Mikhail Gorbachev

 Mikhail Gorbachev

The most significant political event of the last 40 years is the division of the Soviet Union and communism, a movement that has created a dilemma for the unification of the Bahamas. It has collapsed at an astonishing rapid pace. Mikhail Gorbachev is one of the people who has played a key role in this amazing process of decline and degradation.

He was the head of the Soviet Union for six years from 1985 to 1991.

Gorbachev was born in 1931 in the village of Prevolno in southern Russia. One of the bloodiest dictators of his childhood history, Joseph Stalin, passed through the brutal period of dictatorship. It had been a few months since Germany invaded Corus.

Mikhail himself was so old that he could not take part in World War II. His father joined the army. His brother remained a farmer in the same war, while the town of "Prevolno" remained under German occupation for about eight months.

However, these events do not hinder Gorchov's progress. He did well in school. He was fifteen years old when he joined the young communist party, Komsomol.

For four years he operated a joint "parvister" machine. In 1950, he entered Moscow State University, where he studied law. He graduated in 1955. In 1952, he became a communist party worker, where he met his future. His wife, Raisa Maxi, was married to Monatatorenko. Shortly before graduating, he married and had a daughter, Arena.

After graduating with a law degree, Gorbachev returned to Stavropol and began to progress in the party's administration. In 1970, he became the first secretary of the regional party. The following year, he was appointed central committee member of the Socialist Party. He was very successful. He went to Moscow to become the secretary of the Federal Committee, where the Department of Agriculture was under his management.

In 1979, he became a candidate for the Politburo (actually the ruling administration of the Soviet Union). In 1980, he became a full member.

All of this was achieved between 1964 and 1982, when Leonid Brezhnev was the head of the Soviet Union.

1984) Gorbachev emerged as a prominent member of the Politburo in those years. Kochranenko died on March 11, 1985. The next day, Gorbachev was nominated to succeed him as General Secretary (the Politburo secretly voted in his favor). One rumor, however, is that Gorbachev's co-optation was more than modest.

Who was a silent conservative member. How different history would have been if two people had voted for him).

Unlike most Soviet leaders, Gorbachev traveled abroad before becoming a party worker. France (1966) Italy (1967) Canada (1983) England (1984) So when he was elected, many Western leaders hoped that Gorbachev would follow suit. In contrast, there will be a modern and liberal leader.

It did happen, but no one had an idea of ​​the number and speed of implementation of the reforms that followed.

After Gorbachev's election, the Soviet Union faced a number of difficulties. All of these difficulties were due to the financial constraints that resulted in the government's exorbitant spending on armaments. Accepted Ronald Reagan's proposal for a high-level meeting.

The two presidents met at four different locations: Geneva (1985), Rick Joachim (1986), Washington (1987) and Moscow (1988). There was an agreement that really made the big powers to reduce the number of nuclear weapons. In fact, all medium-range missiles were eliminated in one fell swoop.

The second step in easing international tensions was Gorbachev's decision to withdraw Russian troops from Afghanistan. The Soviet Union entered the country in 1979, when Brezhnev was president and then initially had no success. The decision to provide Stinger missiles (which broke the back of the Soviet Air Force) turned the tide, and the Soviet Union became embroiled in an indecisive and protracted war.

The outside world strongly opposed the Russian military presence in Afghanistan, and the decision was not welcomed in the country itself. Gorbachev finally decided to cut off his losses. In early 1988, he signed an agreement on the withdrawal of Soviet troops (the withdrawal date was completed in February 1989).

These changes in foreign policy were dramatic, but Gorbachev's reform efforts focused on domestic affairs. From the outset, he saw the need for a "peristrika" (restructuring) plan to address the plight of the Soviet economy. There was indeed a dramatic decline in the power of the government to control all the administration.

Economic developments led to legislation to allow private business in some areas.

It is noteworthy that Gorbachev has always insisted that he is a sincere imitator of Marx and Lenin and has full faith in "communism".

Probably the most revolutionary of these reforms was the policy of "glassnot or free economy" which Gorbachev formulated in 1986.

One aspect of Glassnot was that the government should be more liberal and outspoken in its activities and events of public interest. The other aspect was that the government should allow people and magazines to discuss political issues. People were imprisoned a few years ago (even to death under Stalin).

Through Glassnot, this freedom became commonplace. Soviet magazines and journals could now freely target government policies, the Socialist Party, top government officials, and even Gorbachev himself.

One step towards democracy in the Soviet Union was taken in 1989 when general elections were held for the new "Soviet Parliament", the House of Representatives.

Of course, this was not a Western-style free election because 90 per cent of the candidates were members of the ruling party, nor was any other political party allowed to run. The election was then held by secret ballot. Candidates were allowed to vote. There was no rigging in the referendum. This was the first clear step towards free elections since the Communists came to power in 1917.

The results of these elections were unpredictable. Many experienced leaders were defeated in the Jubilee elections and several minority members lost in these elections.

