Mikhail Gorbachev was a Soviet politician and statesman who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. Born in 1931 in the village of Privolnoye, Gorbachev was the son of a peasant family and grew up during the Soviet era. He studied law at Moscow State University and later became actively involved in politics, rising through the ranks of the Communist Party. Gorbachev is renowned for his role in introducing political and economic reforms in the Soviet Union, which led to the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. His policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) aimed to modernize the Soviet economy and reduce the authoritarianism of the Soviet regime. Gorbachev also pursued arms control negotiations with the United States, which led to the signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Gorbachev retired from politics and became an international advocate for peace and democracy. He has received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to global politics, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
