Foreign policy of Mikhail Gorbachev. Foreign policy. "New political thinking"

25.09.2019

Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev


Predecessor:	Position established
Successor:	Position established

Predecessor:	The position has been created; himself as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
Successor:	Anatoly Ivanovich Lukyanov
11th Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR October 1, 1988 - May 25, 1989
Predecessor:	Andrey Andreevich Gromyko
Successor:	The position has been abolished; himself as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR

Predecessor:	Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko
Successor:	Vladimir Antonovich Ivashko (acting) Oleg Semenovich Shenin as Chairman of the Council of the UPC-CPSU
	1) CPSU (1952 - 1991) 2) RUSDP (2000-2001) 3) SDPR (2001 - 2007) 4) SSD (since 2007)
Education:
Profession:
Religion:
Birth:
	Sergei Andreevich Gorbachev
	Maria Panteleevna Gopkalo
	Raisa Maksimovna, born. Titarenko
	Irina Gorbacheva (Virganskaya)
Autograph:

At party work

Foreign policy

Relations with the West

Official recognition of Soviet responsibility for Katyn

Results of foreign policy

The situation in Transcaucasia

Conflict in the Fergana Valley

Entry of Soviet troops into Baku

Fighting in Yerevan

Baltic conflicts

After resignation

Family, personal life

Awards and honorary titles

Nobel Prize

Literary activity

Discography

Acting

In works of culture

Interesting facts

Nicknames

Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev(March 2, 1931, Privolnoye, North Caucasus Territory) - General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee (March 11, 1985 - August 23, 1991), the first and last President of the USSR (March 15, 1990 - December 25, 1991). Head of the Gorbachev Foundation. Since 1993, co-founder of New Daily Newspaper CJSC (see Novaya Gazeta). He has a number of awards and honorary titles, the most famous of which is the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize. Head of the Soviet State from March 11, 1985 to December 25, 1991. Gorbachev’s activities as head of the CPSU and state are associated with a large-scale attempt at reform in the USSR - perestroika, which ended with the collapse of the world socialist system and the collapse of the USSR, as well as the end of the Cold War. Russian public opinion regarding Gorbachev’s role in the above events, it is extremely polarized.

Childhood and youth

Born on March 2, 1931 in the village of Privolnoye, Krasnogvardeisky district, Stavropol Territory (then North Caucasus Territory), into a peasant family. Father - Gorbachev Sergei Andreevich (1909-1976), Russian. Mother - Gopkalo Maria Panteleevna (1911-1993), Ukrainian.

From the age of 13, he periodically combined studying at school with work at MTS and on a collective farm. From the age of 15 he worked as an assistant combine operator at a machine and tractor station. In 1948, at the age of seventeen, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor as a noble combine operator. In 1950, he entered M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University without exams. After graduating from the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University in 1955, he was sent to Stavropol to the regional prosecutor's office. He worked as Deputy Head of the Agitation and Propaganda Department of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the Komsomol, First Secretary of the Stavropol City Komsomol Committee, then Second and First Secretary of the Regional Committee of the Komsomol (1955-1962).

In 1953 he married Raisa Maksimovna Titarenko (1932-1999).

At party work

In 1952 he was admitted to the CPSU.

Since March 1962 - party organizer of the regional committee of the CPSU of the Stavropol territorial production collective and state farm administration. Since 1963 - head of the department of party bodies of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the CPSU. In September 1966, he was elected First Secretary of the Stavropol City Party Committee. Graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the Stavropol Agricultural Institute (in absentia, 1967) with a degree in agronomist-economist. From August 1968 - second, and from April 1970 - First Secretary of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the CPSU.

In 1971-1992 he was a member of the CPSU Central Committee. Gorbachev was patronized by Andropov, Yuri Vladimirovich, who contributed to his transfer to Moscow. In November 1978, he was elected Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. From 1979 to 1980 - candidate member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. In the early 80s, he made a series of foreign visits, during which he met Margaret Thatcher and became friends with Alexander Yakovlev, who then headed the Soviet embassy in Canada. Participated in the work of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee to resolve important government issues. From October 1980 to June 1992 - member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, from December 1989 to June 1990 - Chairman of the Russian Bureau of the CPSU Central Committee, from March 1985 to August 1991 - General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

During the August 1991 putsch, he was removed from power by the State Emergency Committee, led by Vice-President Gennady Yanaev, and isolated in Foros; after the restoration of legitimate power, he returned from vacation to his post, which he held until the collapse of the USSR in December 1991.

He was elected as a delegate to the XXII (1961), XXIV (1971) and all subsequent (1976, 1981, 1986, 1990) congresses of the CPSU. From 1970 to 1990 he was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 8-12 convocations. Member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from 1985 to 1990; Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from October 1988 to May 1989. Chairman of the Commission on Youth Affairs of the Union Council of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1974-1979); Chairman of the Commission for Legislative Proposals of the Council of the Union of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1979-1984); Chairman of the Commission on foreign affairs Council of the Union of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1984-1985); People's Deputy of the USSR from the CPSU - 1989 (March) - 1990 (March); Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (formed by the Congress of People's Deputies) - 1989 (May) - 1990 (March); Deputy of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR 10-11 convocations.

On March 15, 1990, Mikhail Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR. At the same time, until December 1991, he was Chairman of the USSR Defense Council and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Armed Forces.

Activities as Secretary General and President

Being at the pinnacle of power, Gorbachev carried out numerous reforms and campaigns, which later led to a market economy, the destruction of the monopoly power of the CPSU and the collapse of the USSR. The assessment of Gorbachev's activities is contradictory.

Conservative politicians criticized him for the economic devastation, the collapse of the Union and other consequences of perestroika.

Radical politicians criticized him for the inconsistency of his reforms and his attempt to preserve the old centrally planned economy and socialism.

Many Soviet, post-Soviet and foreign politicians and journalists welcomed Gorbachev's reforms, democracy and glasnost, the end of the Cold War, and the unification of Germany. The assessment of Gorbachev’s activities abroad in the former USSR is more positive and less controversial than in the post-Soviet space.

