Gorbachev is what kind of president. Traitor or hero, the only president of the USSR Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich: biography and years of government

politics perestroika parliamentary crisis

In the spring of 1990, elections were held for delegates to the Congress people's deputies RSFSR. At the same time, the political crisis was growing in the country, while the economic situation was deteriorating, and the country's governance was weakening. A decrease in production volumes began, inflationary trends were growing, the state budget deficit was growing, and the country's gold and foreign exchange resources were rapidly declining. The old methods of government - through the nomenklatura, through the use of terror - have already become impossible. The position of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU has lost a significant part of its managerial potential.

After the 1990 elections, "it becomes obvious that the union center is deprived of the opportunity to decide the fate of the country without resorting to negotiations with new political and state entities that enjoy the support of the people and demand power that would correspond to this support."

This meant the end of the communist regime. The communist regime provided for the Communist Party's monopoly on power. Now she was gone. Political pluralism reigned in the country. Although Article 6 was formally abolished in March at the III Congress, this no longer meant anything. As a result of the elections, as a result of the rise of the civil movement, the communist monopoly on power ceased to exist. The USSR turned into a country of Soviets, not party committees.

Under these conditions, M.S. Gorbachev initiated the introduction of a new post in the country - the post of President of the USSR. In order to pass the Law on the President through the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, where M.S. Gorbachev had many opponents, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU attracted some of them to his side, proposing to cancel the article of the Constitution, which proclaimed the CPSU as the "core" of the political system.

On March 14, 1990, the Law "On the establishment of the post of President of the USSR and the introduction of amendments and additions to the Constitution of the USSR" was adopted. Under this law, the President becomes the head of state. A citizen of the USSR no younger than 35 and no older than 65 could be elected to this post. The President of the USSR was not elected by direct vote, but at a meeting of the Congress of People's Deputies. At the suggestion of the candidate for the Presidency of the USSR and together with him, the Vice-President of the USSR was elected, who, on behalf of the President, performed certain of his functions, replaced the President in the event of his absence and the impossibility of fulfilling his duties.

The President was supposed to ensure the interaction of authorities and administration, annually report to the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR on the state of the country, submit to the Supreme Council of the highest officials - the Chairman of the Government of the USSR, the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General and the Chairman of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the USSR, the personal composition of the Committee for Constitutional Supervision of the USSR . The President was simultaneously the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the USSR.

In March 1990, Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR at the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR. Union power was transferred from the Central Committee and the Politburo to presidential structures. G.I. became Vice President. Yanaev. The system of government in the country has changed. First of all, meetings of the Politburo of the Central Committee have practically ceased to meet. Instead, a presidential council was formed (it lasted until November 1990), and later - the Security Council of the USSR. B.N. became the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. Yeltsin. At the First Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR, on June 12, 1990, a huge majority adopted the Declaration on the Sovereignty of the RSFSR. A month after the adoption of this Declaration, at the XXVIII Congress of the CPSU, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR B.N. Yeltsin from the rostrum of the congress announced his withdrawal from the CPSU. Yeltsin declared that, as the head of the highest legislative power, he must obey the will of the people who elected him, and therefore leaves the party. And so that no one had any doubts, he confirmed this clearly - he left the podium and, to the roar of the shocked delegates, calmly, without looking back, walked along the long passage to the doors.

One of the most popular Russian politicians in the West during the last decades of the twentieth century is Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev. The years of his reign greatly changed our country, as well as the situation in the world. This is one of the most controversial figures, according to public opinion. Gorbachev's perestroika causes an ambiguous attitude in our country. This politician is called both the gravedigger of the Soviet Union and the great reformer.

Biography of Gorbachev

Gorbachev's story begins in 1931, on March 2. It was then that Mikhail Sergeevich was born. He was born in Stavropol, in the village of Privolnoye. He was born and raised in a peasant family. In 1948, he worked with his father on a combine and received the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for success in harvesting. Gorbachev graduated from school with a silver medal in 1950. After that, he entered the law faculty of Moscow University. Gorbachev later admitted that at that time he had a rather vague idea of ​​what law and jurisprudence were. However, he was impressed by the position of the prosecutor or judge.

