Gorbachev (biography & 4 Min Speech)

Mikhail Gorbachev was born on March the 2nd, 1931, in Stav-ro-pol, to a Russian agricultural mechanic and his Greek wife.

As a child and student, he was particularly bright and stood out in the classroom, with particular talents and interest in mathematics and history.

Once he had graduated, a position at Moscow University was made certain by his exceptional ambition and intelligence, and the fact he was awarded the Order of the Red banner of Labor when he was merely 19, for aiding his father in reaping a record harvest.

At the prestigious Moscow University, Gorbachev began to study law, with interest in politics.

Thus, in 1952, he joined the CPSU at the age of 21, where he began to rise through the ranks and given high-status duties, including leading a Soviet Delegation to Belgium and in 74 became Chairman of the Standing Commission on Youth affairs of the Supreme Soviet. Five years later, Gorbachev had been promoted to Polit-buro, with the head of the KGB Yuri Andro-pov answering to him.

Growing up under the harsh Stalin regime and then living through the Cold War, it became apparent for Mikhail to see how draining the circumstances were on the USSR, and found it imperative to implement economic reforms domestically.

With the new policies of glasnost (meaning openness) and perestroika (meaning restructuring) he planned to improve the lifestyles of the Soviet population and increase worker productivity.

In such attempts Gorbachev began to introduce new reforms that were initially considered radical and somewhat unnecessary. The first of these reforms was the 1985 alcohol act, constructed to counter alcohol abuse within the state. This included rising the prices of alcoholic drinks, but even restricting the sale of the beverages had no real impact on the situation, and the act caused a massive blow to the economy.

Considered his most radical move at the time, the Law on Cooperatives, May 1988, went against the structures of Leninism and Communism, allowing for private earnings and profits to be made through manufacturing, business ownership and foreign trade.

GLASNSOST was a policy that gave new freedoms to the people, and could be considered the catalyst for the downfall of the Communist state. It was a reform that gave new freedoms to the people after decades of suppression, a radical new change that allowed freedom of speech and freedom in the media.

These reforms also allowed the release of political prisoners and dissidents. It was through these new channels of openness that he hoped to engage debate and participation that would encourage the Soviet people to support his restructuring.

These dramatic reforms were