The Life of Mikhail Gorbachev

Abstract
Mikhail Gorbachev was a Soviet politician. He was the general secretary of the Communist Party from 1985-1991 and the president of the Soviet Union from 1990-1991. For most of his life he was proponent on communist ideals, who learned these views at an early age from his grandfather. Gorbachev would later understand in order to strengthen the Soviet Union; he would need to democratize the country’s political system. He would see lead the end of Soviet communism and the end of the Soviet Union’s postwar domination of Eastern Europe.

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931 in Privolye, Stavropol kray, Russia. Gorbachev was born of Russian peasant in the Straropol territory (kray). At a vey young age, fifteen, he joined the Komsomol (Young Communist League) and worked on a state farm until his early twenties. He was a very promising member of the Komsomol and entered law school at Moscow State University. During his time at Moscow State he became a member of the Communist Party. In 1955 he graduated with his law degree and held various important post in the Komsomol and regular party organizations in Stavropol, where he became the first secretary of the regional party committee in 1970. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012)
Mikhail Gorbachev’s ideals were molded at a very young age. Gorbachev’s grandfather, Pantelei Yefimovich Gopkalo, was a devoted member of the Communist Party. In 1937 Gopkalo was arrested by the NKVD Secret Police and charged with being a leader on an underground organization supporting Leon Trotsky. Gorbachev’s grandfather was imprisoned for two years where he endured torture until his release in 1938. In Gorbachev’s memoirs he claims this incident made a dramatic impact on his political views. Even after Gorbachev’s grandfather’s imprisonment, his grandfather remained a devout communist and introduced Mikhail the works of Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, and Lenin. (Spartacus, 2012)
Mikhail Gorbachev was appointed the secretary of agriculture position on the Central Committee in 1978. This position would thrust Gorbachev into the Soviet national politic scene. After a short two-year stint as the secretary of agriculture, Gorbachev became the youngest member of the Politburo (executive committee of the Soviet Communist Party). (Rosenberg, 2012) During Yury Andropov tenure as general secretary of the Communist Party, Gorbachev became a very active and visible member of Politburo. Once Konstantin Chernenko became general secretary, it was clear Gorbachev would be the likely successor. Ultimately, Gorbachev would become general secretary of the CPSU on March 10, 1985; the day after Chenenko’s death. Even after Gorbachev’s appointment as general secretary, he was still the youngest member of the Politburo. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012)
As the general secretary, Gorbachev, immediately began to make changes to the CPSU. He strongly believed the Soviet Union needed to make substantial changes to invigorate the Soviet economy and society. He immediately began to force out the more conservative members of the Central committee and replaced them with younger men who shared Gorbachev’s vision of Soviet reform. (Spartacus, 2012)
Gorbachev’s primary domestic goal was to revive the sluggish Soviet economy. The Soviet economy struggled to keep up with democratic economies during the years of Leonid Brezhnev’s tenure, 1964-1982. In order to resuscitate the Soviet economy, Gorbachev called for rapid technological modernization and increased worker productivity, the intent was to make the cumbersome Soviet bureaucracy more efficient and responsive. Unfortunately, these apparent changes failed to produce definite results. In 1987 Gorbachev introduced greater reforms of Soviet economic and political system. Gorbachev created the new policy of glasnost, which means “openness.” Gorbachev believed it would take the significant expansion of freedoms of expression and of information. The press would be authorized unprecedented candor in their reporting and criticism of the government. Gorbachev would ultimately end the Soviet Union’s legacy of Stalinist totalitarian rule. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012)
In order to reform the Soviet Union’s political system, Gorbachev would create the policy of perestroika, which means restructuring. This was an attempt to democratize the Soviet political system. This would create secret ballot and multicandidate elections to party and government posts. Also under perestroika, free-market mechanisms would begin to be introduced into the Soviet economy, which would receive resistance from those in the communist party. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012)
Besides internal changes in the Soviet Union, Gorbachev understood external changes were also needed. Under Gorbachev the Soviet foreign policy would begin to improve. Gorbachev would increase talks concerning the need for “a new approach” in addressing the problems of the world. (Simes, 2012) Gorbachev would promote warmer relations and trade with developed and democratic nations of both West and East. In 1987, Gorbachev would meet with President Ronald Reagan and would sign an agreement with the U.S. to destroy all existing stocks of intermediate-range nuclear tipped missiles. He also oversaw the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. Beginning in 1989, Gorbachev would begin transform the political fabric of Europe and would begin the end of the Cold War. Gorbachev would begin to voice his support for political reform in the Soviet-bloc countries of Eastern Europe. Once communist rule began to end in the Soviet-bloc countries, Gorbachev would also begin to withdrawal Soviet troops from these countries. In 1990, Gorbachev would push for reunification of East and West Germany. For all of Gorbachev’s achievements concerning international relations, he would receive the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1990. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012)
Gorbachev’s efforts to make the Soviet Union a more democratic country made him extremely unpopular with Soviet conservatives. With the falling of the Soviet empire, Gorbachev established a new system of government. In August of 1991 he survived a coup staged by hard-liners in the Communist Party. Gorbachev would respond by dissolving the Central Committee. (Spartacus, 2012) Facing pressures from those who wanted more Russian democratization, Gorbachev would resign as president of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991; just a day before the Soviet Union was officially dissolved. (Rosenberg, 2012)
Even after Gorbachev’s resignation, Mikhail Gorbachev would remain active. He established the Gorbachev Foundation which mission is to contribute to strengthen and spread of democracy and economic liberalization through a program of advocacy, research, and education. (GFNA.net, 2012)
Mikhail Gorbachev was a pioneer. He pushed for democracy in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. His ideals were not accepted with open arms in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, but Gorbachev understood the Soviet Union needed dramatic change. Despite the resentment of the Communist Party, he was able to end Soviet communist rule and ultimately end the Cold War.

Works Cited
Encyclopedia Britannica. (2012). Mikhail Gorbachev. Retrieved October 12, 2012, from Encyclopedia Britannica Website: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/238982/Mikhail-Gorbachev
GFNA.net. (2012). The Gorbachev Foundation of North America. Retrieved October 14, 2012, from The Gorbachev Foundation of North America: http://www.gfna.net/
Rosenberg, J. (2012). Mikhail Gorbachev. Retrieved October 14, 2012, from About.com 20th Century History: http://history1900s.about.com/od/people/p/gorbachev.htm
Simes, D. K. (2012). Gorbachev: A New Foreign Policy? Retrieved October 14, 2012, from Foreign Affairs Website: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/41714/dimitri-k-simes/gorbachev-a-new-foreign-policy
Spartacus. (2012). Mikhail Gorbachev. Retrieved October 14, 2012, from Spartacus Educational Publishers: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/COLDgorbachev.htm