1990, presidential elections in the USSR took place, in which Gorbachev won a landslide victory.
Meanwhile, the situation continued to remain tense. Empty shelves and total shortages are the main signs of that time.
In 1991, Gorbachev's allies State Emergency Committee was created. As a result, Mikhail Sergeevich resigned during an armed coup.
In 1991, an agreement was signed in Belovezhskaya Pushcha on the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which in reality meant the complete collapse of the USSR. Subsequently, Gorbachev was engaged in purely public work, heading a foundation for socio-economic and political research, which finances with its own funds and attracts international investments.
Many people today criticize Mikhail Sergeevich for the collapse of the country, but the first and only president of the USSR himself denies this.
Today he supports well Russian President , however, warns that recent events could lead to a worsening of relations between the Russian Federation and the EU, and the threat of a nuclear confrontation.
A little about personal
Mikhail Sergeevich met his future and only wife at a dance. He liked the modesty and inner attractiveness of Raisa Titarenko. They married in 1953 and lived happily ever after. Raisa Gorbacheva was considered the most stylish first lady of the country. Many women of those years tried to imitate her and copied her outfits.
The misfortune happened in 1999, after a long illness, Raisa Maksimovna passed away... The couple had a daughter, Irina, who lives in Russia.
Mikhail Sergeevich’s health is unstable, as he was diagnosed with a severe form of diabetes. Despite this, Gorbachev continues to engage creative activity, actively writes and publishes books and scientific articles.
For a long time he lived in Germany, but today he moved to Russia, closer to his relatives and two granddaughters who are married.
At a meeting with Moscow State University students in 2016, the leader said that it was he who destroyed the USSR. Because of harsh statements about Crimea, Gorbachev banned from entering Ukraine, however, Mikhail Sergeevich himself said that he was not going there in the near future.
One of his latest autobiographical books is called “Remaining an Optimist,” and it is impossible to doubt this.
Mikhail Gorbachev's parents were peasants. The future President of the USSR spent his childhood during the war years; the family had to endure the German occupation. Mikhail Sergeevich’s father, Sergei Andreevich, fought at the front and was wounded twice.
In the post-war years, the collective farm had a catastrophic shortage of workers. Mikhail Gorbachev had to combine his studies at school with work as a combine operator on collective farm fields. When Gorbachev was 17 years old, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for exceeding the plan.
A working childhood did not prevent Gorbachev from graduating from high school with a silver medal and enrolling in the law faculty of Moscow State University. At the university, Mikhail Sergeevich headed the Komsomol organization of the faculty.
In 1953, Mikhail Sergeevich married Raisa Maksimovna Titarenko, a student at the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow State University. They were together until her death in 1999.
Career in the CPSU
Capital life and the atmosphere of the “thaw” had a great influence on the formation of the worldview of the future leader of the state. In 1955, Gorbachev graduated from the university and was sent to the Stavropol Regional Prosecutor's Office. However, Mikhail Sergeevich found himself in party work. He is making a good career through the Komsomol. In 1962, he was already appointed party organizer and became a deputy at the next congress of the CPSU. Since 1966, Gorbachev has already been the first secretary of the city committee of the CPSU in the Stavropol Territory.
The good harvests that were harvested in the Stavropol region created Gorbachev’s reputation as a strong business executive. Since the mid-70s, Gorbachev introduced brigade farming in the region, which brought high yields. Gorbachev's articles on rationalization methods in agriculture were often published in the central press. In 1971, Gorbachev became a member of the CPSU. Gorbachev was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1974.
Gorbachev finally moved to Moscow in 1978, where he became Secretary of the Central Committee for the agro-industrial complex
Years of reign
In the 80s, the need for change was brewing in the USSR. At that time, no one considered Gorbachev's candidacy as the leader of the country. However, Gorbachev managed to rally the young secretaries of the Central Committee around himself and gain the support of A.A. Gromyko, who enjoyed great authority among members of the Politburo.
