The son of an agricultural mechanic in the North Caucasus, Mikhail Gorbachev wasn't exactly tapped for greatness at birth. Eighty years later, though, he stands out as one of the giants of 20th-century history for his role in engineering the end of the Cold War. Elected as the youngest full member of the Politburo in 1980, he took over the Communist Party's top office in 1985 and proceeded to introduce the first steps of liberalization to the world's most powerful communist country, through his programs of glasnost and perestroika. Meanwhile, he built strong relationships with Western leaders such as U.S. President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Although his reign ended in 1991 with the demise of the Soviet Union, he has remained active in public life as a politician, commentator, and celebrity.
Here, Gorbachev looks up on an official visit to London in 1984.
Tom Stoddart/Getty Images
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RAYFIN3
8:26 AM ET
June 22, 2011
Great photos!
Photo montage much more accurate than screed/diss by A. Applebaum. Thanks for the memories.
PATRICIAMOORE
10:47 PM ET
July 18, 2011
the man who ended communist
Gorbachev's attempts at reform, his conferences with President Reagan, and the reorientation of Soviet strategic aims led to the finish from the Cold War, ended the political supremacy from the Communist Party, and resulted in the dissolution from the Ussr. With this work, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. After surviving an attempted coup from conservative Communists who feared he was going too much, Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary on Christmas Day 1991. He currently runs the Independent Democratic Party, that they founded with billionaire Alexandar Lebedev and is constantly on the advocate web hosting ownership and photovoltaic solar cells for future use. He was identified as having diabetes type 2, that they manages with diet, exercise, and medicines.