How Mikhail Gorbachev rose from the Soviet hinterland to be its last leader & Nobel winner

Mikhail Gorbachev, who ended the Cold War alongside the West's leaders, died on August 30 at the age of 91 after battling a prolonged disease. Gorbachev was born into a family of a Russian peasant, Sergey Andreyevich Gorbachev, who was staying in the southern part of the country, Stavropol. His parents reportedly worked on collective farmland where the young Gorbachev also used to operate harvesting machines during his adolescence days.

Despite working in the fields, he grew to enter the esteemed Moscow State University and subsequently, became a member of the Communist Party. During his college days, he met a girl, Raisa, who later became his wife in 1953. Multiple media reports suggest that he became aggressively active in the party after meeting Raisa.

After completing his graduate degree, Gorbachev decided to return to his hometown and rapidly rose through the ranks of the Communist Party. In 1957, the couple had a baby girl, Irina Mikhailovna Virganskaya, who is believed to be the "mysterious" and only child of the couple. He got a breakthrough in politics after Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko, who assumed office in 1984, died abruptly in 1985.

Youngest leader to handle USSR

After Chernenko's death, Gorbachev became the youngest leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. At the time he took charge of the Union, the economic condition was not up to the mark as compared to the Western countries, which were establishing back-to-back multi-billion companies. It was Gorbachev who announced restructuring and opening the market in order to boost its economy. During his tenure, he encouraged relations with the United States and bringing an end to the Cold War, without engaging any forces. 

When he met with then US President Ronald Reagan in 1985, he agreed on limiting the production of nuclear missiles and resetting diplomatic relations. Besides, he also ended the long-running Soviet War in Afghanistan. Later in 1987, the stalwart leader travelled to the US and signed a treaty to limit the short-range land-based missiles worldwide. It is pertinent to mention that he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending the Cold War. He removed the Iron Curtain by forming allies with Western powers. The Iron Curtain was a political boundary dividing Europe into two parts from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991.

Gorbachev faced immense criticism in his own country

During his tenure as President of the USSR, he freed political prisoners, allowed open debate and multi-candidate elections, gave his countrymen freedom to travel, halted religious oppression, and reduced nuclear arsenals. Though he won accolades globally, Gorbachev faced immense criticism in his own country as Russia held him responsible for the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The collapse of the USSR resulted in the countries, at least 15, announcing back-to-back autonomy. This impacted his political career as his former allies deserted him and made him a scapegoat for the country’s troubles. He was briefly deposed in an August 1991 coup by party hardliners.

Mikhail Gorbachev became a national joke for Pizza Hut ad

He became a national joke in the 1996 Presidential election as he secured only 1% of the vote. After the end of his political career, Gorbachev appeared in advertising campaigns for Pizza Hut-- an American multinational restaurant chain. He did the advertisement against the advice of some close to him. According to media reports, he joined hands with a pizza company in order to raise money for his newly formed foundation. However, this too backfired as his former partners joked that he would divide the pizza into 15 slices like he divided up his own country. "In the ad, he should take a pizza, divide it into 15 slices like he divided up our country, and then show how to put it back together again," quipped Anatoly Lukyanov, a one-time Gorbachev supporter.

Subsequently, he appeared in another campaign for the luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton in 2007. He also established the opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta, where he used to write against Putin's policies. Soon, it because a voice for dissent. It was alleged that several of the publication's reporters including investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya have been murdered for their reporting against Putin.

Mikhail Gorbachev to be buried next to his wife 

Gorbachev suffered a major blow when he lost his wife in 1999. Since then, he lived almost alone with a housekeeper and a small security staff but always garnered headlines for his comments critical of the incumbent President Vladimir Putin. On several occasions, he criticised Putin's decisions and international policies. However, as he turned an octogenarian, he contracted various health-related issues. Finally, on August 30, he breathed last at Central Clinical Hospital. According to the hospital, he died battling a long illness. The hospital did not elaborate on the disease and the health condition of the departed leader at the last moment. According to the Russian News agency, TASS, he will be buried in Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery next to his wife Raisa. 

Image: AP