In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev was officially elected General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He became the main initiator of “perestroika”. Unfortunately, Gorbachev did not have a clear plan for reforming the state. The consequences of some of his actions were simply catastrophic. For example, the so-called anti-alcohol company, thanks to which huge areas of vineyards were cut down and prices for alcoholic products increased sharply. Instead of improving the population's health and increasing average life expectancy, a shortage was artificially created, people started making handicrafts of dubious quality, and the destroyed rare grape varieties have not yet been restored.
Soft foreign policy, carried out by Gorbachev, led to a radical change in the entire world order. Mikhail Sergeevich withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan, ended the Cold War and played a huge role in the unification of Germany. In 1990, Gorbachev received the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to easing international tensions.
The inconsistency and thoughtlessness of some reforms within the country led the USSR to a deep crisis. It was during the reign of Gorbachev that bloody interethnic conflicts began to break out in Nagorno-Karabakh, Fergana, Sumgait and other regions of the state. Mikhail Sergeevich, as a rule, was not able to influence the resolution of these bloody interethnic wars. His reaction to events was always very vague and delayed.
The Baltic republics were the first to decide to leave the USSR: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. In 1991, in Vilnius, during the storming of a television tower by USSR troops, 13 people died. Gorbachev began to disavow these events and stated that he had not given the order for the assault.
The crisis that finally collapsed the USSR occurred in August 1991. Former comrades of Gorbachev organized a coup d'etat and were defeated. In December 1991, the USSR was liquidated, and Gorbachev was dismissed as president of the USSR.
Life after power
After Gorbachev's political career ended, he began to be active in public life. Since January 1992, Gorbachev has served as President of the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Science Research.
In 2000, he created the Social Democratic Party (SDPR), which he headed until 2007.
On his eightieth birthday, March 2, 2011, Gorbachev was awarded the order Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called.
In March 2014, Gorbachev welcomed the result of the referendum in Crimea, and called the annexation of Crimea to Russia a correction of a historical mistake.
Gorbachev's biography began in a village with the remarkable name Privolnoye, in the Krasnogvardeysky district in the Stavropol region. Mikhail Sergeevich was born in the spring (March 2) 1931 into an ordinary family. His father was a tractor driver, his mother a collective farmer. However, Gorbachev’s grandfather on his mother’s side was the chairman of a collective farm, despite the fact that he had to go to prison in connection with charges of participation in a counter-revolutionary conspiracy. During the war, the family of the future General Secretary of the Communist Party almost lost their father - they received a “funeral” in 1944. But after some time, grief gave way to joy, because a letter came from Sergei Alexandrovich saying that he was alive, but wounded in the leg.
After the war, Mikhail worked with his father at MTS, and here Gorbachev’s biography points to his first achievement: at the age of 16, the boy was awarded the Order (of the Red Banner of Labor) for high-threshing grain. Subsequently, perseverance and perseverance allowed the young man to receive a medal upon graduation and enter the school in 1950.
Gorbachev's biography reports that during his years at the institute he was distinguished by his activity and showed himself in the party field (he joined the CPSU in 1952 and was a Komsomol activist). In 1953, he married Raisa Maksimovna Titarenko, a student at the Faculty of Philosophy at Moscow State University, who would later become the first lady of the USSR. In 1957 they had a daughter (Irina).
After university, the married couple went to the Stavropol region, where Mikhail Sergeevich received an assignment (to the regional prosecutor's office). Here Gorbachev’s biography received a new round of development. He worked at his destination for only 10 days, after which he was appointed deputy head of the Komsomol propaganda department. Next, an active young specialist with good organizational talent was appointed to leading positions in the city and regional committees of the Komsomol, and then in the regional committees of the CPSU.
At the age of 39, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, whose biography indicates a rapid rise, became First Secretary in the regional committee of the CPSU of Stavropol. Historians believe that in his position he was able to develop and partially implement a long-term program for the development of the region. Here he was noticed by party bosses from the center who came on vacation (Kosygin, Andropov), which contributed to the fact that Gorbachev was elected secretary of the CPSU in 1978 (in the Central Committee).
