Mikhail Gorbachev: The leader of the Soviet Union who helped close the curtain on the Cold War – BBC News Thai

Mikhail Gorbachev was one of the most influential politicians of the 20th century. He was the last leader to witness the fall of the Soviet Union which lasted almost 70 years. Asia and Eastern Europe

The collapse of the Soviet Union was not what he wanted. When the reforms started in 1985, all he wanted was to restore a stagnant economy. and political overhaul

But his efforts were the source of many events that led to the end of his communist regime. Not only in the Soviet Union but also includes other satellite states

Mr Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931 in Stavropol. south of Russia His parents worked on farmland. He was in his childhood helping his parents. including being used to force the threshing harvester

He graduated from Moscow University in 1955, at which time he was already a member of the Communist Party.

When he returned to Stavropol with his wife Raiza, he quickly rose to the top of the Communist Party in the region.

Gorbachev is one of the party’s youngest activists. that he cannot stand the aging party leader and stick to the original idea

In 1961 he became secretary of the Youth Communist Peace Corps. and became a deputy to the General Assembly of the Communist Party

His role as an agricultural activist gave him the opportunity to venture into the field of innovation, and together with his position within the party, he was able to take the lead in bringing innovation. As a result, he became an influential figure in his native area.

Until 1978, he traveled to Moscow as Secretary of Agriculture of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. And just two years later, he was appointed a member of the Politburo. or the Executive Committee of the Communist Party

When Mr Yuri Andropov was the general secretary of the Communist Party Gorbachev made frequent foreign trips. including a trip to London, United Kingdom in 1984 and in consultation with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

In an interview with the BBC Ms Thatcher admitted that she felt hope for a relationship with the Soviets in the future.

“I like Gorbachev … we can do business together,” Thatcher said.

It is therefore not surprising that Gorbachev will inherit power from Andropov. who later died in 1984, but turned out to be Konstantin Chernenko became the party’s general secretary.

But a year later, Chernenko died. Gorbachev made Mr. This is the youngest member of the Politburo. He continued to serve as party secretary and was considered the first general secretary of the Communist Party. born after the 1917 revolution, seen as the new blood leader

Stylish outfit Mr. Gorbachev His open minded and direct attitude was the complete opposite of the previous party secretary. His wife, Raiza, is more like America’s first lady than the wife of a Communist Party secretary.

The first mission as a Soviet leader is to revive the collapsing economy

Gorbachev understood the need to reform the economy from the foundations of the Communist Party. to make the reform plan successful

These reforms are called “perestroika”, which means improvement and restructuring, and “glasnost”, which means openness and freedom of speech.

Gorbachev did not want to replace the state-controlled economy with the free market, reiterating his address to party delegates in 1885: “You may see the free market as a “free market”. economic lifesaver But my countrymen You should not be thinking about helping. but missing the boat And that ship is socialism.”

Another of his tools to deal with the economic decline was democracy and the Gorbachev era. The first election took the place of electing members of the People’s Assembly

The loosening of controlled and oppressive regimes Instead, it created a rift among the various races that made up the Soviet Union. and led to a massive uprising in Kazakhstan in December 1986.

Gorbachev wants to end the Cold War. He successfully negotiated and reached an intermediate-range nuclear energy agreement with US President Ronald Reagan.

Gorbachev was praised for ending the Cold War. and prevent the threat of nuclear conflict. by improving relations with western countries

However, the unintended consequences of improving this relationship made Soviet citizens realize how poor their lives were compared to those of other countries.

Gorbachev has become more popular abroad, but he has faced criticism at home.

Still, the most challenging test came from the countries that were relentlessly annexed by the Soviet Union.

Gorbachev’s open and democratic policy made these countries demand independence which is in the beginning He decided to use military force to subdue

The Soviet split began with the Baltic states in the north, followed by Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, and then extended to Warsaw Pact allies Russia.

The situation reached a climax on November 9, 1989, after the people of East Germany. considered the most extreme Soviet satellite state allowed to cross freely into West Berlin

At that point, Gorbachev decided not to send tanks to intervene. but declaring the unification of Germany is Germany’s own internal affairs.

As a result, he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for “his role which led to a significant change in the relationship between East and West”.

By August 1991, Moscow’s nationalist leaders could no longer tolerate Gorbachev’s actions. organize a coup and keep it while resting in the Black Sea

Boris Yeltsin, the secretary of the Moscow party took advantage of this opportunity to end the coup by arresting the protesters and removing all Gorbachev’s political power in exchange for freedom

Six months later, Gorbachev disappeared from politics with the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Communist Party became an illegal organization. As for emerging countries, Russia faces an uncertain future.

during last yearsMr.Gorbachev

He tries to express his opinion and is active in Russian and international politics. But his reputation abroad returned more than domestic popularity

In his bid to return to leadership in the 1996 Russian presidential election, he received less than 5% of the vote.

In the 1990s, he joined an international network of speakers. and also in contact with world leaders He is still considered a hero for non-Russian citizens. has won many awards and honours

but he lost a political role It is not as bad as losing his wife, Raisa, in 1999 from leukaemia.

Later, on August 30 this year (2022), Gorbachev died at the age of 91 as the last leader of the Soviet Union.

Gorbachev’s body will be buried in a cemetery in Moscow. The same cemetery where many prominent Russian figures were buried. His body was buried next to Raisa’s grave. his loving wife