Here short list his initiatives and events directly or indirectly associated with him:

On April 8, 1986, M.S. visited. Gorbachev in Tolyatti, where he visited the Volzhsky Automobile Plant. The result of this visit was the decision to create an engineering enterprise on the basis of the flagship of the domestic mechanical engineering industry - the industry scientific and technical center (STC) of AVTOVAZ OJSC, which was a significant event in the Soviet automobile industry. At his speech in Tolyatti, Gorbachev clearly uttered the word “perestroika” for the first time; this was picked up by the media and became the slogan of the new era in the USSR.
On May 15, 1986, a campaign began to intensify the fight against unearned income, which was locally understood as a fight against tutors, flower sellers, drivers who picked up passengers, and salespeople homemade bread in Central Asia. The campaign was soon curtailed and forgotten due to subsequent events.
The anti-alcohol campaign in the USSR, launched on May 17, 1985, led to a 45% increase in prices for alcoholic beverages, a reduction in alcohol production, cutting down vineyards, the disappearance of sugar in stores due to moonshine and the introduction of sugar cards, an increase in life expectancy among the population, and a decrease in crime rates committed on the basis of alcoholism.
Acceleration - this slogan was associated with promises to dramatically increase industry and the well-being of the people in a short time; The campaign led to an accelerated disposal of production capacity, contributed to the start of the cooperative movement and prepared perestroika.
Perestroika with alternation of hesitant and drastic measures and countermeasures to introduce or limit market economy and democracy.
Power reform, introduction of elections to the Supreme Council and local Councils on an alternative basis.
Glasnost, the actual removal of party censorship on funds mass media.
Suppression of local national conflicts in which the authorities took brutal measures, in particular the forceful dispersal of a youth rally in Almaty, the deployment of troops into Azerbaijan, the dispersal of demonstrations in Georgia, the unfolding of a long-term conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, the suppression of separatist aspirations of the Baltic republics.
During the Gorbachev period there was a sharp decrease in the reproduction of the population of the USSR.
The disappearance of food from stores, hidden inflation, the introduction of a rationing system for many types of food in 1989. The period of Gorbachev's rule was characterized by the washing out of goods from stores, as a result of pumping the economy with non-cash rubles, and subsequently by hyperinflation.
Under Gorbachev, the Soviet Union's external debt reached a record high. Gorbachev took out debts at high interest rates - more than 8% per annum - from different countries. Russia was able to pay off the debts incurred by Gorbachev only 15 years after his resignation. At the same time, the USSR's gold reserves decreased tenfold: from more than 2,000 tons to 200. It was officially stated that all these huge funds were spent on the purchase of consumer goods. Approximate data are as follows: 1985, external debt - 31.3 billion dollars; 1991, external debt - 70.3 billion dollars (for comparison, total amount Russian external debt as of October 1, 2008 - $540.5 billion, including state external debt in foreign currency - about 40 billion dollars, or 8% of GDP - for more details, see the article External Debt of Russia). The peak of Russian government debt occurred in 1998 (146.4% of GDP).

Reform of the CPSU, which led to the formation of several political platforms within it, and subsequently - the abolition of the one-party system and the removal of the constitutional status of the “leading and organizing force” from the CPSU.
Rehabilitation of victims of Stalinist repressions who were not previously rehabilitated under Khrushchev.
Weakening of control over the socialist camp (the Sinatra doctrine), which led, in particular, to a change of power in most socialist countries, the unification of Germany in 1990, the end of the Cold War (the latter in the United States is usually regarded as a victory for the American bloc).
Ending the war in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of Soviet troops.
The introduction of Soviet troops into Baku on the night of January 19-20, 1990, against the Popular Front of Azerbaijan. More than 130 dead, including women and children.
Concealment from the public of the facts of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986.
On November 7, 1990, there was an unsuccessful attempt on Gorbachev’s life.

Foreign policy

Relations with the West

Having come to power, Gorbachev tried to improve relations with the United States and Western Europe. One of the reasons for this was the desire to reduce exorbitant military spending (25% of the USSR state budget).

During the years of “perestroika,” the foreign policy of the USSR underwent serious changes. The reason for this was the slowdown in economic growth and economic stagnation in the first half of the 1980s. Soviet Union was no longer able to withstand the arms race imposed by the United States.

During his years of rule, Gorbachev put forward many peace initiatives. An agreement was reached on the elimination of Soviet and American medium- and short-range missiles in Europe. The USSR government unilaterally declared a moratorium on testing nuclear weapons. However, peacefulness was sometimes regarded as weakness.

As the economic situation in the country worsened, the Soviet leadership considered reducing armaments and military spending as a way to solve financial problems, and therefore did not demand guarantees and adequate steps from its partners, while losing its position in the international arena.

Foreign policy of the USSR in the second half of the 1980s.

The withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the victory of democratic forces in Eastern Europe, the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and the withdrawal of troops from Europe - all this became a symbol of the “loss of the USSR in the Cold War.”

On February 22, 1990, the head of the International Department of the CPSU Central Committee, V. Falin, sent a note to Gorbachev in which he reported new archival finds proving the connection between the sending of Poles from the camps in the spring of 1940 and their execution. He pointed out that the publication of such materials would completely undermine the official position of the Soviet government (about “lack of evidence” and “lack of documents”) and recommended urgently deciding on a new position. In this regard, it was proposed to inform Jaruzelski that there was no direct evidence (orders, instructions, etc.) that would allow him to name the exact time and specific culprits Katyn tragedy, was not found, but “based on the indicated indications, we can conclude that the death of Polish officers in the Katyn area was the work of the NKVD and personally Beria and Merkulov.”

On April 13, 1990, during Jaruzelski's visit to Moscow, a TASS statement about the Katyn tragedy was published, which read:

Gorbachev handed over to Jaruzelski the discovered NKVD transfer lists from Kozelsk, from Ostashkov and from Starobelsk.

On September 27, 1990, the Main Military Prosecutor's Office of the USSR began a criminal investigation into the murders in Katyn, which received serial number 159. The investigation started by the Main Military Prosecutor's Office of the USSR was continued by the Main Military Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation and was conducted until the end of 2004; During it, witnesses and participants in the massacres of Poles were interrogated. On September 21, 2004, the GVP announced the termination of the Katyn case.

Results of foreign policy

easing international tensions;
the real elimination of entire classes of nuclear weapons and the liberation of Europe from conventional weapons, the cessation of the arms race, the end of the Cold War;
the collapse of the bipolar system of international relations, which ensured stability in the world;
the transformation of the United States after the collapse of the USSR into the only superpower;
a decrease in Russia's defense capability, Russia's loss of allies in Eastern Europe and the Third World.

Interethnic conflicts and forceful solutions to problems

December events in Kazakhstan

December events (Kaz. Zheltoksan - December) - youth protests in Almaty and Karaganda that occurred on December 16-20, 1986, which began with Gorbachev’s decision to remove from office the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, Dinmukhamed Akhmedovich Kunaev, who had been in office since 1964, and replace him with someone who had not previously worked in Kazakhstan ethnic Russian, Gennady Vasilyevich Kolbin, first secretary of the Ulyanovsk regional party committee. Participants in the protests protested against the appointment of a person to this position who did not think about the fate of the autochthonous people. The performances began on December 16, the first groups of youth came to the New (Brezhnev) Square of the capital demanding the cancellation of Kolbin’s appointment. Telephone communications in the city were immediately cut off, and these groups were dispersed by the police. But rumors about the performance on the square instantly spread throughout the city. On the morning of December 17, crowds of young people came to the square named after L. I. Brezhnev in front of the Central Committee building, demanding their rights and democracy. The demonstrators’ posters read “We demand self-determination!”, “Every nation has its own leader!”, “Don’t be the 37th!”, “Put an end to great power madness!” There were rallies for two days, both times ending in riots. When dispersing the demonstration, troops used sapper shovels, water cannons, and service dogs; It is also alleged that scrap reinforcement and steel cables were used. To maintain order in the city, workers' squads were used.