During his student years, Gorbachev lived in a hostel, at one time received an increased scholarship for Komsomol work and excellent studies, but nevertheless he could hardly make ends meet. He became a party member in 1952.

Once in a club Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich met Raisa Titarenko, a student of the Faculty of Philosophy. They got married in 1953, in September. Mikhail Sergeevich graduated from Moscow State University in 1955 and was sent to work in the USSR Prosecutor's Office for distribution. However, it was then that the government adopted a decree, according to which it was forbidden to employ graduates of law schools in the central prosecutor's offices and courts. Khrushchev, as well as his associates, considered that one of the reasons for the repression carried out in the 1930s was the dominance of inexperienced young judges and prosecutors in the bodies, ready to obey any instructions from the leadership. So Mikhail Sergeevich, whose two grandfathers suffered from repression, became a victim of the struggle against the cult of personality and its consequences.

At administrative work

Gorbachev returned to Stavropol and decided not to contact the prosecutor's office anymore. He got a job in the department of agitation and propaganda in the regional committee of the Komsomol - he became the deputy head of this department. Komsomol, and then the party career of Mikhail Sergeevich developed very successfully. Gorbachev's political activity bore fruit. He was appointed in 1961 the first secretary of the local regional committee of the Komsomol. Gorbachev is already next year starts party work, and then, in 1966, becomes the first secretary of the Stavropol City Party Committee.

This is how the career of this politician gradually developed. Even then, the main shortcoming of this future reformer appeared: Mikhail Sergeevich, accustomed to selflessly working, could not ensure that his orders were conscientiously carried out by his subordinates. This characterization of Gorbachev, according to some, led to the collapse of the USSR.

Moscow

Gorbachev in November 1978 becomes the secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. An important role in this appointment was played by the recommendations of L. I. Brezhnev's closest associates - Andropov, Suslov and Chernenko. Mikhail Sergeevich after 2 years becomes the youngest of all members of the Politburo. He wants to become the first person in the state and in the party in the near future. Even the fact that Gorbachev, in essence, occupied a "penal post" - the secretary responsible for agriculture could not prevent this. After all, this sector of the Soviet economy was the most disadvantaged. Mikhail Sergeevich still remained in this position after Brezhnev's death. But Andropov already then advised him to delve into all matters in order to be ready at any moment to take full responsibility. When Andropov died and Chernenko came to power for a short time, Mikhail Sergeevich became the second person in the party, as well as the most likely "heir" of this general secretary.

In the political circles of the West, Gorbachev was first known for his visit to Canada in 1983, in May. He went there for a week with the personal permission of Andropov, who was General Secretary at that time. Pierre Trudeau, the prime minister of this country, became the first major leader of the West to receive Gorbachev personally and treat him with sympathy. Meeting with other Canadian politicians, Gorbachev gained a reputation in that country as an energetic and ambitious politician who contrasted sharply with his elderly Politburo colleagues. He showed considerable interest in the methods of economic management and the moral values ​​of the West, including democracy.

Gorbachev's perestroika

Chernenko's death opened the way to power for Gorbachev. On March 11, 1985, the Plenum of the Central Committee elected Gorbachev as General Secretary. Mikhail Sergeevich in the same year at the April plenum proclaimed a course towards accelerating the development of the country and perestroika. These terms, which appeared under Andropov, did not immediately become widespread. This happened only after the XXVII Congress of the CPSU, which was held in February 1986. Gorbachev called glasnost one of the main conditions for the success of the upcoming reforms. Gorbachev's time could not yet be called full-fledged freedom of speech. But it was possible, at least, to speak in the press about the shortcomings of society, without touching, however, the foundations of the Soviet system and the members of the Politburo. However, already in 1987, in January, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev declared that there should be no zones closed to criticism in society.

Principles of foreign and domestic policy

The new general secretary did not have a clear reform plan. Only the memory of Khrushchev's "thaw" remained with Gorbachev. In addition, he believed that the appeals of the leaders, if they were honest, and these appeals themselves were correct, could reach ordinary performers within the framework of the party-state system that existed at that time and thereby change better life. Gorbachev was firmly convinced of this. The years of his reign were marked by the fact that for all 6 years he spoke about the need for united and energetic actions, about the need for everyone to act constructively.

