Mikhail Gorbachev

Why in the News?

Recently, Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet union leader died at the age of 92.

Key Points:

About Mikhail Gorbachev

• Gorbachev was the last leader of the USSR, serving both as its general secretary and later president from 1985 until its collapse in 1991.
• He is credited with ending of cold war withthe the West through a series of arms agreements.
  • For this, feat he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
• Until 1985, Soviet foreign policy was based on the Brezhnev Doctrine which advocated maintaining Moscow’s influence (by force if needed,) over all its satellite states. 
  • Gorbachev instead favoured an approach based on shared ethical principles rather than on Marxist-Leninist concepts of the inherent conflict between capitalism and communism.
• He introduced the ideas of “glasnost” and “perestroika” in the 1980s.
  • Glasnost, (Russian: “openness”) Soviet policy of open discussion of political and social issues and began the democratization of the Soviet Union.
  • Perestroika, (Russian: “restructuring”) program was instituted in the Soviet Union to restructure Soviet economic and political policy.
    •  Seeking to bring the Soviet Union up to economic par with capitalist countries such as Germany, Japan, and the United States.