The situation in Transcaucasia

In August 1987, Karabakh Armenians sent a petition to Moscow, signed by tens of thousands of citizens, with a request to transfer NKAO to the Armenian SSR. On November 18 of the same year, in an interview with the French newspaper L'Humanité, advisor to M. S. Gorbachev, A. G. Aganbegyan makes the statement: “ I would like to know that Karabakh has become Armenian. As an economist, I believe that it is more connected with Armenia than with Azerbaijan" Similar statements are made by other public and political figures. The Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh organizes demonstrations calling for the transfer of NKAO to the Armenian SSR. In response, the Azerbaijani population of Nagorno-Karabakh begins to demand the preservation of NKAO as part of the Azerbaijan SSR. To maintain order, M. S. Gorbachev sent a motorized infantry battalion of the 160th regiment of internal troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs to Nagorno-Karabakh from Georgia.

On December 7, 1990, a regiment of internal troops of the USSR from the Tbilisi garrison was introduced into Tskhinvali.

Conflict in the Fergana Valley

The pogroms of Meskhetian Turks in 1989 in Uzbekistan are better known as the Fergana events. At the beginning of May 1990, a pogrom of Armenians and Jews took place in the Uzbek city of Andijan.

The events of January 1990 in the city of Baku (the capital of the Azerbaijan SSR), which ended with the entry of Soviet troops, resulting in the death of more than 130 people.

Fighting in Yerevan

On May 27, 1990, an armed clash between Armenian armed forces and internal troops occurred, resulting in the deaths of two soldiers and 14 militants.

Baltic conflicts

In January 1991, events took place in Vilnius and Riga, accompanied by the use of military force. During the events in Vilnius, units of the Soviet army stormed the television center and other public buildings (so-called “party property”) in Vilnius, Alytus, Siauliai.

After resignation

After the signing of the Belovezhskaya Accords (overcoming Gorbachev's objections), and the actual denunciation of the union treaty, on December 25, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as head of state. From January 1992 to the present - President of the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Science Research (Gorbachev Foundation). At the same time, from March 1993 to 1996 - President, and since 1996 - Chairman of the Board of the International Green Cross.

On May 30, 1994, Gorbachev visited Listyev in the first episode of the Rush Hour program. Excerpt from the conversation:

PSRL, t. 25, M. -L, 1949, p. 201

After his resignation, he complained that he was “blocked in everything,” that his family was constantly “under the surveillance” of the FSB, that his phones were constantly tapped, that he could only publish his books in Russia “underground”, in small editions.

In 1996, he nominated himself for the election of the President of the Russian Federation and, according to the voting results, received 386,069 votes (0.51%).

In 2000, he became the head of the Russian United Social Democratic Party, which in 2001 merged with the Social Democratic Party of Russia (SDPR); from 2001 to 2004 - leader of the SDPR.

On July 12, 2007, SDPR was liquidated (deregistered) by decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

On October 20, 2007 he became head All-Russian public movement "Union of Social Democrats".

At the instigation of journalist Yevgeny Dodolev, the new US President Obama, some Russian journalists began to compare him with Gorbachev.

In 2008, in an interview with Vladimir Pozner on Channel One, Mikhail Gorbachev said:

PSRL, t. 25, M. -L, 1949, p. 201

In a 2009 interview with Euronews, Gorbachev reiterated that his plan did not “fail,” but on the contrary, then “democratic reforms began,” and that Perestroika won.

In October 2009, in an interview with Radio Liberty editor-in-chief Lyudmila Telen, Gorbachev admitted his responsibility for the collapse of the USSR:

PSRL, t. 25, M. -L, 1949, p. 201

Family, personal life

Spouse - Raisa Maksimovna Gorbacheva(née Titarenko), died in 1999 from leukemia. She lived and worked in Moscow for more than 30 years.

Ksenia Anatolyevna Virganskaya(1980) - journalist in a glossy magazine.

First husband - Kirill Solod, son of a businessman (1981), married on April 30, 2003 in the Griboyedovsky registry office,
Second husband - Dmitry Pyrchenkov (former concert director of singer Abraham Russo), married in 2009

Great-granddaughter - Alexandra Pyrchenkova (October 2008).

Anastasia Anatolyevna Virganskaya(1987) - graduate of the Faculty of Journalism of MGIMO, works as chief editor on the Internet site Trendspase.ru,

husband Dmitry Zangiev (1987), married March 20, 2010. Dmitry graduated from the Eastern University of the Russian Academy of Sciences, studied in graduate school in 2010 Russian Academy civil service under the President of the Russian Federation, worked in 2010 in an advertising agency that advertises Louis Vuitton, Max Mara Fashion Group.

Brother - Alexander Sergeevich Gorbachev(September 7, 1947 - December 2001) - military man, graduated from higher education military school in Leningrad. He served in the strategic radar forces and retired with the rank of colonel.

Awards and honorary titles

Nobel Prize

“In recognition of his leading role in the peace process, which today characterizes an important part of the life of the international community,” he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 15, 1990. At the award ceremony, Gorbachev gave a Nobel lecture, in the preparation of which one of his assistants, Vladimir Afanasyevich Zots, took part. (Instead of Gorbachev, Deputy Foreign Minister Kovalev received the Nobel Prize)

Criticism

Gorbachev's reign was associated with radical changes that led to destruction and unjustified hopes. Therefore, in Russia Gorbachev was criticized from different positions.

Here are some examples of critical statements related to perestroika and Gorbachev, by which one can judge the discussions that unfolded on this topic:

Alfred Rubiks: “We did not intend to seize power”

PSRL, t. 25, M. -L, 1949, p. 201

There is also an opinion that Gorbachev acted essentially unethically towards the officers Soviet Army. After the agreements in Sochi, Gorbachev hastily and unilaterally ordered the withdrawal of the Soviet contingent from the GDR. In this case, the withdrawal took place to unprepared places, to the so-called field camps.

There is an opinion that Gorbachev pursued his policy very naively, without taking into account historical realities. In his memoirs about his time in office, Gorbachev writes that the chancellor invited him to visit Germany. “In this way,” Gorbachev is still confident today, “we cemented our political friendship with personal obligations to be true to our word, and included an emotional component in politics.” Alla Yaroshinskaya (Rosbalt) argues that Gorbachev relied excessively on “ given word” and “emotional component”, not supported by any serious international documents. In her opinion, today's Russia still suffers from this.