He hoped that, being the leader of a socialist state, he could win world prestige, based not on fear, but, above all, on a reasonable policy, unwillingness to justify the country's totalitarian past. Gorbachev, whose years of rule are often referred to as "perestroika", believed that new political thinking should prevail. It should include recognition of the priority of universal human values ​​over national and class values, the need to unite states and peoples to jointly solve the problems facing humanity.

Publicity policy

During the reign of Gorbachev, general democratization began in our country. Political persecution has ceased. The oppression of censorship has weakened. Many prominent people returned from exile and prisons: Marchenko, Sakharov, and others. The policy of glasnost, which was launched by the Soviet leadership, changed the spiritual life of the country's population. Increased interest in television, radio, print media. In 1986 alone, magazines and newspapers acquired more than 14 million new readers. All these, of course, are essential advantages of Gorbachev and his policy.

Mikhail Sergeevich's slogan, under which he carried out all the transformations, was the following: "More democracy, more socialism." However, his understanding of socialism gradually changed. Back in 1985, in April, Gorbachev said at the Politburo that when Khrushchev brought criticism of Stalin's actions to incredible proportions, this only brought great damage to the country. Glasnost soon led to an even greater wave of anti-Stalinist criticism, which during the years of the "thaw" never dreamed of.

Anti-alcohol reform

The idea of ​​this reform was initially very positive. Gorbachev wanted to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed in the country per capita, as well as begin the fight against drunkenness. However, the campaign, as a result of too radical actions, led to unexpected results. The reform itself and the further rejection of the state monopoly led to the fact that the bulk of the income in this area went to the shadow sector. A lot of start-up capital in the 90s was knocked together on "drunk" money by private traders. The treasury quickly emptied. As a result of this reform, many valuable vineyards were cut down, which led to the disappearance of entire sectors of industry in some republics (in particular, in Georgia). The anti-alcohol reform also contributed to the growth of moonshine, substance abuse and drug addiction, and multibillion-dollar losses formed in the budget.

Gorbachev's reforms in foreign policy

In November 1985, Gorbachev met with Ronald Reagan, President of the United States. Both sides recognized the need to improve bilateral relations, as well as to improve the entire international situation. Gorbachev's foreign policy led to the conclusion of the START treaties. Mikhail Sergeevich, by a statement dated 01/15/1986, put forward whole line major initiatives on foreign policy. Chemical and nuclear weapons were to be completely eliminated by the year 2000, and strict control was to be exercised during their destruction and storage. All these are the most important reforms of Gorbachev.

Reasons for failure

In contrast to the course aimed at publicity, when it was enough just to order the weakening and then actually abolish censorship, his other undertakings (for example, the sensational anti-alcohol campaign) were a combination with propaganda of administrative coercion. Gorbachev, whose years of rule were marked by an increase in freedom in all spheres, at the end of his reign, becoming president, he sought to rely, unlike his predecessors, not on the party apparatus, but on a team of assistants and the government. He leaned more and more towards the social democratic model. S. S. Shatalin said that he managed to turn the general secretary into a convinced Menshevik. But Mikhail Sergeevich abandoned the dogmas of communism too slowly, only under the influence of the growth of anti-communist sentiments in society. Gorbachev, even during the events of 1991 (the August coup), expected to retain power and, returning from Foros (Crimea), where he had a state dacha, declared that he believed in the values ​​of socialism and would fight for them, heading the reformed Communist Party. It is obvious that he was never able to rebuild himself. Mikhail Sergeevich in many respects remained a party secretary, who was accustomed not only to privileges, but also to power independent of the people's will.

Merits of M. S. Gorbachev

Mikhail Sergeevich, in his last speech as president of the country, took credit for the fact that the population of the state received freedom, spiritually and politically liberated. Freedom of the press, free elections, a multi-party system, representative bodies of power, and religious freedoms have become real. Human rights were recognized as the highest principle. A movement towards a new multi-structural economy began, the equality of forms of ownership was approved. Gorbachev finally ended the Cold War. During his reign, the militarization of the country and the arms race, which disfigured the economy, morality and public consciousness, were stopped.

