Mikhail Gorbachev: Last Leader of the Soviet Union and Nobel Peace Prize

Mikhail Gorbachev was a Soviet and Russian politician, the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union. Born on March 2, 1931, in Privolnoye in the North Caucasus, he studied law at Moscow State University and rose through the Communist Party.

Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Communist Party in March 1985 and introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring). He held arms-limitation summits with President Ronald Reagan and withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan. In 1990 he became the first and only president of the Soviet Union, and in the same year he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending the Cold War.

Gorbachev resigned on December 25, 1991, as the Soviet Union dissolved. He later founded the Gorbachev Foundation and co-chaired the Union of Social Democrats. He married Raisa Titarenko in 1953, and they had a daughter, Irina; Raisa died in 1999. He died in Moscow on August 30, 2022, at age 91. His legacy remains divided between those who credit him with peace and those who blame him for the Soviet collapse.

Achievements: General Secretary (1985), introduced glasnost and perestroika, Nobel Peace Prize (1990), first and only president of the Soviet Union (1990-1991).

Birth: March 2, 1931 - Privolnoye, North Caucasus, Soviet Union.

Profession: Politician.

Interesting Facts: He was the last Soviet leader, and the Cold War largely ended during his time in office. He is buried at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.