Literary activity

"A Time for Peace" (1985)
"The Coming Century of Peace" (1986)
"Peace has no alternative" (1986)
"Moratorium" (1986)
"Selected Speeches and Articles" (vols. 1-7, 1986-1990)
“Perestroika: new thinking for our country and for the whole world” (1988)
“August putsch. Causes and Effects" (1991)
“December-91. My position" (1992)
"Years of Hard Decisions" (1993)
“Life and Reforms” (2 vols., 1995)
“Reformers are never happy” (dialogue with Zdenek Mlynar, in Czech, 1995)
“I want to warn you...” (1996)
“Moral Lessons of the 20th Century” in 2 volumes (dialogue with D. Ikeda, in Japanese, German, French, 1996)
"Reflections on October Revolution"(1997)
“New thinking. Politics in the era of globalization" (co-authored with V. Zagladin and A. Chernyaev, in German, 1997)
"Reflections on the Past and Future" (1998)
“Understand perestroika... Why is it important now” (2006)

In 1991, Gorbachev’s wife R. M. Gorbachev personally agreed with the American publisher Murdoch to publish her book of “reflections” with a fee of $3 million. Some publicists believe that this was a disguised bribe, since the publication of the book was unlikely to cover the fee.

In 2008, Gorbachev book exhibition in Frankfurt presented the first 5 books from his own 22-volume collected works, which will include all his publications from the 1960s until the early 1990s.

Discography

2009 - “Songs for Raisa” (Together with A.V. Makarevich)

Acting

Mikhail Gorbachev played himself in Wim Wenders' feature film So Far, So Close! (1993), and also participated in a number of documentaries.
In 1997, he starred in an advertisement for the Pizza Hut pizzeria chain. According to the video, Gorbachev’s main achievement as head of state was the appearance of Pizza Hut in Russia.
In 2000 he starred in a commercial for National railways Austria.
In 2004 - Grammy Award for scoring Sergei Prokofiev’s musical fairy tale “Peter and the Wolf” (Grammy Awards of 2004, “Best Spoken Word Album for Children”, together with Sophia Loren and Bill Clinton).
In 2007, he starred in an advertisement for the leather accessories manufacturer Louis Vuitton. The same year, he starred in Leonardo DiCaprio's documentary The Eleventh Hour, about environmental issues.
In 2009, he took part in the “Minute of Fame” project (member of the jury).
In 2010, he was an invited guest on a Japanese entertainment television show with a culinary focus - SMAPxSMAP.

In works of culture

“He came to give us freedom” - documentary, Channel One, 2011

Parodies

Gorbachev’s recognizable voice and characteristic gestures were parodied by many pop artists, including Gennady Khazanov, Vladimir Vinokur, Mikhail Grushevsky, Mikhail Zadornov, Maxim Galkin, Igor Khristenko and others. And not only on the stage. This is what Vladimir Vinokur said.

Gorbachev was also parodied by many KVN players - in particular, members of the DSU KVN team in the number “Foros” (to the tune of Vladimir Vysotsky’s song “The One Who Was With Her Before”).

The State Emergency Committee tried to remove Gorbachev “for health reasons,” but he himself left his post four months later “for reasons of principle,” although in his last decree he did not indicate the reason for his resignation from the post of head of the Soviet state.
The text of the USSR constitution did not mention the resignation of the president.
Military rank- reserve colonel (assigned by order of the USSR Minister of Defense in 1978)
On November 12, 1992, Revolution Avenue was renamed in Grozny in honor of Gorbachev, but due to the deterioration of relations between Chechnya and central authorities, Gorbachev Avenue was renamed back. Now it bears the name of the dancer Makhmud Esambaev.
Gorbachev is the only leader of the USSR born after the 1917 revolution.

Nicknames

"Bear"
"Gorby" (English) Gorby) - a familiar and friendly name for Gorbachev in the West.
“Marked” - for a birthmark on the head (retouched in early photographs). Found in one of Nikita Dzhigurda's songs (“We read books//Tagged Bear//And delve into important matters”), currently this nickname is occasionally used as an allusion to the nickname of the main character of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game series.
“Humpbacked” (association with the character in the film “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed”) or “Humpbacked Man” for short. During Gorbachev’s reign, the proverbs “The hunchback’s grave will correct” and “God marks the rogue” among the broad masses were often pronounced with a double, unkind meaning.
“Mineral Secretary”, “Sokin Son”, “Lemonade Joe” - for the anti-alcohol campaign (at the same time, Gorbachev himself stated: “They tried to make an inveterate teetotaler out of me during the anti-alcohol campaign”).
G.O.R.B.A.CH.E.V - abbreviation: citizens - wait - rejoice - Brezhnev - Andropov - Chernenko - still - remember (Option: “Citizens - Rejoiced - Early - Brezhnev - Andropov - Chernenko - More - Remember"). Another option - “Ready to Cancel the Decisions of Brezhnev, Andropov, Chernenko, If I Survive” - appeared after he came to power, it was immediately noticed that his name contains a chronologically correct list of the names of the leaders of the USSR, and doubt about the duration of his reign, then people were under impressions of a series of funerals of predecessors.
The first president of the USSR himself deciphered the CIS as “They managed to harm Gorbachev.”

Gorbachev's entire domestic policy was imbued with the spirit of perestroika and glasnost. He first introduced the term "perestroika" in April 1986, which at first was understood only as the "restructuring" of the economy. But later, especially after the 19th All-Union Party Conference, the word “perestroika” expanded and began to mean the entire era of change.

Gorbachev’s first steps after his election largely repeated Andropov’s measures. First of all, he abolished the “cult” of his position. In front of television viewers in 1986, Gorbachev rudely interrupted one speaker: “Incline Mikhail Sergeevich less!”

The media again started talking about “restoring order” in the country. In the spring of 1985, a decree was issued to combat drunkenness. The sale of wine and vodka products was cut in half, and thousands of hectares of vineyards were cut down in the Crimea and Transcaucasia. This led to longer lines outside liquor stores and a more than five-fold increase in moonshine consumption.

The fight against bribery has resumed with renewed vigor, especially in Uzbekistan. In 1986, Brezhnev's son-in-law Yuri Churbanov was arrested and later sentenced to twelve years in prison.

At the beginning of 1987, the Central Committee introduced some elements of democracy in production and in the party apparatus: alternative elections of party secretaries appeared, sometimes open voting was replaced by secret voting, and a system for electing heads of enterprises and institutions was introduced. All these innovations in the political system were discussed by the XIX All-Union Party Conference, which took place in the summer of 1988. Its decisions provided for the combination of “socialist values” with the political doctrine of liberalism - a course towards the creation of a “socialist rule of law” was proclaimed, it was planned to carry out a separation of powers, the doctrine of “Soviet rule” was developed. parliamentarism". For this purpose a new supreme body authorities - a congress of people's deputies, and the Supreme Council was proposed to be made a permanent "parliament".