The foreign policy of Gorbachev, who finally liquidated the "Iron Curtain", ensured respect for Mikhail Sergeyevich all over the world. In 1990, the President of the USSR was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for activities aimed at developing cooperation between countries.

At the same time, some indecision of Mikhail Sergeyevich, his desire to find a compromise that would suit both radicals and conservatives, led to the fact that transformations in the state economy never began. The political settlement of contradictions, interethnic enmity, which eventually ruined the country, was never achieved. History is hardly capable of answering the question of whether, in Gorbachev's place, anyone else could have saved the USSR and the socialist system.

Conclusion

The subject of supreme power, as the ruler of the state, must have full rights. MS Gorbachev, the leader of the party, who concentrated state and party power in himself, without being popularly elected to this post, in this respect was significantly inferior in the eyes of the public to B. Yeltsin. The latter became, in the end, the president of Russia (1991). Gorbachev, as if compensating for this shortcoming during his reign, increased his power, tried to achieve various powers. However, he did not comply with the laws and did not force others to do so. Therefore, the characterization of Gorbachev is so ambiguous. Politics is, first of all, the art of acting wisely.

Among the many accusations leveled against Gorbachev, perhaps the most significant was that he was indecisive. However, if we compare the significant scale of the breakthrough made by him, and the short period of being in power, this can be argued. In addition to all of the above, the Gorbachev era was marked by the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the holding of the first competitive free elections in the history of Russia, the elimination of the party's monopoly on power that existed before him. As a result of Gorbachev's reforms, the world has changed significantly. He will never be the same again. Without political will and courage, it is impossible to do this. One can relate to Gorbachev in different ways, but, of course, this is one of the largest figures in modern history.

Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, President of the USSR

(born 1931)

Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev is probably one of the most popular Russian citizens in the West today and one of the most controversial figures in public opinion within the country. He is called both a great reformer and a gravedigger of a great power - Soviet Union.

Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931 in the village of Privolnoye, Krasnogvardeisky District, Stavropol Territory, into a peasant family. During the Great Patriotic War, I had to live under German occupation for four and a half months. There was a Ukrainian (or Cossack) detachment in Privolnoye, and there were no repressions against the inhabitants. Staying in the occupied territory did not hinder his subsequent career in any way. In 1948, together with his father, he worked on a combine and received the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for success in harvesting. In 1950, Gorbachev graduated from high school with a silver medal and entered the Faculty of Law at Moscow University. As he later admitted: “What is jurisprudence and law, I then imagined rather vaguely. But the position of a judge or a prosecutor appealed to me.”

Gorbachev lived in a hostel, barely making ends meet, although at one time he received an increased scholarship as an excellent student, he was a Komsomol activist. In 1952 Gorbachev became a member of the party. Once in a club, he met Raisa Titarenko, a student of the Faculty of Philosophy. In September 1953, they got married, and on November 7 they played a Komsomol wedding.

Gorbachev graduated from Moscow State University in 1955 and, as the secretary of the Komsomol organization of the faculty, achieved distribution to the USSR Prosecutor's Office. However, just then, the government adopted a closed decree prohibiting the employment of graduates of law schools in the central bodies of the court and the prosecutor's office. Khrushchev and his associates considered that one of the reasons for the repressions of the 1930s was the dominance of young, inexperienced prosecutors and judges who were ready to follow any instructions from the leadership. So Gorbachev, whose two grandfathers suffered from repression, unexpectedly became a victim of the struggle with the consequences of the personality cult. He returned to the Stavropol Territory and decided not to get involved with the prosecutor's office, but got a job in the regional committee of the Komsomol as deputy head of the agitation and propaganda department. In 1961, he became the first secretary of the regional committee of the Komsomol, the following year he switched to party work, by 1966 he had grown to the first secretary of the Stavropol city committee, he graduated from the local agricultural institute in absentia (the diploma of a specialist agrarian was useful for advancing in the predominantly agricultural Stavropol region). On April 10, 1970, Gorbachev became the first secretary of the "Sheep Land" Communists. Anatoly Korobeinikov, who knew Gorbachev from his work in the Regional Committee, testifies: “Even in Stavropol, he told me, emphasizing his industriousness: not only with your head, but with your ass, you can do something worthwhile ... Working, as they say, “without a break”, Gorbachev and his closest assistants forced to work in the same mode. But he “driven” only those who carried this cart, he had no time to mess around with others. Already at that time, the main shortcoming of the future reformer appeared: accustomed to working day and night, he often could not get his subordinates to conscientiously carry out his orders and implement large-scale plans.