Despite the implementation of these effective reforms in the Soviet Union, no one could have foreseen the revolutionary changes that would take place in Eastern Europe between 1980 and 1990.

At the end of World War II, the region was under Russian occupation. In the 1940s, communist territories, especially those under Soviet rule, were formed in about six countries, such as Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. And East Germany - the region was generally unknown, but its leaders ruled for forty years under the leadership of the army and the secret police.

Even when a communist dictator was ousted as a result of a popular uprising, as was the case in Hungary in 1956, the Torussian armies immediately re-established a communist government there. However, by September 1989, it seemed that the foundations of communist power in Eastern Europe were very strong.

By the end of the year, the entire system was shattered in a hurricane like a house of cards.

Problems began in East Germany. Since the construction of the infamous Berlin Wall in 1961, many East Germans have tried to invade West Germany, while many have been killed trying to climb it. It stood as a symbol of the fact that East Germany and all communist governments were nothing more than prisons.

No inhabitants of East Germany could enter the West by any means. Because the government covered all borders with barbed wire, alarms, military patrols, and trenches to prevent anyone from escaping. People managed to escape by another route. That is, they would first enter another Eastern European country (it was legal) and then flee to the West.

In October 1989, Eric Honkner, a hardline communist leader who had ruled East Germany for many years, tried to block the other route. Under the circumstances, Gorbachev visited Berlin and advised Honkar not to delay the implementation of these reforms, and to intensify the protest, making it clear that Soviet troops (with 380,000 in East Germany) would be deployed to East Germany. They will not be used against the people.

Gorbachev's statement foreshadowed the forthcoming bloody actions by East German police and army. These actions encouraged the protesters. Within a few days, large demonstrations began in various East German cities. Within two weeks, he was forced to resign. His successor, Egan Cairns, was also a communist. Borders remained closed and protests continued.

Finally, on November 9, Cochrane announced that the Berlin Wall would be demolished and that East Germans would be able to enter West Germany freely.

A few announcements led to the celebration, and a few announcements produced quick and profound results. Within a few days, millions of Germans crossed the border to see the current state of life in West Germany.

What they saw was enough to convince them that the 44-year-old communist regime had trampled on their freedom and prosperity.

The demolition of the Berlin Wall proved the extraordinary veracity of a philosopher's assertion that facts do not really matter, but rather how people view them. And there are fears that the government could close the border again at any time.

While people thought that maybe the borders were open forever. Since everyone thought so, it seemed as if the wall had really been demolished.

All over Eastern Europe, there was the same reaction to the demolition of the Berlin Wall, as the French had done two years ago to the violation of the "Hastel". One after another, people in various countries rose up in protest against their masters. He removed the governments that had been in power for a long time.

In Bulgaria, Toderzyukov ruled for 35 years with a strong iron grip. On November 10, 1989, he was forced to resign. A week later, a mass demonstration took place in Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia. He spent the first few months of that year in prison as a political prisoner.

In Hungary, the situation changed dramatically. In October 1989, the government recognized the legitimacy of opposition political parties. Free elections were held on November 26. New political parties decisively defeated the communist party, and this power ended without bloodshed. Happened

The pace of change in Poland was even faster.

Later that year, the victorious anti-communist movement decided to withdraw from communism altogether, and on January 1, 1990, the country began to have an open market economy.

In East Germany, Egan Kerns may have hoped that the opening of the border would dissipate opposition and end the protests. However, this did not happen. The protests continued. On December 3, 1989, Kerns resigned.

Fourteen days later, the government announced the holding of free elections (in which the Communists were expected to be defeated).

The last battle was in Romania, where the hardline dictator Nikolai Chou Cesco was unwilling to relinquish power.

But the angry masses could not be suppressed in this way. The protests soon spread to other cities. On December 25, Chou Cisco was arrested and assassinated. It was the last country in Eastern Europe to become independent.

The results of these memorable events were as follows: (1) the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Czechoslovakia and Hungary, and (2) the holding of free elections in the newly independent states, in which the Communists were generally defeated.

(3) The complete abolition of Marxism took place in the many countries that were annexed to the Soviet Union (such as Mongolia and Rhythmia). (4) The annexation of the eastern and western parts of Germany was completed in October 1990.

More important than all these changes was the Soviet Union, a fast-growing nationalist movement. Despite its name, the Soviet Union was by no means a voluntary alliance, but an extension of the CZARS regime to the ancient Russian Empire. Which these emperors had gained through war.

(Western nations called the Tsarist Empire a "penitentiary of nations"). Or in the less brutal periods of his successors, it was not possible to express such a desire.

A wave of discontent erupted in Estonia, Leona Moldova and several other Soviet states. The first protest was heard in the small Lithuanian state. He explicitly demanded his complete secession from the Soviet Union.