Gorbachev’s biography reports that already at that time he traveled a lot abroad on issues of functioning Agriculture. Some sources do not rule out that he or his wife could have been recruited by foreign intelligence services. He quickly entered the Politburo, and in March 1985 he was elected General Secretary. Immediately after Gorbachev’s election to the highest post in the West, his biography was published, while none of the Soviet leaders received such an “honor” in such a short time.
From 1985 to 1991, under the leadership of Gorbachev, the country underwent perestroika, the results of which are assessed ambiguously; relations with the countries of the Western world changed. In 1991, the powers of the head of state were removed from Gorbachev. He founded the Gorbachev Foundation (1992), created the environmental organization Green Cross, survived the death of his wife (1999), acted in films and commercials (Pizza Hut), organized parties, movements and forums to solve various problems. It is believed that he lives in Moscow, although his last significant anniversaries were celebrated abroad (London). This is Gorbachev's biography briefly.
Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich - politician, statesman, first and only President of the USSR.
Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for improving relations with foreign countries, including ending the Cold War with the United States.
During his activities, the most significant events occurred that had a great impact on further development countries.
Childhood and adolescence
On March 2, 1931, Mikhail Gorbachev was born in the Stavropol Territory, the village of Privolnoye. His parents were ordinary peasants.
Father - Sergei Andreevich Gorbachev was a foreman, and his father was the chairman of the local collective farm. Gopkalo's mother Maria Panteleevna was Ukrainian.
The childhood of the future statesman coincided with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.
My father immediately went to the front, and Misha and his mother ended up in a village occupied by the Nazis.
Mikhail with his parents as a child
They lived under the yoke of German soldiers for 5 months. After liberation, the family received news from the front about the death of their father.
Mikhail had to combine studying at school with work on the collective farm. At the age of 15, he already held the position of assistant combine operator.
For conscientious work and exceeding the plan in 1948, Mikhail was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
Despite the difficulties and work, Mikhail graduated from school with a “silver” medal.
This allowed him to enter the Faculty of Law at Moscow State University without entrance exams, where he became the head of the Komsomol organization.
Occupying a public position, he was surrounded by fairly free-thinking fellow students.
His circle of friends included Zdenek Mlynar, who would become one of the leaders of the Prague Spring in the future.
In 1952, he joined the CPSU party. After 3 years, he received a law degree and was assigned to work in the Stavropol prosecutor's office.
In 1967 he received a second higher education as an economist-agronomist.
Starting a career in politics
He worked at the prosecutor's office for only a week. He was immediately accepted into the regional committee of the Komsomol in the department of agitation and propaganda. He worked there for 7 years, from 1955 - 1962.
During this time, he served as first secretary of the city Komsomol committee, then as 2nd and 1st secretary of the regional committee of the Komsomol.
Afterwards, having support in the person of F.D. Kulakov, Mikhail Gorbachev’s career quickly began to grow upward.
By 1970, he was the first secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU. In addition, Mikhail has gained a good reputation in the agricultural sector.
Then he was elected a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. He spent 12 years in this service. He rose to the post of Chairman.
Years of Presidency and removal from office
In March 1985, a plenum of the CPSU Central Committee was held, at which Mikhail Gorbachev officially assumed the position of General Secretary of the central committee.
He became the political leader of one of the world superpowers - the USSR. Subsequently, his career growth began to grow rapidly.
In 1989 he joined the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR as its chairman.
A year later he becomes President and Supreme Commander armed forces.
He initiated a series of major reforms, called “perestroika,” which lasted in the country for 6 years (1985-1991).
As head of state, he carried out an anti-alcohol campaign, which was considered a big mistake.
His decisions in the international arena led to the end of the Cold War, the reduction of the threat of the use of nuclear weapons, and the unification of Germany.
Mikhail Gorbachev sought to reduce tensions between countries.
However, discontent was growing within the country, and against its background, external achievements did not look advantageous.
On June 12, 1990, a decree was signed proclaiming the independence of the RSFSR. As a result, other republics began to follow this example.
