Historical Figure
Mikhail Gorbachev
1931–2022
Leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991
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Key Dates
Birth
1931 March 2, 1931 →Death
2022 August 30, 2022 →Biography
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was a Soviet and Russian politician who was the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 until the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Communist Party from 1985, and additionally as head of state from 1988. Ideologically, he initially adhered to Marxism–Leninism, but moved towards social democracy by the early 1990s.
Timeline
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev declares a moratorium on the deployment of middle-range missiles in Europe.
April 7 →Cold War: U.S. President Ronald Reagan publicly challenges Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate.
June 12 →U.S. President Ronald Reagan begins his first visit to the Soviet Union as he arrives in Moscow for a superpower summit with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
May 29 →Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations.
April 2 →George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev sign a treaty to end chemical weapon production.
June 1 →Dissolution of the Soviet Union, August Coup: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest while on holiday in the town of Foros, Ukraine.
August 19 →Dissolution of the Soviet Union, August Coup: More than 100,000 people rally outside the Soviet Union's parliament building protesting the coup aiming to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev.
August 20 →More from the Interwar & WWII
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