Who was the president of the USSR and the Russian Federation. reference. First and last: how Gorbachev became the president of the USSR The first president of the USSR in 1990

President of the USSR- position of the head of state. Introduced in the USSR on March 15, 1990 by the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, which made appropriate amendments to the Constitution of the USSR. Prior to that, the highest official in the USSR was the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

The post of President of the USSR ceased to exist on December 25, 1991 with the resignation of M. S. Gorbachev. According to the Constitution of the USSR, the President of the USSR was to be elected by the citizens of the USSR by direct and secret ballot. As an exception, the first elections of the President of the USSR were held by the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR. In connection with the collapse of the USSR, the national elections of the President of the USSR never took place. Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev was the first and only President of the USSR. In the first half of 1990, almost all union republics declared their state sovereignty (RSFSR - June 12, 1990).

From 1992 to the present, M.S. Gorbachev is president of the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Science Research (Gorbachev Foundation). In the summer of 1991, a new union treaty was prepared for signing. The attempted coup d'état in August 1991 not only crossed out the prospect of its signing, but also gave a powerful impetus to the disintegration of the state that had begun. In 1991, on December 8, in Belovezhskaya Pushcha (Belarus), a meeting was held between the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, during which a document was signed on the liquidation of the USSR and the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). December 25, 1991 Gorbachev announced the resignation of the President of the USSR.

Analysis of the institution of Presidential power in the system of state authorities of the Russian Federation is undoubtedly one of the topical areas in modern state and legal research. The range of problems relating to the political and legal status of the President of the Russian Federation is very wide and varied. In practice, it affects all sides and aspects of the institution of presidential power in the country: firstly, its very essence, purpose, place and role in the system of other state bodies; secondly, the preconditions and necessity of its establishment; thirdly, the legal powers and functions of the President of the Russian Federation;

fourthly, general and special requirements for candidates for the presidency; fifth, socio-political status; sixth, the boundaries of presidential power, the mechanism for its implementation, and many others. It is safe to state the fact that in our society there is no unambiguous understanding of the constitutional and legal status of the President of the Russian Federation.

However, initially, among these problems, it is necessary to consider the reasons for the establishment of the post of President in the Russian Federation in the early 90s.

According to Part 1 of Art. 80 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993 - "The President of the Russian Federation is the head of state." In domestic constitutional law, the head of state is traditionally understood as an official (or body) formally occupying the highest place in the hierarchy of state institutions and positions, exercising the supreme representation of the country in domestic political activities and in relations with other states.

By its existence in modern world the institute of the head of state owes a late feudal institution - absolute monarchy. At the time of the formation of bourgeois statehood, the thinking of the new ruling class was limited by the historical framework of a particular era. This manifested itself, first of all, in the fact that the bourgeoisie found many institutions and institutions of the feudal state attractive to itself. Therefore, she borrowed the institution of the head of state, which in essence was a purely feudal institution.

That is why, introducing even the most progressive, in this historical period, form of government - a republic, it retained, in principle, this feudal institution- the institution of the head of state.

The practice of constitutional construction of modern states shows that the head of state can be both an official and a special body. In a number of countries, there is or has been in the past the organization of the institution of the head of state in the form of the highest collegial body: the Federal Council in Switzerland, consisting of 7 members; the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of up to 170 members; State Council of the Assembly of People's Power in Cuba of 31 members, etc., which, along with the highest bodies of popular representation, are the highest collegial bodies of state power. Headed, as a rule, by the Chairman, who independently exercises only those powers of the head of state that cannot be exercised collectively (for example, to accept recall and credentials of ambassadors and other representatives of foreign states accredited in the country). At the same time, the place of these Councils (Presidiums, etc.) in the system of state bodies was determined by the fact that they were accountable in all their activities to the highest bodies of popular representation that elected them.