Occurred in 1991 August Putsch, which became the culmination of internal tensions, and its failure only completed the collapse of the allied power.
After such events, Mikhail Gorbachev was accused of treason and a criminal case was opened.
After some time, it was closed, and M. Gorbachev himself resigned from the post of head of state.
This happened on December 25, 1991. He led the country for only 1 year.
Afterwards he became the head of an international foundation that was engaged in socio-economic and political research.
People called it the “Gorbachev Foundation”. After 2 years he headed the international environmental organization"Green Cross".
Activities after retirement
In 1996, Mikhail again participated in the elections of the President of the Russian Federation. However, his candidacy was able to gain only 0.51% of the total votes.
In 2000, he took the post of head of the Social Democratic Russian Party, which a year later merged with the SDPR (Social Democratic Party).
For the next 3 years he was the leader of this party. In 2007, by court decision, SDPR was liquidated.
In the same year, Mikhail Gorbachev created the social movement “Union of Social Democrats” and headed it.
In 2008, he was invited to a program with Vladimir Pozner. In an interview, he admitted his mistakes that led to the collapse of the USSR.
On the occasion of his 80th anniversary on March 2, 2011, the current President signed a decree awarding M. Gorbachev the Order. Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called.
In 2014, he went to Germany, where he opened an exhibition dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the fall of the wall separating the eastern and western parts of Berlin.
On the last day of February, the ex-president of the USSR presented a book about himself, “Gorbachev in Life,” at his foundation.
In the spring of 2016, a meeting with future economists took place at the Moscow School at Moscow State University.
There he publicly acknowledged responsibility for his government decisions.
Personal life
Mikhail Gorbachev was married once. His first, faithful and only legal companion was Raisa Maksimovna Titarenko.
They met during their student years at one of the parties organized by Raisa’s friend.
Raisa was an exemplary student and spent all her time in the library. And at first she didn’t like Mikhail.
However, an incident changed everything. Raisa had serious health problems, and the only person who was nearby all the time was Mikhail.
With his wife Raisa
On September 25, 1953, the young couple registered their relationship. Parents were simply presented with a fait accompli.
Family life almost immediately began to test the strength of the young family’s feelings.
In the first year, Raisa became pregnant, but doctors forbade her to give birth due to heart problems.
The couple had to make a difficult decision - to agree to an abortion. Then, on the recommendation of the doctor, Mikhail and his wife decide to change the climate.
They move to Stavropol, to a small village. It starts there new life, and Raisa safely gives birth to a girl, Irina, in 1957.
At first, Raisa helps Mikhail in every possible way in his career. However, she herself does not sit at home either.
Raisa Gorbacheva begins teaching after moving to the capital.
Opens a fund to provide charitable assistance “Hematologists of the World for Children.”
At first this movement consisted of several centers. Then the fund goes international.
Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev is the first and last person to hold the title of President of the USSR. He is a rather controversial figure in world history, whose activities political scientists give directly opposite assessments. Gorbachev's biography allows not only to follow his personal life, but also to draw certain conclusions about the processes that took place in the state. Let's take a closer look at it.
Gorbachev's childhood and youth
M. S. Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931 in the small village of Privolnoye, which at that time was located in the North Caucasus region, and is now an integral part of the Stavropol region. His parents were simple peasants - Sergei Gorbachev and Maria Gopkalo.
During the Great Patriotic War Little Mikhail's father was drafted into the Red Army, and their native village, where the boy and his mother remained, was captured by German troops. However, already at the beginning of 1943 it was liberated by our soldiers.
From 1944, that is, from the age of thirteen, Mikhail began to work on a collective farm and at a tractor station, while simultaneously continuing his studies at high school. At the age of 18, while still studying, he already received the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for valiant work, and the following year he was registered as a candidate member of the CPSU. For a nineteen-year-old boy this was a very big achievement.
