Mikhail Gorbachev facts for kids

Mikhail Gorbachev
Михаил Горбачёв
Mikhail Gorbachev; Михаил Горбачёв
President of the Soviet Union
	In office; 15 March 1990 – 25 December 1991
Vice President	Gennady Yanayev
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Chairman of the Supreme Soviet
	In office; 25 May 1989 – 15 March 1990
Deputy	Anatoly Lukyanov
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Anatoly Lukyanov (Executive roles transferred to President)
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
	In office; 1 October 1988 – 25 May 1989
Preceded by	Andrei Gromyko
Succeeded by	Office abolished
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
	In office; 11 March 1985 – 24 August 1991
Deputy	Yegor Ligachev; Vladimir Ivashko (1990-1991)
Preceded by	Konstantin Chernenko
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Personal details
Born	2 March 1931 (age 89); Privolnoye, Stavropol Krai, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Russian
Political party	Independent Democratic Party (2008–present); Union of Social Democrats (2007–present)
Other political; affiliations	Social Democratic Party (2001–2004); Communist Party (1950–1991)
Spouse(s)	Raisa Gorbachova (m. 1953–1999)
Alma mater	Moscow State University
Profession	Lawyer
Signature

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (sometimes spelled Gorbachov) (born 2 March 1931) is a former Soviet politician.

He was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1985-91), Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (head of state) (1988-91) and the first (and last) president of the Soviet Union (1990-dissolved 1991). Gorbachev is known for forming a friendship with President of the United States Ronald Reagan. Both of them would help end the Cold War.

Early life

Gorbachev was born in Privolnoye, Stavropol Krai, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.

Secretary General of the Soviet Union

Reagan and Gorbachev at the Geneva Summit in 1985

His attempts at reform and partnership with Ronald Reagan led to the end of the Cold War. His main intent was to improve the economy of the USSR. To do this, he set in motion two major reforms:

Perestroika: restructuring of the economy
Glasnost: gave more freedom to the people, and allowed them to express their opinions more freely.

Indirectly, this may have helped cause the end of the power of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), and the break-up of the Soviet Union into smaller countries. However, it should be noted that the need to modernise the economy, and to conduct government less ruthlessly than Stalin, was agreed by the previous two leaders. They, Andropov and Chernenko, were elderly and died before real changes could be put in place.

In 1990, Gorbachev created the office of President of the Soviet Union. It was to be based on the systems in France and the United States. The office merged office of General Secretary and head of state. The President was to be elected by the Soviet People but its only holder was Gorbachev who wasn't elected. Gorbachev saw the office mainly as a position for himself to remain influential in Soviet politics. His main goal was to keep the Soviet Union together, controlled by Moscow.

After the August coup in 1991 Gorbachev resigned as leader of the Communist Party and held onto the Soviet presidency. When Union republics began to turn away from the Soviet system, Gorbachev's power was dramatically reduced. By late 1991 he had almost no influence outside of Moscow. When Russia, Ukraine and Byelorussia became independent, Gorbachev was basically a President of a country that only existed on paper. He resigned on December 25, 1991.

Personal life

Gorbachev studied law at Lomonosov Moscow State University where he also met his future wife Raisa Gorbachova. Raisa studied sociology. After retiring from politics in 1991, Gorbachev started The Gorbachev Foundation, which is currently headed by his daughter Irina. In 2004, he traveled to the United States to represent Russia at Ronald Reagan's funeral.

Awards

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. He won a Grammy Award in 2004 with Bill Clinton and Sophia Loren for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for their recording of Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.

Related pages

Preceded by Konstantin Chernenko	General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party 1985–1991	Succeeded by Vladimir Ivashko

Images for kids

Gorbachev and his Ukrainian maternal grandparents, late 1930s
Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet leader whose anti-Stalinist reforms were supported by Gorbachev
Gorbachev on a visit to East Germany in 1966
Part of the Great Stavropol Canal established under Gorbachev's regional leadership
Gorbachev was skeptical of the deployment of Soviet troops in Afghanistan (pictured here in 1986)
In April 1983, Gorbachev gave a speech marking the birthday of Lenin (pictured), founder of the Soviet Union.
Gorbachev in 1985 at a summit in Geneva, Switzerland
Gorbachev at the Brandenburg Gate in April 1986 during a visit to East Germany
U.S. President Reagan and Gorbachev meeting in Iceland in 1986
Gorbachev with Erich Honecker of East Germany. Privately, Gorbachev told Chernyaev that Honecker was a "scumbag".
Gorbachev speaking in 1987
Gorbachev and his wife Raisa on a trip to Poland in 1988
Gorbachev in one-on-one discussions with Reagan
Reagan and Gorbachev with wives (Nancy and Raisa, respectively) attending a dinner at the Soviet Embassy in Washington, 9 December 1987
Gorbachev meeting the Romanian Marxist-Leninist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu. According to Taubman, Ceaușescu was Gorbachev's "favorite punching bag".
Berlin Wall, "Thank you, Gorbi!", October 1990
Gorbachev addressing the United Nations General Assembly in December 1988. During the speech he dramatically announced deep unilateral cuts in Soviet military forces in Eastern Europe.
In 1990, Gorbachev met repeatedly with U.S. President George Bush
Leaders of the Soviet Republics sign the Belovezha Accords which eliminated the USSR and established the Commonwealth of Independent States, 1991
Gorbachev visiting Reagan, both in western wear, at Rancho del Cielo in 1992
Gorbachev, daughter Irina and his wife's sister Lyudmila at the funeral of Raisa, 1999
Gorbachev attended the Inauguration of Vladimir Putin in May 2000
Gorbachev (right) being introduced to U.S. President Barack Obama by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, March 2009
Gorbachev in 1987
The official Soviet portrait of Gorbachev; many official photographs and visual depictions of Gorbachev removed the port-wine birthmark from his head
Gorbachev at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, 16 June 1992
Former President of the United States Ronald Reagan awards Gorbachev the first ever Ronald Reagan Freedom Award at the Reagan Library, 4 May 1992