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His years in power were promising and tem-
petuous to the fore. In domestic affairs he pre-
sided over an overhaul of the Soviet leadership,
bringing reformist allies such as Alexander
YAKOVLEV
, Nikolai Ryzhkov, and Eduard
SHE
-
VARDNADZE
. Gorbachev began his term by signal-
ing his commitment to a more open political
culture in recalling the dissident physicist Andrei
SAKHAROV
from internal exile, and in more tradi-
tional Soviet fashion, by seeking to improve labor
discipline through a widely unpopular campaign
to reduce alcohol consumption. The more ambi-
tious agenda of perestroika (economic restruc-
turing) and glasnost (political openness) for
which he is widely known met with mixed and
unexpected results. Economic reforms consisting
of moderate attempts to move toward a limited
market economy met with resistance in the Com-
munist Party and government establishment,
leading to inflation, shortages, and declining pro-
duction by 1990. Political change, on the other
hand, quickly surpassed what Gorbachev had
originally envisioned. In rapid succession, an
astonished Soviet public saw the Communist
Party lose its leading role in the economy, a deep
reevaluation of hitherto taboo topics in Soviet
history such as the dark aspects of Stalin's rule,
relatively open elections for a new Congress of
People's Deputies, the reemergence of a thriving,
creative artistic and intellectual climate, and
democratic elections in the 15 Soviet constituent
republics, which brought democratic and nation-
alist movements into positions of power.
In foreign policy, Gorbachev overcame initial
American suspicions and became a full partner in
the peaceful dismantling of the cold war appara-
tus by reversing the Soviet occupation of
AFGHAN
-
ISTAN
, refraining from interference in the Eastern
European revolutions of 1989, withdrawing
Soviet troops from Eastern Europe, agreeing to
the reunification of Germany, and sharply reduc-
ing nuclear arsenals. For these achievements he
received the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize.
With his economic reforms stalled, the emer-
gence of nationalism within the 15 Soviet
republics doomed his program to failure. From
the
NAGORNO
-
KARABAKH
crisis of 1988 to nation-
alist struggles in Georgia and Lithuania in the
spring of 1991, and the election of Boris
YELTSIN
as president of the Russian Republic, the future
of the Soviet Union as a reformed federal entity
was increasingly in question. The conservative
putsch of August 19, 1991, designed to preempt
the signing of a new union treaty, failed to dis-
lodge Gorbachev from power but accelerated the
decline of the Communist Party and the dissolu-
tion of the Soviet Union. Under house arrest in
the Crimea during the
AUGUST COUP
, Gorbachev
returned to power after a few days to a different
country. With all but Russia and Kazakhstan
declaring their independence by October 1991,
Gorbachev was unable to stop the final dissolu-
tion of the Soviet Union, which took place on
December 25, 1991.
Out of power, Gorbachev established the Gor-
bachev Foundation, a think tank, lectured outside
of Russia, and wrote several volumes of memoirs.
He ran for president as a social democrat in the
1996 election but received less than 1 percent of
the votes cast in the first round. In September
1999, his wife died of cancer. A decade removed
from power, Gorbachev remained more admired
outside of Russia than inside.
Gorchakov, Aleksandr Mikhailovich
(1798-1883)
statesman and diplomat
As foreign minister during the entire reign of
ALEXANDER II
, Gorchakov played a central role in
restoring Russia's power and prestige after the
humbling defeat suffered in the
CRIMEAN WAR
(1853-56). Born to a prominent Russian family
he was a one-time classmate of Aleksandr
PUSH
-
KIN
. At the precocious age of 22 Gorchakov was
already participating in top-level Russian diplo-
matic delegations. A series of appointments to
Russian embassies in western Europe, culminat-
ing with the post of ambassador to the Austrian
court at the time of the Crimean War, seasoned
him as a diplomat and brought him to the atten-
tion of the new czar Alexander II. Gorchakov
was named foreign minister in 1856 in time to
conduct the negotiations that led to the Treaty of
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