The electoral legislation was also changed: elections were supposed to be held on an alternative basis, they were to be made in two stages, and one third of the deputy corps was to be formed from public organizations.

The main idea of the conference was the transfer of part of the party's powers to the government, that is, the strengthening of Soviet authorities, while maintaining party influence in them.

Soon, the initiative to carry out more intensive reforms passed to the people's deputies elected at the First Congress, at their proposal the concept of carrying out political reforms has been slightly modified and supplemented. The III Congress of People's Deputies, which met in March 1990, considered it expedient to introduce the post of President of the USSR; at the same time, Article 6 of the Constitution, which secured the monopoly of the Communist Party on power, was abolished, this made it possible to form a multi-party system.

Also, during the policy of perestroika, a reassessment of some aspects of the history of the state took place at the state level, especially with regard to the condemnation of Stalin’s personality cult.

But at the same time, those dissatisfied with the policy of perestroika gradually began to appear. Their position was expressed in a letter to the editors of the newspaper "Soviet Russia" by Leningrad teacher Nina Andreeva.

Simultaneously with the implementation of reforms in the country, a national question appeared in it, which seemed to have been resolved long ago, which resulted in bloody conflicts: in the Baltic states and in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Simultaneously with the implementation of political reforms, economic reforms were also carried out. The main directions of social economic development scientific and technological progress, technical re-equipment of mechanical engineering and the activation of the “human factor” were recognized in the country. Initially, the main emphasis was on the enthusiasm of the working people, but nothing can be built on “naked” enthusiasm, so in 1987 economic reform was carried out. It included: expanding the independence of enterprises on the principles of economic accounting and self-financing, gradually reviving the private sector of the economy, abandoning the monopoly foreign trade, deeper integration into the world market, reduction in the number of line ministries and departments, reform agriculture. But all these reforms, with rare exceptions, did not lead to the desired result. Along with the development of the private sector of the economy, state-owned enterprises, faced with completely new ways of working, were unable to survive in the emerging market.

The uprising of Emelyan Pugachev (1773-1775)
Second half of the 18th century. is distinguished by a sharp increase in the social activity of the working population: landowners, monastic and assigned peasants, working people of manufactories, peoples of the Volga region, Bashkiria, Yaik Cossacks. It reached its apogee in the peasant war under the leadership of E.I. Pugachev. On Yaik, where in September 1773 appeared...

History of the Olympic Games
They began more than two thousand years ago in Greece. Usually in mass consciousness Nowadays, the Olympic Games are perceived as purely sporting competitions of the highest rank and, the main attention is paid to sports results. The ancient Olympics had a different meaning, a different content, their spiritual basis was different moral values...

Butashevich-Petrashevsky
1847 Petersburg. The "secret society" has been revealed again. A “conspiracy of ideas” has been uncovered, a whole circle of “state criminals” led by an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mikhail Vasilyevich Butashevich-Petrashevsky. Investigation, court. And the verdict - death penalty. But at the last moment the execution was changed...

The fight against bribery has resumed with renewed vigor, especially in Uzbekistan. In 1986, Brezhnev's son-in-law Yuri Churbanov was arrested and later sentenced to twelve years in prison.

At the beginning of 1987, the Central Committee introduced some elements of democracy in production and in the party apparatus: alternative elections of party secretaries appeared, sometimes open voting was replaced by secret voting, and a system for electing heads of enterprises and institutions was introduced. All these innovations in the political system were discussed by the XIX All-Union Party Conference, which took place in the summer of 1988. Its decisions provided for the combination of “socialist values” with the political doctrine of liberalism - a course towards the creation of a “socialist rule of law” was proclaimed, it was planned to carry out a separation of powers, the doctrine of “Soviet rule” was developed. parliamentarism". For this purpose, a new supreme body of power was created - the Congress of People's Deputies, and the Supreme Council was proposed to be made a permanent "parliament".

The main idea of the conference was the transfer of part of the party's powers to the government, that is, the strengthening of Soviet authorities, while maintaining party influence in them.

Soon, the initiative to carry out more intensive reforms passed to the people's deputies elected at the First Congress; at their proposal, the concept of carrying out political reforms was slightly changed and supplemented. The III Congress of People's Deputies, which met in March 1990, considered it expedient to introduce the post of President of the USSR; at the same time, Article 6 of the Constitution, which secured the monopoly of the Communist Party on power, was abolished, this made it possible to form a multi-party system.

Simultaneously with the implementation of political reforms, economic reforms were also carried out. The main directions of the country's socio-economic development were recognized as scientific and technological progress, technical re-equipment of mechanical engineering and the activation of the “human factor”. Initially, the main emphasis was on the enthusiasm of the working people, but nothing can be built on “naked” enthusiasm, so in 1987 economic reform was carried out. It included: expanding the independence of enterprises on the principles of economic accounting and self-financing, gradually reviving the private sector of the economy, abandoning the foreign trade monopoly, deeper integration into the world market, reducing the number of sectoral ministries and departments, and agricultural reform. But all these reforms, with rare exceptions, did not lead to the desired result. Along with the development of the private sector of the economy, state-owned enterprises, faced with completely new ways of working, were unable to survive in the emerging market.

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 ambiguous attitudes 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, March 2. It was then that Mikhail Sergeevich was born. He was born in the Stavropol region, in the village of Privolnoye. He was born and raised in a peasant family. In 1948, he worked with his father on a combine harvester and received the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for his success in harvesting. Gorbachev graduated from school in 1950 with a silver medal. After this, he entered the Faculty of Law at 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 a prosecutor or judge.

IN student years Gorbachev lived in a hostel, at one time received an increased stipend for his Komsomol work and excellent studies, but nevertheless he barely made ends meet. He became a party member in 1952.

Once at a club, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev met Raisa Titarenko, a student at 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 on assignment. However, it was then that the government adopted a resolution according to which it was prohibited to employ law graduates in the central prosecutor's offices and judicial authorities. Khrushchev, as well as his associates, believed that one of the reasons for the repressions carried out in the 1930s was the dominance of inexperienced young judges and prosecutors in the authorities, ready to obey any instructions from the leadership. Thus, Mikhail Sergeevich, whose two grandfathers suffered from repression, became a victim of the fight against the cult of personality and its consequences.

At administrative work

Gorbachev returned to the Stavropol region and decided not to contact the prosecutor's office anymore. He got a job in the department of agitation and propaganda in the regional Komsomol - he became the deputy head of this department. The Komsomol and then the party career of Mikhail Sergeevich developed very successfully. Political activity Gorbachev has borne fruit. He was appointed in 1961 as the first secretary of the local Komsomol regional committee. Gorbachev began party work the following year, and then, in 1966, became the first secretary of the Stavropol City Party Committee.