Thus, the accountability of the Presidium to the People's (National) Assembly was expressed in the fact that it could hear a report on its activities, if necessary, change some of the members of the Presidium by electing others instead, or even completely re-elect the Presidium before the expiration of its term of office.

During the Soviet period national history, for about seventy years in our country there was precisely a collegial head of state - the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, consisting of the last Constitution of the USSR of 1977. of 39 members (art. 120). At the same time, in order to identify the reasons for the radical renewal of the institution of the head of state, it must be taken into account that all this began during the existence of the USSR. First, in March 1990, the post of President of the USSR was introduced, and then - in many union republics, including in March 1991. and in the RSFSR. Since the main reasons for the emergence of the institution of presidential power in our country are common, before considering the Russian Federation, it is necessary to analyze some general points.

The institute of presidential power has a relatively short history in the development of domestic statehood, since such an institution was organically alien to the Soviet republic. The sovereignty of the Soviets, the combination of legislative and executive power in them were organically incompatible with the principle of separation of powers, one of the expressions of which is the presence in the system of government bodies - the post of president. Therefore, the idea of ​​establishing the post of President, originally, as already noted, arose back in the former USSR, met with considerable resistance from some people's deputies, supporters of preserving Soviet power, who quite reasonably saw in it a violation of the principle of the sovereignty of the soviets.

However, the processes of democratization, which were gaining momentum, and the renewal of the entire state system, prevailed, and the post of President of the USSR in March 1990. was established, which led to significant changes in the Constitution of the USSR in 1977. March 14, 1990 The Law of the USSR "On the establishment of the post of President of the USSR and the introduction of amendments and additions to the Constitution (Basic Law) of the USSR" was adopted. According to the amended Constitution (Art. 127), the President of the USSR became the head of the Soviet state. They could be elected a citizen of the USSR not younger than 35 and not older than 65 years. The same person could not be the President of the USSR for more than two terms in a row. The President of the USSR was supposed to ensure the interaction of state authorities and administration. The Soviet constitution provided for elections

President of the USSR by citizens, i.e. direct elections. However, the election of the first President of the USSR (who turned out to be the last, as practice has shown) in accordance with the law of March 14, 1990. happened at the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR. Soon after that, a similar process of establishing the institution of presidential power began in the Union republics, where decisions on this were made by the relevant Supreme Soviets.

Considering the question of the appointment and reasons for the emergence of the institution of presidential power precisely at the perestroika stage, it should be noted that constitutional legislation largely reflected and, as it were, summarized those numerous and sometimes very contradictory views and proposals that were expressed by legal scholars, people's deputies and journalists at the the stage of preparation and discussion of draft normative legal acts and issues related to the general legal status and appointment of the institution of presidency in the country. When introducing the post of President at the level of the USSR, a number of explanations followed, interpreting the reasons for the emergence of the institution of presidential power in our country, which cannot be ignored in relation to the Russian Federation either.

First, it is the delimitation of the functions of the party and the state. Previously, all the main issues of domestic and foreign policy were decided by party bodies and, thus, the main link in the development of a strategy for state life was outside the state system. Now it was necessary to strengthen that link of state power, whose functions were previously replaced by party decisions. Secondly, after the separation of powers, it became necessary to coordinate the activities of the legislative and executive bodies. Thirdly, there was an urgent need to stabilize the situation and quickly resolve emergencies. The existing structures turned out to be unsuitable for this. Of these circumstances, only the latter was more or less clear, since it is often necessary to quickly respond to a situation and make quick decisions that one person will do better than a collegium. Then there was the post of the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, but the Chairman led the work of the Supreme Council and the Congress of People's Deputies (if there were meetings) and performed the functions of the head of state, and at the same time, he was often not independent, which limited his possibilities.

Other factors were somewhat uncertain. For example, if functions were transferred from party bodies to state ones, then, in the end, they could partially pass to the parliament, partially to the government. It is also not clear why it was the separation of powers that caused the need for a body coordinating them. After all, the separation of powers presupposes their mutual influence, and not the increased capabilities of one body in relation to others. Ultimately, it would be possible to strengthen the functions of the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR or make him the person coordinating the activities of the central bodies.