In 1950, M. S. Gorbachev completed his studies at school with honors and entered Moscow State University to study as a lawyer. In 1952, he finally joined the party. After graduating from university, he worked for a very short time in the prosecutor's office, and then, of his own free will, went to work in the Komsomol direction, and a year later he became the first secretary of the city committee of this organization in Stavropol, and in 1961 - the regional committee. This was precisely what served as a significant help for Gorbachev’s further successful political career.
Party career
Since 1962, Gorbachev began working in the party. Then he was appointed party organizer of the Stavropol regional committee. In 1966, he was appointed first secretary of the Stavropol City Committee, and four years later - of the regional committee. This was already quite a significant position, functionally comparable to the post of a modern Russian governor.
This is how Gorbachev began to rise. The years following this appointment were also a series of new steps on the career ladder. In 1971, he became a member of the Central Committee of the party, from 1974 he was constantly re-elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, in 1978 he was elected secretary of the Central Committee, and from the following year he was a candidate member of the Politburo, where he was included in 1980.
During this period, Gorbachev's biography was presented as a list of constant promotions in the party service.
General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee
After the death of General Secretary Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko, the post of de facto head Soviet Union became vacant. Therefore, in March 1985, it was Gorbachev who was nominated for this position. This was all the more relevant since Mikhail Sergeevich was already leading Politburo meetings during Chernenko’s illness. So, in March 1985, Gorbachev's reign began.
Already in April, Mikhail Sergeevich announced a course to accelerate the economy, which, in fact, prepared perestroika, and in May the famous anti-alcohol campaign began. Its goal was to reduce the level of alcohol consumption in the state, but the methods by which it was carried out caused a rather mixed reaction in society. Prices for alcoholic beverages increased by almost 50%, vineyards were cut down, there was a sharp reduction in the official production of strong drinks, and as a result, moonshine flourished.
One of the most significant events that marked Gorbachev's reign can also be called the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the spring of 1986.
Perestroika
In January 1987, perestroika began in the USSR. It was then that Gorbachev proclaimed it the state ideology. The essence of perestroika was the policy of democratizing management, developing elements of market relations, and proclaiming glasnost.
M. S. Gorbachev's foreign policy was aimed at normalizing relations with the United States. An agreement was reached between the Secretary General of the USSR and the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, on partial nuclear disarmament. Quite often, not only the leaders of the two superpowers met, but also their wives - Raisa Gorbachev and Nancy Reagan.
Another step that contributed to the normalization of relations with the West was the withdrawal of the Soviet contingent from Afghanistan, which was finally completed in 1989. True, the desire to get closer to NATO countries was far from main reason such a step. The USSR could no longer economically prolong this war, and the number of human losses contributed to the growth of discontent in the state.
Despite a number of decisive steps, perestroika was still half-hearted and was unable to untie the Gordian knot of accumulated problems. The rate of economic growth continued to fall, and dissatisfaction with Gorbachev’s policies both among senior officials and among the people continued to grow. In addition, interethnic contradictions in the state, which had previously been hidden, intensified, and centrifugal tendencies began to appear in the republics.
President of the USSR
In 1990, a landmark event occurred - the Congress of People's Deputies adopted a law that allowed for a multi-party system. At the same time, a new institution for the Soviet Union was introduced - the post of president. It was assumed that this would be an elective position, in which the entire population of the country with the right to vote would participate in voting for the appointment.
As an exception, it was decided that this time the head of state would be elected by the Congress of People's Deputies, but the next vote was supposed to be a nationwide vote. Thus, Mikhail Gorbachev was elected the first president of the USSR. As it turned out, he became last person who held this post.
The beginning of the collapse
As mentioned above, since the late 80s, interethnic conflicts and protests began to occur more and more often in the USSR, and separatist and centrifugal tendencies also appeared. Gorbachev’s policy, which proclaimed glasnost and pluralism, played a significant role in this. Particularly strong unrest swept through the republics of Central Asia, Moldova, the Baltic states, and Georgia, and in Nagorno-Karabakh a real war began between Armenians and Azerbaijanis.