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

Moscow

Gorbachev became Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee in November 1978. The recommendations of L.I. Brezhnev's closest associates - Andropov, Suslov and Chernenko - played a major role in this appointment. After 2 years, Mikhail Sergeevich 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. This could not even be prevented by the fact that Gorbachev essentially occupied a “penalty post” - the secretary in charge of agriculture. 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 even 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 period, Mikhail Sergeevich became the second person in the party, as well as the most likely “heir” to this general secretary.

In Western political circles, Gorbachev's fame was first brought to him by his visit to Canada in May 1983. He went there for a week with Andropov's personal permission, while former Secretary General. Pierre Trudeau, the prime minister of this country, became the first major Western leader to receive Gorbachev personally and treat him with sympathy. Having met other Canadian politicians, Gorbachev gained a reputation in that country as an energetic and ambitious politician who stood in stark contrast to his elderly Politburo colleagues. He developed a significant interest in Western economic management and moral values, including democracy.

Gorbachev's Perestroika

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

Principles of foreign and domestic policy

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 calls of leaders, if they were honest, and these calls themselves were correct, could reach ordinary executors within the framework of the party-state system that existed at that time and thereby change the better life. Gorbachev was firmly convinced of this. The years of his reign were marked by the fact that throughout all 6 years he spoke about the need for united and energetic actions, about the need for everyone to act constructively.

He hoped that, as the leader of a socialist state, he could gain world authority based not on fear, but, above all, on reasonable policies and unwillingness to justify the country’s totalitarian past. Gorbachev, whose years in power are often referred to as “perestroika,” believed that new political thinking must triumph. 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 Gorbachev's reign, general democratization began in our country. Political persecution stopped. The pressure of censorship has weakened. Many prominent people returned from exile and prison: Marchenko, Sakharov and others. The policy of glasnost, which was launched by the Soviet leadership, changed the spiritual life of the country's population. Interest in television, radio, and print media has increased. In 1986 alone, magazines and newspapers gained more than 14 million new readers. All of these are, of course, significant advantages of Gorbachev and the policies he pursues.

Mikhail Sergeevich’s slogan, under which he carried out all the reforms, 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, it only brought great damage to the country. Glasnost soon led to an even greater wave of anti-Stalinist criticism, which was undreamed of during the Thaw.

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 overly 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 income in this area went into the shadow sector. A lot of start-up capital in the 90s was made from “drunk” money by private owners. The treasury was rapidly emptying. As a result of this reform, many valuable vineyards were cut down, which led to the disappearance of entire industrial sectors in some republics (in particular, Georgia). The anti-alcohol reform also contributed to the growth of moonshine, substance abuse and drug addiction, and multi-billion dollar losses were incurred in the budget.

Gorbachev's reforms in foreign policy

In November 1985, Gorbachev met with Ronald Reagan, President of the United States. At it, both sides recognized the need to improve bilateral relations, as well as improve the overall international situation. Gorbachev's foreign policy led to the conclusion of the START treaties. Mikhail Sergeevich, with a statement dated January 15, 1986, put forward a number of major initiatives devoted to foreign policy issues. The complete elimination of chemical and nuclear weapons was to be carried out by the year 2000, and strict control was to be exercised during their destruction and storage. All of these are Gorbachev’s most important reforms.

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 initiatives (for example, the sensational anti-alcohol campaign) were combined with the propaganda of administrative coercion. Gorbachev, whose years of rule were marked by increasing freedom in all spheres, at the end of his reign, having become president, 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 sentiment in society. Gorbachev, even during the events of 1991 (the August putsch), still 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, leading the reformed Communist Party. It is obvious that he was never able to rebuild himself. Mikhail Sergeevich in many ways 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 the president of the country, took credit for the fact that the population of the state received freedom and became spiritually and politically liberated. Freedom of the press, free elections, a multi-party system, representative bodies of government, and religious freedoms have become real. Human rights were recognized as the highest principle. The movement towards a new multi-structured economy began, 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 had disfigured the economy, morality and public consciousness, were stopped.

The foreign policy of Gorbachev, who finally eliminated the Iron Curtain, ensured Mikhail Sergeevich respect throughout the world. The President of the USSR was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for activities aimed at developing cooperation between countries.

At the same time, some indecisiveness of Mikhail Sergeevich, his desire to find a compromise that would suit both radicals and conservatives, led to the fact that transformations in the state’s economy never began. A political settlement of contradictions and interethnic hostility, which ultimately destroyed the country, was never achieved. History is unlikely to be able to answer the question of whether someone else could have preserved the USSR and the socialist system in Gorbachev’s place.

Conclusion

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

Among the many accusations brought against Gorbachev, perhaps the most significant was the accusation of indecisiveness. However, if we compare the significant scale of the breakthrough he accomplished and short term being in power, one can argue with that. 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 Russian history, and 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. Gorbachev can be viewed differently, but, of course, he is one of the largest figures in modern history.

FOREIGN POLICY. "NEW POLITICAL THINKING"

"New political thinking". Gorbachev's rise to power initially did not foretell anything new in the field of Soviet foreign policy. He traditionally declared the need to combat the military threat, strengthen the socialist community, and support national liberation movements. Two months after being elected leader of the country, in May 1985, at the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Warsaw Pact, Gorbachev again sharply criticized the West.

Foreign policy began to change after the change of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR (instead of A. A. Gromyko, this post was taken in July 1985 by the former first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia E. A. Shevardnadze). The main directions of foreign policy were determined: normalization of relations with Western countries (primarily with the USA); the beginning of bilateral arms reductions; ending the armed confrontation with the United States and its allies in Asia, Africa, Latin America (unblocking regional conflicts).

In 1987, a completely new foreign policy concept of the Soviet leadership took shape, called “new thinking.” It implied a rejection of the idea of splitting the world into two systems; recognized the integrity and indivisibility of the world; rejected the use of force to solve world problems; declared priority universal human values over class, national, ideological, etc. These ideas were formulated in Gorbachev’s book “Perestroika and New Thinking for Our Country and for the Whole World,” but they were not new: they were put forward even earlier by prominent scientists and political figures I. Kant, M. Gandhi, A. Einstein, B. Russell and others. Gorbachev's merit was that he was the first of the Soviet leaders to put these ideas into the basis of the state's foreign policy.

Soviet-American relations. The beginning of nuclear disarmament. In November 1985, the first meeting of M. S. Gorbachev with US President R. Reagan took place. It marked the beginning of a new warming in relations between East and West. Negotiations between the leaders of the two countries have since become annual and have brought significant results.

Already in 1987, the USSR and the USA signed the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, which created a particular danger for the United States' European allies.

In 1988-1989 ideological principles began to have less and less influence on Gorbachev's foreign policy. Having no real success in the economy, he sought to achieve popularity within the country and in the world through “breakthroughs” in foreign policy. And this forced us to make serious unilateral concessions to the West. According to the Americans themselves, every controversial issue was decided in such a way that “the Russians conceded 80%, and the Americans only 20%.”