In 1971 Gorbachev became a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Two circumstances played a significant role in Gorbachev's later career. Firstly, his relative youth at the time of joining the highest party nomenclature: Gorbachev became the first secretary of the regional committee at the age of 39. Secondly, the presence in the Stavropol region of the resorts of the Caucasian Mineral Waters, where members of the Politburo often came to be treated and relax. Particularly fond of these places was the head of the KGB, Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov, who himself was from Stavropol and suffered from kidney disease and diabetes. Gorbachev received the party leaders very well and was remembered by them from the very beginning. better side. It is possible that the issue of Gorbachev's nomination to Moscow was previously resolved on September 19, 1978, when General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, who was traveling by train to Baku from Moscow, Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko, Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, who was in charge of the Party Chancellery, met at the Mineralnye Vody station. Yu.V. Andropov and Gorbachev. Just in July, after the death of Fyodor Davidovich Kulakov, the post of secretary for agriculture to which Gorbachev was appointed. Andropov and Chernenko contributed to his nomination. In 1979, Gorbachev became a candidate member, and in 1980 a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU. In itself, the post of secretary for agriculture in the Central Committee was a penalty. As you know, agriculture in the USSR was constantly in crisis, which party propaganda tried to explain by "unfavorable weather conditions." Therefore, from the post of secretary for agriculture, as well as from the corresponding ministerial post, most often they went either as an ambassador to some minor country, or directly to retirement. But Gorbachev had a huge advantage. In 1980 he was only 49 years old, and he was the youngest member of the Politburo, average age which he had long ago exceeded 60. And Andropov, and Chernenko, and Brezhnev himself already at that moment looked at Gorbachev as the future head of the party and state, but only after himself.

When Brezhnev died in November 1982, Andropov replaced him, and Chernenko became the "crown prince" - the second person in the party, who took the post of second secretary in charge of ideology and chaired the meetings of the Central Committee secretariat. But Andropov's illness turned out to be more transient than that of Chernenko, who became general secretary in February 1984. Gorbachev smoothly moved to the post of second secretary. When Chernenko's health deteriorated significantly in the fall of 1984, Gorbachev effectively took over his duties.

In March 1985, after the death of K.U. Chernenko, Gorbachev was elected General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. In the first months and even years in power, Gorbachev's views did not fundamentally differ from the views of his colleagues in the Politburo. He even planned to rename Volgograd to Stalingrad by the 40th anniversary of the victory, but the idea was abandoned due to obvious odiousness, especially for international public opinion.

At the April 1985 plenum of the Central Committee, Gorbachev proclaimed a course towards restructuring and accelerating the development of the country. These terms themselves, which appeared in the last months of Chernenko's life, became widespread only the following year, after February 1986. XXVII Congress of the CPSU. Gorbachev called glasnost one of the conditions for the success of the reforms. This was not yet full-fledged freedom of speech, but at least the opportunity to speak about the shortcomings and ulcers of society in the press, though without affecting the members of the Politburo. The new general secretary did not have a clear reform plan. Gorbachev had only the memory of Khrushchev's "thaw", at the very beginning of his ascent to the party Olympus. There was also a belief that the calls of the leaders, if the leaders are honest and the calls are correct, within the framework of the existing administrative-command (or party-state) system, can reach ordinary performers and change life for the better. Probably, Mikhail Sergeevich hoped that, remaining the leader of a socialist country, he could win respect in the world, based not on fear, but on appreciation for a reasonable policy, for refusing to justify the totalitarian past. He believed that a new political thinking must triumph. Under such thinking, Gorbachev understood the recognition of the priority of universal human values ​​over class and national ones, the need to unite all peoples and states to jointly solve global problems facing humanity. But Mikhail Sergeevich led all the transformations under the slogan "More democracy, more socialism." But his understanding of socialism gradually changed.