World practice shows that the relevant state can go for the concentration in the hands of one person of functions and tasks that are dispersed in other countries. Such tasks and functions are related to the representation and welfare of the state, its citizens and society as a whole, and are more effective when carried out by one person than by a collegium. This person: firstly, is a symbol of a particular state, its unity, represents the highest state interests both within the country and in the world community; secondly, it represents the entire people of a given country, its interests and acts on behalf of the people, stands above social, party, national and other unilinear interests, and even more so disagreements, coordinates society, cements socio-political and state life; thirdly, bears personal responsibility for the state of affairs in the country, ensures the stability of the said situation, takes prompt measures and decisions to ensure order and security, to fulfill the international obligations of the state; fourthly, he stands at the head of the executive branch of the state apparatus, or above it, directs its activities; fifthly, is declared by the supreme commander armed forces country and thus affects the defense of the state and the passage of citizens military service; sixthly, he makes appointments to the highest positions in the apparatus of executive power, and not rarely - to all positions of judges, that is, in this sense, this is, as it were, the highest official of the country, "the chief state official"; seventh, is the supreme protector of the interests of " common man”, resolves issues of citizenship, carries out awards and pardons in relation to citizens of the state, considers their complaints, etc. Naturally, this is a general theoretical view, but in practice the application of these provisions can take place in their various combinations. Thus, a person who is the head of state can be either a monarch or a president.

Monarchies in most cases have gone from strong power to its sharp weakening and leaving the head of state with mainly representative functions (the only exceptions today are some Middle Eastern kings and sheikhs). Presidents can also officially stand at the head of the state, but the possibilities of their real participation in governance are significantly limited in favor of the government. However, there are also models in which, on the contrary, the key figure is legally the President. There are also situations when it is legally limited, for example, parliamentary control over its activities is proclaimed, but in practice it is completely independent.

All this had to be taken into account when introducing the post of president in our country. At the same time, some purely domestic circumstances cannot be discounted. So, for example, with I.V. Stalin, and in a number of respects even later, our country learned what personal power is, what negative consequences it leads to. Therefore, in connection with the introduction of the post of president, the question immediately arose: would this not mean the restoration of the regime of personal power? At one time, in order to prevent another cult of personality, the Central Committee of the CPSU proclaimed the principle of collective leadership. But even then the power of the general secretaries of the Central Committee of the CPSU was indisputable both in the party and in the state. The question arose of what would happen if now one person, according to the country's constitution, that is, legally, received all the threads of the country's leadership in his own hands! Then the question arose of whether there is a sufficient “niche” for presidential affairs, because representative functions can be entrusted to the Chairman of Parliament, and the tasks of operational management of the country to the Chairman of the Government.