This allowed the United States to put forward more and more new conditions, with which Gorbachev was forced to agree. Soon, the USSR expressed its readiness, to a much greater extent than the United States, to reduce its military presence in European countries and destroy more conventional weapons. In the summer of 1991, the USSR and the USA concluded the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START), which provided for a 40% reduction in the most powerful types of offensive weapons.

A turning point in relations with the West occurred during a meeting between Gorbachev and the new US President George W. Bush (senior) in Malta at the end of 1989, where the Soviet leader announced that “the Brezhnev doctrine is dead.” This meant that the USSR would not use military force to prevent changes in the countries of Eastern Europe and within the country in relation to the union republics. The United States immediately intensified its efforts to collapse the socialist community.

In the summer of 1991, Bush put forward “six conditions” to Gorbachev, on which the West agreed to further cooperate with the USSR: democracy, market, federation, a change in the USSR’s policy in the Middle East, as well as in Africa, and refusal to modernize Soviet nuclear missile forces. For the first time, the Americans set conditions not only in the sphere of international politics, but also demanded changes in the internal politics of the Soviet Union. At the same time, to push Gorbachev in this direction, they began to conduct direct negotiations with the leaders of the union republics. In the fall of 1991, contacts between the West and the leaders of the union republics were so strong and trusting that even the denunciation of the Union Treaty of 1922 was the first to learn from the “Belovezhskaya Troika” by US President Bush, and only then by USSR President Gorbachev.

The collapse of the socialist system. Changes in the socialist countries of Eastern Europe began in 1987. Under pressure from Gorbachev, a partial renewal of their leadership and democratization took place. In 1989, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the Warsaw Pact states began, which caused a wave of not only anti-socialist, but also anti-Soviet sentiments in them. Soon, during elections and “velvet revolutions,” there was a change of leadership in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Albania. At the end of 1989, the regime of N. Ceausescu in Romania was overthrown by armed means. The most serious changes occurred in the GDR, where after the resignation of E. Honecker (October 1989), the Berlin Wall fell and calls for the unification of Germany began to grow.

The German leadership was ready to make serious concessions to ensure German unity.

The USA and Germany agreed to discuss the issue of the neutrality of a united Germany (which also implied its withdrawal from NATO). But no one demanded this from them. In the summer of 1990, Gorbachev agreed to the unification of Germany and its stay in NATO. He believed that, by meeting the wishes of the West, he would strengthen his shaky position in the USSR. But the “collapse” of the Warsaw Pact Organization and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance in the spring of 1991 hit Soviet interests even harder and increased criticism of Gorbachev’s policies within the country.

Relations with third world countries. The main regional problem for the USSR remained the war in Afghanistan. It was necessary to stop her at any cost. In April 1988, an agreement was concluded to end American military assistance to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan and begin the withdrawal of Soviet troops from there. On February 15, 1989, the withdrawal of almost 100 thousand Soviet soldiers and officers from this country was completed (in total, 620 thousand Soviet military personnel passed through the war in this country, of which 14.5 thousand were killed, 53.7 thousand were wounded) .

The USSR's military presence in Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Nicaragua ceased. With the assistance of the Soviet Union, Vietnamese troops were withdrawn from Kampuchea, and Cuban troops were withdrawn from Angola. This removed the last obstacles to resolving the issue of normalizing relations with China. In 1989, Gorbachev visited the PRC, during which the normalization of bilateral relations was announced.

As the economic situation in the USSR worsened, the volume of gratuitous assistance to the union regimes decreased significantly, amounting to 56 billion foreign currency rubles (93.3 billion dollars).

Under US pressure, the Soviet Union was forced not only to abandon support for the regimes in Libya and Iraq, but also to approve the military actions of Western countries during the crisis in the Persian Gulf in the summer of 1990, and also to join the blockade of Libya.

The removal of ideological barriers in foreign policy contributed to the improvement of relations between the USSR and South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Israel.

Results and consequences of the “new thinking” policy. The policy of "new thinking" had contradictory results and consequences.

On the one hand, its main result was the weakening of the threat of a global nuclear missile war. Not only in the East, but also in the West they began to talk about the end of the Cold War. Contacts between ordinary people. The process of reducing and eliminating not only conventional but also nuclear weapons has begun.

The situation has improved in a number of regions, where for many years The USA and the USSR supported warring political forces - in Afghanistan, Indochina, the Middle East, East and South-West Africa, and Central America.

Democratic changes took place in a number of countries, where free elections were held for the first time in many years, a diverse economy was created, and spiritual emancipation occurred.

At the same time, “new thinking” also had a downside. There was only one winner from the Cold War - the West, led by the United States. Its other participant - the USSR and the "eastern bloc" - not only suffered defeat, but also ceased to exist. This led to the collapse of the bipolar system of international relations, on which stability in the world was based for many years. The temptation for the United States to take advantage of this new situation to strengthen its position in the world was too great for them not to use it. They began to take less into account not only the former Soviet republics, but also the UN.

As a result, the Yalta-Potsdam system of international relations itself was under threat. And this, in turn, harbored the threat of a new division of the world into “spheres of influence.” As history shows, this has never happened without war.

What you need to know about this topic:

Socio-economic and political development of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. Nicholas II.

Domestic policy tsarism. Nicholas II. Increased repression. "Police Socialism"

Russo-Japanese War. Reasons, progress, results.

Revolution 1905 - 1907 Character, driving forces and features of the Russian revolution of 1905-1907. stages of the revolution. The reasons for the defeat and the significance of the revolution.

Elections to the State Duma. I State Duma. The agrarian question in the Duma. Dispersal of the Duma. II State Duma. Coup d'etat of June 3, 1907

Third June political system. Electoral law June 3, 1907 III State Duma. The alignment of political forces in the Duma. Activities of the Duma. Government terror. Decline of the labor movement in 1907-1910.

Stolypin agrarian reform.

IV State Duma. Party composition and Duma factions. Activities of the Duma.

Political crisis in Russia on the eve of the war. Labor movement in the summer of 1914. Crisis at the top.

International position of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.

The beginning of the First World War. Origin and nature of the war. Russia's entry into the war. Attitude to the war of parties and classes.

Progress of military operations. Strategic forces and plans of the parties. Results of the war. The role of the Eastern Front in the First World War.

The Russian economy during the First World War.

Workers' and peasants' movement in 1915-1916. Revolutionary movement in the army and navy. The growth of anti-war sentiment. Formation of the bourgeois opposition.

Russian culture XIX- beginning of the 20th century

The aggravation of socio-political contradictions in the country in January-February 1917. The beginning, prerequisites and nature of the revolution. Uprising in Petrograd. Formation of the Petrograd Soviet. Interim Committee State Duma. Order N I. Formation of the Provisional Government. Abdication of Nicholas II. The reasons for the emergence of dual power and its essence. The February revolution in Moscow, at the front, in the provinces.

