Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union: we remember him with Glastnost and Perestroika

The Moscow Central Clinical Hospital, where Gorbachev was treated, officially announced Gorbachev's death, with the statement that `Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev died this evening after a serious and long illness'.

Born on March 2, 1931 in Stavropol, one of the cities of the North Caucasus, Mikhail Gorbachev graduated from the Law Faculty of Moscow State University in 1955. Meanwhile, he took office in the Young Communist League.

In 1971 he was elected a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He became General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985. Gorbachev, who was elected to the leadership of the Soviet Union in October 1988, went down in history as the last leader of the USSR with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

While Gorbachev was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990, he also took on great responsibilities during the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster, which was recorded as the world's largest nuclear disaster during the Soviet Union period.

Continuing active politics after the establishment of the Russian Federation, Gorbachev participated in the 1996 presidential elections. Gorbachev, who could only come in 7th in the elections where 10 candidates competed, founded the Russian United Social Democratic Party in 2001. Gorbachev, who served as the party chairman until 2004, later took part in the organization of the political party. Gorbachev, who struggled with diseases in his last years, died on August 30, 2022 due to diseases related to the disease.

Who is Mikhail Gorbachev?

Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931 in the Stavropol region of southern Russia.

His parents worked on the collective farm. He himself learned to use a combine harvester at a young age and continued his education.

When he graduated from Moscow State University in 1955, he was an active member of the Communist Party.

After returning to Stavropol with his wife Raisa, he began to rise rapidly in the local organization of the party.

Gorbachev was a member of the younger generation who thought critically about older people at the top of the Soviet bureaucracy at the time.

In 1961 he became the regional secretary of the communist youth organization and a member of the Party congress. His agrarian powers gave him the opportunity to expand his influence in the party.

A fresh start

In 1978 he went to Moscow as a member of the Central Committee's Agriculture Secretariat, and two years later he was appointed a member of the Politburo.

During the tenure of Secretary General Yuri Andropov, Gorbachev made trips abroad. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, whom he met when he went to London in 1984, was impressed by him.

In an interview with the BBC, Thatcher conveyed that she was optimistic about the future of relations with the USSR and said, "I liked Mr. Gorbachev. We can do business with him."

In fact, when Konstantin Chernenko Andropov died in 1984, Gorbachev was expected to succeed him. Now it was Gorbachev's turn, the youngest member of the Politburo.

Gorbachev took office as the first general secretary born after the October Revolution in 1917, and was seen as a fresh start after a period of recession.

Gorbachev's manner of dressing, manners and behavior differed from those of previous USSR leaders. His wife, Raisa, resembled American "first-ladies" more than general secretary wives.

Two Russian words

Gorbachev's first task at the helm of the country was to resurrect the dying Soviet economy. He understood that fundamental reforms were needed within the Communist Party as well.

With Gorbachev's reforms, the world began to argue about two Russian words: perestroika (reconstruction) and glasnost (openness).

According to him, the country needed perestroika, and the tool to do this was called glasnost.

In the city of Leningrad, now called Saint Petersburg, he told communist bosses, "You can't keep up with the rest of the economy. Your fake goods are in disgrace."

However, he did not think that state control should be replaced by a free market economy. He made this clear in a speech to party delegates in 1985:

"Some of you look at the market as a life jacket for the economy. However, comrades, it's not the life jackets you need to look at, it's the ship itself. And the ship is socialism."

He saw democracy as another tool to open the blockage in the system. For the first time, free elections were held at the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union.

This relaxation, which was adopted in the authoritarian system, was greeted with enthusiasm by different elements and nationalities within the Soviet Union. In some countries, riots marked the newly opened period. For example, actions in Kazakhstan in 1986 caused a wave of disobedience.

Gorbachev was intent on ending the cold war by reaching an agreement with US President Ronald Reagan on disarmament. The occupation in Afghanistan was ended, it was announced that the Soviet conventional forces would be reduced unilaterally.

The most difficult test, however, came from countries that were reluctantly included in the Soviet Union.

The pursuit of openness and democracy led to calls for independence.

The independence of the Baltic states in the north had an accelerating effect during the disintegration of the USSR.

Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia severed ties with Moscow.

On the other hand, allowing the citizens of East Germany to pass to the West on November 9, 1989 and the fall of the Berlin Wall became a milestone in the decline of the socialist countries.

Gorbachev's initial response was not to send tanks to the area, as was the traditional Soviet approach. He said that the situation regarding German reunification is an internal matter of Germany.

In 1990, Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "leading to radical changes in East-West relations".

All this meant crossing the red line for the defenders of the communist order in Moscow. A military coup was staged in August 1991, and Gorbachev was arrested during his vacation in the Black Sea.

The coup was suppressed. Gorbachev resigned. However, what happened had turned the Soviet order upside down and for 6 months the Soviet Union came to the end of the road. Russia now opened the door to a new and uncertain future.

The new Russia and the new Gorbachev

In the post-USSR world, Gorbachev continued to be an influential voice both at home and internationally, but his popularity was always greater outside of Russia.

He ran for President of Russia in 1996, but received less than 0.5 percent of the vote.

He took part in international panels and think tanks throughout the 1990s, and continued to meet with world leaders.

He was shaken by the death of his wife Raisa in 1999.

Gorbachev was a fierce opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, criticizing him for creating an increasingly repressive regime.

However, Gorbachev supported the referendum that brought Crimea to join Russia in 2014: "Crimea had previously joined Ukraine in accordance with Soviet laws, that is, party laws, the people were not asked. Now the people themselves decide to correct this mistake."

On Gorbachev's 90th birthday, in March 2021, Putin said of himself, "One of the greatest statesmen of modern times, has had a great impact on our country and world history."

So how did Gorbachev approach his past?

It was right to end the totalitarian system and the Cold War, he said. But he said he was still dejected about the coup attempt and the end of the Soviet Union.

Many Russians continued to blame him for the collapse years later.