Mikhail Gorbachev, the last general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1985–1991), was among the few leaders to publicly surrender to Putin leave power and leave the Kremlin. Winner Grammy Awards, he built a reputation as a reformist through the policies of glasnost (“opening”) and perestroika (“restructuring”), which eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev died Tuesday evening.

Mykhailo GorbachevPhoto: Profimedia Images

How did Mikhail Gorbachev become the president of the Soviet Union?

In 1971, Mikhail Gorbachev was appointed a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSR). writes Britannica. In 1979–80, Gorbachev joined the Politburo, the highest decision-making body of the Soviet Union, and in 1985 was elected General Secretary of the CPSU.

In October 1988, General Secretary Gorbachev was elected chairman of the presidium of the national legislature (the Verkhovna Rada). Shortly thereafter, Gorbachev established a bicameral parliament. In 1989, the parliament elected a new member of the Verkhovna Rada from among its members and appointed Gorbachev as president.

In 1991, it suffered a coup by conservatives in the party who were adamantly opposed to any measures that would change the character and integrity of the Soviet Union.

Conservatives in the Soviet leadership, who called themselves the “ChKN”, staged a coup d’état to remove Gorbachev from the post of head of state and prevent the signing of a new union treaty.

The President of the Soviet Union was under house arrest in Crimea on August 19-21. After his release, when he returned to Moscow, Gorbachev realized that he no longer controlled the Union or Russia, and that he was alone in the face of an increasingly powerful Yeltsin, the same man who had helped defeat the coup.

What is Mikhail Gorbachev famous for?

Mikhail Gorbachev played a key role in ending the dominance of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe after World War II. Gorbachev supported the fall of the Iron Curtain, which separated the eastern communist states from the non-communist western ones.

In foreign relations, Gorbachev cultivated friendly relations with non-communist countries, especially the United States. Gorbachev worked with US President Ronald Reagan to reduce political and military tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. With this, Gorbachev helped put an end to the Cold War.

In 1990, Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his “leading role in the peace process” in Europe.

What did Mikhail Gorbachev do after the collapse of the Soviet Union?

On December 25, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned from the post of President of the Soviet Union. On the same day, the Soviet Union ceased to exist.

It was replaced by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a loose association of sovereign states founded by the elected leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus (Belarus). The CIS officially began to exist in early 1992. Boris Yeltsin was the president of Russia at that time. The Russian government under Yeltsin took over many of the responsibilities of the former Soviet Union.

Dissatisfaction with Yeltsin’s administration led Gorbachev to run for president of Russia in 1996, but he received only 1% of the vote.

After the end of his political career, Gorbachev published books, spoke at conferences and lectures in many countries of the world.

As an element of color Gorbachev A appeared in advertising Lous Vuitton prints.