But March 1990 became a landmark for the USSR, when the government of the Lithuanian SSR announced the republic’s secession from the USSR. This was the first sign. In April, a law was adopted regulating the mechanism for the withdrawal of subjects from the Union, the right to which was guaranteed by the Constitution, adopted back in 1978. In the same month of the following year, the Georgian SSR also announced its withdrawal.
Seeing the centrifugal tendencies that affected almost all the republics, the Gorbachev government tried to preserve the Union by holding a referendum on the future fate of the USSR in March 1991. More than 77% of the population with the right to vote supported the preservation of the state. Thus, the death of the USSR was delayed, but general economic and political trends made it inevitable.
Putsch
The turning point of that time was the attempt to seize power through a coup d'etat in August 1991, in the events of which Gorbachev also took part against his will as an injured party. The dates from August 18 to 21 became significant in the future fate of the USSR.
A number of senior government officials, led by Vice President Gennady Yanaev, conspired to remove Gorbachev from power and preserve the old-style Soviet regime. The putsch included the USSR Defense Minister Yazov and KGB Chairman Kryuchkov.
The president, who was relaxing at his dacha in Foros, was effectively placed under house arrest. Gorbachev's biography did not know before this events that were so dangerous for his life. It was announced to the people that Mikhail Sergeevich was ill, and his duties were assumed by Vice President Yanaev, who formed an emergency government, known in history as the State Emergency Committee.
But by that time, the democratic forces had already become sufficiently strong and presented a united front against the putschists. On August 21, all members of the State Emergency Committee were arrested, and the next day Gorbachev arrived in Moscow.
Collapse of the Union
But nevertheless, it was the putsch that served as a catalyst for the further collapse of the USSR. One republic after another began to leave its composition. Although Gorbachev attempted to create a confederation based on the USSR called the Union of Sovereign States, his efforts did not lead to anything concrete.
At the beginning of December 1991, an agreement was signed between the leaders of the republics in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, which actually declared the impossibility of preserving single state, and Gorbachev was not even invited to this meeting.
Gorbachev, seeing that his position no longer really had any power, announced his resignation as president on December 25. The next day, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR decided to liquidate the Soviet Union.
Life after retirement
After resigning, Gorbachev’s life flowed into a calmer direction. Although he continued to be involved in active social activities and even once tried to return to big politics. In 1992, he established a foundation main task which carried out various economic and political studies.
In 1996, Gorbachev tried to run for the presidency of the Russian Federation, but managed to get only a little more than half of one percent of the votes. From 2000 to 2004 he was the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Russia. After this, he finally moved away from big politics, although he still sometimes expresses criticism of the current Russian government, and also expresses his opinion on other issues.
This is exactly how the historical portrait of Gorbachev appears.
Family
But Gorbachev's biography would be incomplete without a story about his family. After all, it is family relationships played a significant role in the life of the Soviet leader.
Mikhail Gorbachev met his future wife Raisa Maksimovna Titarenko while still a student. In 1953 they got married in a modest wedding. Since then, Raisa Gorbacheva has become not just the life partner and hearth keeper of the famous politician, but also his faithful assistant in government affairs. She organized receptions, established charitable foundations, and held meetings with the first ladies of other countries. Such behavior by the wife of the Soviet leader was new to citizens of the Union.
In 1957, Mikhail Sergeevich and Raisa Maksimovna gave birth to their only daughter, Irina, who, in turn, in her marriage to Anatoly Virgansky gave the Gorbachev couple granddaughters, Ksenia and Anastasia.
A real blow for the former Soviet leader was the death of his faithful lifelong friend Raisa Maksimovna Gorbacheva from leukemia in 1999.
General historical portrait
The historical portrait of Gorbachev seems quite controversial and ambiguous. Was his role decisive in the collapse of the USSR or would the collapse have occurred in any case? And in general, how can one characterize the liquidation of the Soviet Union: as a positive or negative process in national history? There have been fierce debates among political scientists and historians around these issues for more than two decades.
But, be that as it may, one thing can be said with confidence: Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev always pursued the policy that he considered correct and favorable for his country, without sinning before his own conscience.
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