Just in May 1985, for the first time, he openly acknowledged the slowdown in the growth of the Soviet economy and proclaimed a course towards perestroika and acceleration. Having visited the West and making sure that the people there live much better than in the USSR, the new Secretary General decided that a number of Western values ​​could be introduced and the Soviet Union would finally catch up with America and other Western states in terms of living standards. The Brezhnev-Andropov-Chernenko generation was retired and replaced by people of the Gorbachev generation. It is not for nothing that perestroika was later called the revolution of the second secretaries against the first. The youth, who had sat in the second echelon of the nomenklatura, resolutely demanded a place in the sun for themselves. A massive "changing of the guard" like the one that Stalin carried out in 1937-1938 can be relatively painless for its architects (but not for the victims) only in a well-functioning totalitarian system. Gorbachev simultaneously reformed the system and changed the top leadership. As a result, the possibilities of glasnost began to be used to criticize officials still in power. Gorbachev himself used this method to get rid of the conservatives more quickly.

The General Secretary did not expect that glasnost, escaping from control, would lead to the beginning of uncontrollable political processes in society. Gorbachev leaned more and more towards the social democratic model. Academician Stanislav Shatalin claimed that during the period of discussion of the 500 Days program, he managed to turn the General Secretary into a convinced Menshevik. However, Gorbachev abandoned communist dogmas too slowly, only under the influence of the increasingly anti-communist mood of society. Unlike glasnost, where it was enough to order the weakening, and in the end actually abolish censorship, other initiatives, like the sensational anti-alcohol campaign, which was a combination of administrative coercion with propaganda, did more harm than good. At the end of his reign, Gorbachev, having become president, tried to rely not on the party apparatus, like his predecessors, but on the government and a team of assistants. Gorbachev's defeat in the fight with Yeltsin, who relied on "popular opinion", was predetermined.

Former US President Richard Nixon, who first met Gorbachev in 1986, recalled: “During my first meeting with Gorbachev, I was strongly impressed by his charm, intelligence, determination. But most of all, his self-confidence was remembered ... Gorbachev knew that the Soviet Union surpassed the United States in the most powerful and accurate strategic weapons - land-based intercontinental missiles. Unlike Khrushchev and Brezhnev, he was so confident in his abilities that he was not afraid to admit his weaknesses. He seemed to me as firm as Brezhnev, but more educated, more prepared, more skillful and not so openly pushing some idea. At the same time, Gorbachev did not seem to realize that the Soviet advantage in ground-based ICBMs was worth nothing. After all, since the late 1960s, the United States has stopped a large-scale quantitative build-up of its nuclear missile potential, confining itself to its qualitative improvement. After all, the guaranteed destruction of a potential adversary had already been achieved long ago, and it did not matter at all whether the USSR or the USA could be destroyed 10 or 15 times.

Gorbachev, trying to reform Soviet society, decided not to create and adopt a new constitution, but to improve the old one by introducing fundamental amendments to it. On December 1, 1988, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR approved the laws "On Amendments and Additions to the Constitution (Basic Law) of the USSR" and "On Elections of People's Deputies of the USSR". The supreme body of power was the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, which met twice a year in sessions. From among its members, the Congress elected the Supreme Soviet, which, like Western parliaments, worked on a permanent basis. For the first time in Soviet history, alternative candidates were allowed to run in elections. At the same time, a significant part of the deputies of the Congress (one third) were not elected in majoritarian (territorial) constituencies, but were actually appointed on behalf of the CPSU, trade unions and public organizations. Formally, it was believed that within the framework of these organizations and associations, deputies were elected, but in reality both the trade unions and the vast majority of public organizations were under the control of the Communist Party and basically sent people to the Congress who were pleasing to its leadership. However, there were exceptions. So, after a long struggle, the well-known dissident Academician Andrei Sakharov was elected as a deputy from the USSR Academy of Sciences. Quite a few opposition deputies went to the congress and according to the quotas of creative unions. At the same time, many secretaries of the regional committees of the CPSU lost the elections in majoritarian districts.

