Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev (1931), Soviet statesman; as leader of the Soviet Union (1985-91) he introduced social and economic reforms and was largely responsible for ending the Cold War. Born into a peasant family, he studied law before becoming an agricultural organizer for the Communist party. His dynamic personality soon made its mark and he was appointed to the Politburo while still in his forties. After becoming general secretary, he embarked on a radical programme summarized in the watchwords glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring). In practice this meant greater accountability, toleration of dissident opinions, and the introduction of free-market elements in the economy. He agreed major arms-limitation treaties with the US (1987; 1990) and accepted the collapse of communist regimes throughout Eastern Europe in 1989. Despite his popularity in the West, Gorbachev found fewer admirers in the Soviet Union, where his attempts to implement reform within the framework of state socialism antagonized many liberals, as well as the communist old-guard. His economic policies also caused considerable hardship. In August 1991 he was overthrown in a coup led by communist hardliners and held under house arrest. Although the coup collapsed and Gorbachev was reinstated, his authority never recovered. He resigned in December 1991, following his failure to prevent the break-up of the Soviet Union into its constituent republics.
