2 policies of gorbachev biography wikipedia

He was the last general secretary before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In , he returned to Moscow to become a Secretary of the party's Central Committee ; he joined the governing Politburo 25th term as a non-voting candidate member in and a voting member in While Gorbachev wanted to preserve the Soviet Union and Marxist-Leninist ideals, he recognised the need for significant reforms.

He decided to withdrew troops from the Soviet—Afghan War and met with United States president Ronald Reagan at the Reykjavik Summit to discuss the limitation of nuclear weapons production and ending the Cold War. He also proposed a three-stage programme for abolishing the world's nuclear weapons by the end of the 20th century.

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Domestically, his policy of glasnost "openness" allowed for the improvement of freedom of speech and free press , while his perestroika "restructuring" sought to decentralize economic decision-making to improve its efficiency. When various Warsaw Pact countries abandoned Marxist—Leninist governance in , he declined to intervene militarily.

Growing nationalist sentiment within constituent republics threatened to break up the Soviet Union, leading the hardliners within the Communist Party to launch an unsuccessful coup against Gorbachev in August After the attempted coup, the Soviet Union dissolved against Gorbachev's wishes. After resigning from the presidency, he launched the Gorbachev Foundation , became a vocal critic of Russian presidents Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin , and campaigned for Russia's social-democratic movement.

In November , Gorbachev was appointed to the Central Committee's Secretariat for Agriculture 25th term , replacing his old patron Fyodor Kulakov , who had died of a heart attack. In December , the Soviets sent the armed forces into neighbouring Afghanistan to support its Soviet-aligned government against Islamist insurgents ; Gorbachev privately thought it a mistake.

Gorbachev was enthusiastic about the appointment.

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In February , Andropov died; on his deathbed he indicated his desire that Gorbachev succeed him. In April , Gorbachev was appointed chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Soviet legislature, a largely honorific position. We can do business together".