Soviet Leaders Part 2

Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931 in the agricultural region called Stavropol. As a child he did farm work, but still pressured various studies. He joined the Communist Party in 1952 and received his law degree the next year. Later in 1953 he married a philosophy student, Raisa Titorenko (1932?-1999). Returning to Stavropol he gradually moved up in rank in the local communist party.

In 1970 Gorbachev became the leader of the Stavropol Communist Party, and shortly afterward he was elected to the supreme soviet. In 1978 he joined the Communist Party secretariat as the agriculture sectary, and in 1980 he joined the politburo, and became friendly with Yuri Andropov. When Andropov became head of the Communist Party he gave Gorbachev full control of the Soviet Economy 1n 1983.

In 1985 Gorbachev was appointed general sectary of the party, despite being the youngest member of the politburo. He began massive programs of political, social and economic liberalization. These programs were called glanost (openness) and perstoika (restructuring) After the disaster of Chernobyl in 1986 he was forced to allow even greater freedom of expression. During this time the Soviet Government released political prisoners, increased immigration, cracked down on government corruption and even encouraged the re-examination of Soviet History.
In a series of talks that took place between 1985 and 1988 Gorbachev improved relations with the United States and even signed a Nuclear Forces Limitation Treaty in 1987. In 1989 he ended the Soviet War in Afghanistan, and sought to ease the domination of the communist party.

For his efforts and his ability to ease East-West tensions he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. Later that year it was determined that many of his programs including perestrokia failed to improve the economy, along with the reduction of social and political control increased ethnic tensions in places such as the Baltic States, Georgia, Ukraine and elsewhere.

In 1989 a Congress of Peoples was created. In March of 1990 they voted to end the communist party's control over the government elected Gorbachev executive president. By 1991 discontent with Gorbachev and his policies has created large amounts of tension and a coup in August, though unsuccessful due to lack or origination and support it (the coup lasted three days) shifted some authority to the Russian Peoples President, Boris Yeltsin. Concurrently, the soviet Union was dissolving. Gorbachev's decision no to use force to put down revolutions in Eastern Europe further eroded the power of the soviet Union. The fall of the Berlin wall and many communist governments throughout the old Soviet Block generated demand reforms and an alteration of the Soviet Government. Many states such as the Baltic states were granted independence and several others declared independence. Later that year Gorbachev dissolved the soviet Communist party, and proposed a much looser relationship with the remaining republics. On December 1, 1991 all non Russian republics declared independence. On December 25, 1991 Gorbachev resigned as Soviet President, thus ending the Soviet Union. Since 1992 he has headed several international organizations. He has also written several books including "On My Country and the World" published in 1999. In 1996 he ran unsuccessfully for Russian President.

Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin was born on February 1, 1931 born to parents Nikolai and Klavdia in the village of Butka in the Sverdlovsk Region, an industrial center in the Ural Mountain region. He was educated at the Urals Polytechnic Institute. Yeltsin began his career as a construction worker from 1953 to 1968.
In 1956 he marries Naina Iosifovna Girina. They have two daughters, Yelena (born in 1957) and Tatyana (1959).
In 1961 he joined the communist party. He was given the position of Secretary of the Sberdlovsk region in 1976, and was elected to the central committee in as a suprize vote in 1981. During this time he became affiliated with Gorbachev and in 1985 he was chosen by Gorbachev, to be the Moscow Party boss. In 1986 he was inducted into the politburo. In 1987 he was removed from his Moscow Post after clashing with conservatives and criticizing Gorbachev's reforms, deeming them inadequate. Attracting a large following as a populist advocate in 1989 he won a seat on the Supreme Soviet (the Soviet Union's Equivalent to a parliament) as an opposition member.

In 1990 he was elected President of the Supreme Soviet, he resigned from the communist Party in 1991, but retained the presidency by means of popular election, thus becoming Russia's first democratically elected president. At that time he became the chief liberal opponent to Gorbachev. Yeltsin's August coup, shifted the power to the reformers and the different republics. On December 8, 1991 he established the Commonwealth of Independent States, thus ending attempts to preserve the Soviet Union.

As president of independent Russia Yeltsin sought to end state control of the economy and privatize many sectors. However he faced fierce opposition from the supreme Soviet, this slowed his reforms an he was forced to make many compromises. In September 1993, Yeltsin suspended parliament and called for new elections. When parliaments supporters resorted to arms they were crushed by the army. Although he won approval of his proposed constitution, which guaranteed private property, a free press and human the December election of the new parliament saw many of his opponents elected.

Boris Yeltsin Saught to improve relations with the west and in 1993 signed the START II nuclear disarmament treaty with the United States. He failed to secure a sufficient amount to economic aid. In 1994 he sent forces into Chechnya in order to contain a separatist rebellion forcing Russia into a difficult and unpopular struggle.

In June of 1996 Yeltsin ran for a second term as Russia's President, he won the election over the communist candidate.

In the late 1990's a vast amount of economic problems ,frequent cabinet turmoil and his deteriorating health, cast doubt on his ability to rule. In may of 1999 he survived an impeachment attempt. A second invasion of Chechnya in 1999 proved popular in Russia and the Pro-government parties did well in the 1999 parliamentary elections. On December 31, 1999, the ailing Yeltsin suddenly announced this resignation. Prime Minister Vladmir Putin succeeded him as acting president.

Vladimir Putin
Valdmir Putin was born in the year 1952. He graduated form the Leningrad State University law school in 1975. After graduation he served in the KGB for 15 years, achieving the prestigious rank of Lieutenant colonel. Form 1990 to 1996 he held several government posts in the city of Leningrad (St. Petersburg after 1991). Later in 1996 he moved to Moscow in order to take part in the national government, he held several high staff positions in the Yeltsin administration and in 1998 he became the head of the Federal Security Service (the KGB's successor).

Putin was regarded as inenllignet, tough and hard working individual. He was chosen by Yeltsin to be given the position of Prime Minister in August of 1999, Putin quickly became popular with the Russian people for his September 1999 invasion of Chechnya. On December 31, 1999 Boris Yelstin resigned as Russian President and Putin took over as President. In the March 2000 Election putin bead out ten other candidates to become Russia's President.

putin moved Quickly to reassert the central government’s authority over the various republics, regions and other administrative unites and has sought to extend control over the independent media. He also sought to reduce the size of the Military. Putin was also able to negotiate several nuclear arms agreements and renewed ties with some of the former Soviet Republics. Although Putin has mostly remained popular with the Russian public, he received heavy criticism regarding his actions after the Russian submarine Kursk sank in August 2000.