In principle, the demand for Elethonia was legitimate. For years, the Soviet constitution provided that every state had the right to secede. Before Gorbachev, it was decided that any attempt to exercise that right should be suppressed. There were severe punishments for traitors.

Gorbachev's response was interesting. He immediately declared Lithuania's demand illegal and threatened serious consequences if it was not withdrawn.

Its commercial ports were closed and troops were deployed in the Lithuanian capital as a show of strength. But it did not harm the province by force, nor did it kill anyone, nor did it arrest political leaders. (As Stein requires).

Lithuania is a small country and has no economic or military significance for the Soviet Union.

This important Lithuanian courage set an example. When no serious action was taken against Lithuania on this demand, nationalist elements in other Soviet states appeared to be hopeful. Within two months, Latvia's parliament also demanded secession from the Soviet Union. On June 12, 1990, the Russian SSR "Soviet Socialist Republic" (the largest state in the Soviet Union) declared independence.

By the end of the year, all 15 Soviet states had demanded independence or sovereignty.

Naturally, these dramatic changes were the result of Gorbachev's actions, while in the eyes of several conservative leaders of the Communist Party and the Soviet Army, they were the result of Gorbachev's blatant mistakes.

 In August 1991, some of these leaders revolted against the government.

Gorbachev was arrested and it appeared that the new rulers would amend his reforms. However, other important Soviet leaders, most notably Boris Yeltsin, who later became the head of the Soviet Union, opposed the coup. This was the opinion of the majority of the people. The uprising was ended in a short time.

After the failure of the coup, the situation changed dramatically.

The communist party was immediately ousted from power, its activities banned, and its assets confiscated. "It collapsed. Leaders who wanted to overthrow the communist system. In December 1991, Gorbachev resigned.

This situation raises a question. To what extent is Gorbachev responsible for all the changes that have taken place in his tenure?

Under his leadership, a number of economic reforms were implemented in the Soviet Union. However, this seems to be the case. His contribution to this whole process is short-lived. In general, these reforms were forced by the obvious failure of the communist system. They were too short and too late.

In fact, the poor performance of the Soviet economy led to Gorbachev's inevitable decline.

On the other hand, Gorbachev's role in the liberation of Eastern Europe is truly admirable. Six countries were liberated from Soviet domination, while this change was not possible. The resulting reform movements were the result of the promotion of liberalism in Russia and its favourable rhetoric that it wanted to give Eastern European countries the right to decide their own destiny.

Moreover, in October 1989, when a mass demonstration took place in East Germany, Togorbachev took a personal interest in it. However, in October 1989, Gorbachev persuaded Honkar not to try to stifle public protests.

The consequences of this decision are before us. Lithuania's decision to refrain from using military force to suppress the uprising played a key role in accelerating the process in other Soviet states.

Gorbachev's efforts to end arms embargoes and end the Cold War cannot be denied. Most critics believe that the credit for this success goes to Ronald Reagan.

Because it proved that the United States was financially superior to the Soviet Union and could afford the cost of an armament war. It persuaded the Soviet leaders to end the Cold War. Critics also argued that far-reaching parties were needed to make an agreement possible. There is equal interference.

Such an approach would have been correct if the Cold War had really been the result of the stubbornness of the United States and the Soviet Union. The real issue is different. The US response, however, was a defensive one.

The West was powerless to end the conflict. When the Soviet leader expressed his intention to end the conflict, this seemingly endless war ended immediately.

In any case, the credit for the changes in the Soviet Union goes to Gorbachev. Factors would not have been possible without Gorbachev.

Glassnot "was not a strategy he adopted under public pressure, nor was it a policy that other members of the Politburo insisted on. It was Gorbachev's own point of view." And despite strong opposition, he continued to support it.

More than anything else, it was Glassnot who nailed the last nail in the coffin of the collapse of the Soviet regime.

It is of paramount importance that this revolutionary change took place without any violence. Gorbachev's policies and attitudes play a key role in this.

It is thought that some of the consequences of Gorbachev's actions did not go as far as he himself intended (such as the collapse of the German Union, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the failure of communism).

The influence of a political leader or any personality is determined not by his intentions but by the outcome of his actions.

The failure of Marxism is also due to the efforts of its other opponents. While in Russia, he dared to speak out against it, or the rebels in Afghanistan, Angola and Nicaragua who prevented the communist governments from gaining dominance in their countries.

And American political leaders such as Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan who used the US military, US financial resources, and the example of American freedom and prosperity to stem the tide of communism.

Despite the efforts of all these people, when Gorbachev Annan came to power in 1985, no one could have imagined that the days of the communist empire were numbered.

Yes, if a political leader like Lenin or Stalin had been elected as the leader in 1985, this aggressive government would still have been formed and the war would have continued.

But in 1985, not a leader like Stalin, but Gorbachev was appointed head of the Soviet Union. Although he never wanted to reject the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party, he adopted a strategy that would allow the forces in the country She inevitably led to it. Regardless of her personal intentions, the fact is that she changed our world completely.