From February to October. The policy of the Provisional Government regarding war and peace, on agrarian, national, and labor issues. Relations between the Provisional Government and the Soviets. Arrival of V.I. Lenin in Petrograd.

Political parties(Cadets, Socialist Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, Bolsheviks): political programs, influence among the masses.

Crises of the Provisional Government. Attempted military coup in the country. The growth of revolutionary sentiment among the masses. Bolshevization of the capital's Soviets.

Preparation and conduct of an armed uprising in Petrograd.

II All-Russian Congress of Soviets. Decisions about power, peace, land. Formation of organs state power and management. Composition of the first Soviet government.

Victory of the armed uprising in Moscow. Government agreement with the Left Socialist Revolutionaries. Elections to the Constituent Assembly, its convocation and dispersal.

The first socio-economic transformations in the fields of industry, agriculture, finance, labor and women's issues. Church and State.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, its terms and significance.

Economic tasks of the Soviet government in the spring of 1918. Aggravation of the food issue. Introduction of food dictatorship. Working food detachments. Combeds.

The revolt of the left Socialist Revolutionaries and the collapse of the two-party system in Russia.

The first Soviet Constitution.

Reasons for intervention and civil war. Progress of military operations. Human and material losses during the civil war and military intervention.

Domestic policy of the Soviet leadership during the war. "War communism". GOELRO plan.

The policy of the new government regarding culture.

Foreign policy. Treaties with border countries. Russia's participation in the Genoa, Hague, Moscow and Lausanne conferences. Diplomatic recognition of the USSR by the main capitalist countries.

Domestic policy. Socio-economic and political crisis of the early 20s. Famine 1921-1922 Transition to new economic policy. The essence of NEP. NEP in the field of agriculture, trade, industry. Financial reform. Economic recovery. Crises during the NEP period and its collapse.

Projects for the creation of the USSR. I Congress of Soviets of the USSR. The first government and the Constitution of the USSR.

Illness and death of V.I. Lenin. Intra-party struggle. The beginning of the formation of Stalin's regime.

Industrialization and collectivization. Development and implementation of the first five-year plans. Socialist competition - goal, forms, leaders.

Formation and strengthening of the state system of economic management.

The course towards complete collectivization. Dispossession.

Results of industrialization and collectivization.

Political, national-state development in the 30s. Intra-party struggle. Political repression. Formation of the nomenklatura as a layer of managers. Stalin's regime and the USSR Constitution of 1936

Soviet culture in the 20-30s.

Foreign policy of the second half of the 20s - mid-30s.

Domestic policy. Growth of military production. Emergency measures in the area labor legislation. Measures to solve the grain problem. Armed forces. The growth of the Red Army. Military reform. Repressions against the command cadres of the Red Army and the Red Army.

Foreign policy. Non-aggression pact and treaty of friendship and borders between the USSR and Germany. The entry of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus into the USSR. Soviet-Finnish War. Inclusion of the Baltic republics and other territories into the USSR.

Periodization of the Great Patriotic War. The initial stage of the war. Turning the country into a military camp. Military defeats 1941-1942 and their reasons. Major military events. Surrender of Nazi Germany. Participation of the USSR in the war with Japan.

Soviet rear during the war.

Deportation of peoples.

Guerrilla warfare.

Human and material losses during the war.

Creation of an anti-Hitler coalition. Declaration of the United Nations. The problem of the second front. "Big Three" conferences. Problems of post-war peace settlement and comprehensive cooperation. USSR and UN.

The beginning of the Cold War. The USSR's contribution to the creation of the "socialist camp". CMEA education.

Domestic policy of the USSR in the mid-40s - early 50s. Restoration of the national economy.

Social and political life. Policy in the field of science and culture. Continued repression. "Leningrad affair". Campaign against cosmopolitanism. "The Doctors' Case"

Socio-economic development of Soviet society in the mid-50s - the first half of the 60s.

Socio-political development: XX Congress of the CPSU and condemnation of Stalin’s personality cult. Rehabilitation of victims of repression and deportation. Internal party struggle in the second half of the 50s.

Foreign policy: creation of the Department of Internal Affairs. Entry of Soviet troops into Hungary. Exacerbation of Soviet-Chinese relations. Split of the "socialist camp". Soviet-American relations and the Cuban missile crisis. USSR and "third world" countries. Reduction in the size of the armed forces of the USSR. Moscow Treaty on the Limitation of Nuclear Tests.

USSR in the mid-60s - first half of the 80s.

Socio-economic development: economic reform of 1965

Increasing difficulties in economic development. Declining rates of socio-economic growth.

Constitution of the USSR 1977

Social and political life of the USSR in the 1970s - early 1980s.

Foreign policy: Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Consolidation of post-war borders in Europe. Moscow Treaty with Germany. Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). Soviet-American treaties of the 70s. Soviet-Chinese relations. Entry of Soviet troops into Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan. Exacerbation of international tension and the USSR. Strengthening Soviet-American confrontation in the early 80s.

USSR in 1985-1991

Domestic policy: an attempt to accelerate the socio-economic development of the country. An attempt to reform the political system of Soviet society. Congresses of People's Deputies. Election of the President of the USSR. Multi-party system. Exacerbation of the political crisis.

Exacerbation of the national question. Attempts to reform the national-state structure of the USSR. Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR. "Novoogaryovsky trial". Collapse of the USSR.

Foreign policy: Soviet-American relations and the problem of disarmament. Agreements with leading capitalist countries. Withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. Changing relations with the countries of the socialist community. Collapse of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance and the Warsaw Pact Organization.

Russian Federation in 1992-2000.

Domestic policy: “Shock therapy” in the economy: price liberalization, stages of privatization of commercial and industrial enterprises. Fall in production. Increased social tension. Growth and slowdown in financial inflation. Intensification of the struggle between the executive and legislative branches. Dissolution of the Supreme Council and the Congress of People's Deputies. October events of 1993. Abolition of local bodies of Soviet power. Elections to the Federal Assembly. Constitution of the Russian Federation 1993 Formation of a presidential republic. Exacerbation and overcoming national conflicts in the North Caucasus.

Parliamentary elections of 1995. Presidential elections of 1996. Power and opposition. An attempt to return to the course of liberal reforms (spring 1997) and its failure. Financial crisis of August 1998: causes, economic and political consequences. "Second Chechen War". Parliamentary elections of 1999 and early presidential elections of 2000. Foreign policy: Russia in the CIS. Participation of Russian troops in “hot spots” of the neighboring countries: Moldova, Georgia, Tajikistan. Relations between Russia and foreign countries. Withdrawal of Russian troops from Europe and neighboring countries. Russian-American agreements. Russia and NATO. Russia and the Council of Europe. Yugoslav crises (1999-2000) and Russia’s position.

Danilov A.A., Kosulina L.G. History of the state and peoples of Russia. XX century.