Gorbachev also gradually opened up opportunities for private property and entrepreneurial activity. In 1988-1990, the creation of cooperatives in trade and services, as well as small and joint industrial enterprises and commercial banks, was allowed. Often, representatives of the party and Komsomol nomenklatura, representing the younger generation, and former officers of the KGB and other special services became entrepreneurs and bankers.

In 1988-1989 Gorbachev led Soviet troops from Afghanistan. In 1989, anti-communist revolutions in Eastern Europe swept away the pro-Soviet regimes there. With his coming to power, an accelerated process of normalizing relations with the West and completing " cold war". There was no longer any need to maintain a gigantic army (in fact, according to wartime standards). In 1989, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council "On the reduction of the Armed Forces of the USSR and defense spending during 1989-1990" was issued. The term of service was reduced to one and a half years in the army and up to 2 years in the navy, and the number of personnel and weapons was reduced.

In 1989, Gorbachev allowed the first parliamentary elections in the USSR with alternative candidates. In the same year, he was elected chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In March 1990, the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, the only body of power with the right to change the constitution, canceled its 6th article, which spoke of the leading role of the CPSU in Soviet society. At the same time, the post of President of the USSR was introduced - the head of the Soviet state. Gorbachev was elected the first president of the USSR by the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR on a non-alternative basis. He began to concentrate the main power within the framework of the presidential, and not the party structure, subordinating the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR as president. However, he was never able to create within the Soviet Union a viable mechanism of executive power, independent of the party apparatus. In December 1990, at the IV Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, the president's powers were significantly expanded. The head of state received the right not only to appoint the prime minister, but also to directly manage the activities of the government, transformed into the Cabinet of Ministers. Under the president, the Federation Council and the Security Council were created as permanent bodies, which performed mainly advisory functions. The Federation Council, which consisted of the heads of the Union republics, coordinated the activities supreme bodies state administration of the Union and the republics, monitored the observance of the Union Treaty, ensured the participation of the republics in resolving issues of all-Union significance and was called upon to contribute to the settlement of interethnic conflicts in the USSR, as well as the ever-increasing conflicts between the republics and the union center. All these constitutional changes meant the transformation of the USSR into a presidential republic, where the president actually received all the powers that the general secretary previously had (Gorbachev retained this post even as president). However, it was not possible to consolidate the presidential republic in the USSR due to the sharp confrontation between the union center and the republics.

In 1990, President Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his activities aimed at developing international cooperation. In April 1990, Gorbachev agreed with the leaders of 10 of the 15 Union republics to work together on a draft of a new Union Treaty. However, it was not possible to sign it. In the conditions of democratization, an alternative center of power was created - the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR and the President of the RSFSR (Boris Yeltsin was elected to this post in June 1991), relying on the broad democratic opposition. Allied opposition and Russian authorities led to an attempted military coup and the actual collapse of the USSR in August 1991 with the legal registration of the demise of the Soviet state in December of the same year.

On December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned as president of the USSR. Since January 1992, he has been President of the International Public Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Research (Gorbachev Foundation).

Gorbachev's indecisiveness, his desire for a compromise between conservatives and radicals led to the fact that the transformations in the economy did not begin, and a political settlement of interethnic contradictions that eventually collapsed the Soviet Union was not found. However, history will never give an answer to the question of whether anyone else in Gorbachev's place could have preserved the unsustainable: the socialist system and the USSR. In the 1996 presidential election, Gorbachev did not collect even 1 percent of the vote. V last years, after the death of his beloved wife Raisa Maksimovna, whom he suffered very hard, Gorbachev largely retired from active politics.

Gorbachev's historical merit lies in the fact that he ensured the "soft" collapse of totalitarianism and the collapse of the Soviet Union, which was not accompanied by large-scale wars and interethnic clashes, and ended the "cold war".