In view of the foregoing, the following reasons for the introduction of the post of President of the USSR in our country are revealed: firstly, the democratization of the processes of governing the country quickly demonstrated that the Parliament and the Government, which was fond of discussions, were really unable to make operational decisions and quickly implement them, so it was necessary to have one leader the state, which would be responsible hourly for current affairs; secondly, in the conditions of the formation of the system of separation of powers, in this historical period, the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR and especially the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which worked on the basis of permanence, took on a huge number of cases and appropriated almost peremptory right to resolve any issues. The presidency of the USSR in this case would become a counterbalance to the extremes of domestic parliamentarism; thirdly, in the absence of a parliamentary majority of one party, or an alliance of several parties in Parliament (or in its lower house), the President will objectively be forced to take on the function of forming the Government and directing its work, since conflicting parties could simply paralyze the functioning supreme body executive power; fourthly, in the process of developing ideological pluralism and rejecting political monism, the post of General Secretary of the CPSU meant little, and the leadership of the CPSU did not want to limit its powers, while the introduction of the post of President of the USSR was considered by a significant part of party functionaries as a way to preserve the influence of the party in the changed social political and socio-economic conditions of the life of the country; fifthly, the objective desire of M.S. Gorbachev to be freed from the guardianship of the "native party". Since the leader aimed at reforms had to check his every step with the Politburo and the Central Committee of the CPSU and at the same time be afraid that he would not only be overthrown from the party Olympus, but also from the post of Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, since members of the CPSU among other people's deputies of the USSR constituted the vast majority. Thus, the presidency provided an opportunity for former party leaders at the level of the Union and union (and also in reality in autonomous republics) republics not only to maintain themselves in power, but also to fight against the omnipotence of the party, and where they saw in communist party a constant threat to their power, as, for example, in the RSFSR, to ban it altogether. The latter circumstance is, as it were, a domestic, including Russian, manifestation of a playful tendency to introduce strong presidential regimes, namely, where intrastate contradictions, pressure from various forces, including supporters of persons who have come to the presidency, encourage the respective individuals to fight for the presidency with tangible powers of the so-called super presidency.

The stated reasons for the introduction of the presidency have become well understood today, after a number of years. Immediately upon the establishment of the post of President of the USSR, they preferred to emphasize that it contributes to the orderliness of affairs in the country, that the power of the President of the USSR will not be authoritarian, and even that there is no question of any attempt on the role of the highest representative body of power of the USSR; on the contrary, he controls the activities of the President, can cancel the decrees of the latter and early release him from office in case he violates the Constitution and laws of the USSR.

In fact, the President of the USSR was initially a strong political figure, which was ensured both by the Constitution of the USSR and by the personal authority of M.S. Gorbachev. Subsequently, a number of constitutional novels appeared, testifying to consistent attempts to strengthen the position of the President of the USSR. So, for example, initially he had little influence on the formation of the Government and its leadership. But already with the changes and additions to the Constitution of the USSR on December 26, 1990. It was fixed that the President of the USSR heads the system of organs government controlled that the Government is subordinate to the President, that the latter forms the Cabinet of Ministers in agreement with the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Thus, during this period, the model of the institute of presidential power in the country was in dynamics. Consequently, there was no complete clarity on the question of what the President of the RSFSR should be like at the time of the establishment of this post. Obviously, there was only one thing: Russia needed the President - as, in other matters, any other union republic at that time - as the highest person who would take care of strengthening the independence of the state, representing and protecting its interests.

In Russia, the issue of establishing the post of President was no less difficult to resolve. Initially, the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR spoke out against its introduction, then, on the initiative of a third of the deputies, it was appointed for March 17, 1991. All-Russian referendum, in accordance with the results of which the specified post was established. After the referendum, this issue no longer caused such a lively debate and political confrontation, which had previously taken place when discussing all the “for” and “against” the introduction of the post of the Union President. According to L.A. Okounkov, probably, the majority of deputies shared the opinion about the future priority of the Parliament in relations with the President. Since even with such a serious change in the system of higher bodies of Russia, the main role still remained with the Congress and the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. Since, firstly, all the powers of the President were determined by the Parliament itself; secondly, the power of the budget, the power of money, all the programs of the President, his administration, all the executive power would be financed by the Parliament; thirdly, the Parliament reserves the right to cancel any decree of the President; fourthly, while the President must issue decrees only on the basis of the Constitution and laws, that is, by-laws; and fifthly, Parliament reserves the right to dismiss the President of the Russian Federation. Apparently, therefore, out of 898 people's deputies who took part in the vote, 690 voted for the establishment of the Law "On the President of the RSFSR." As a result of the referendum, the laws of the RSFSR "On the President of the RSFSR", "On the election of the President of the RSFSR" of April 24, 1991 were adopted. and "On taking office of the President of the RSFSR" dated June 27, 1991. Law of the RSFSR of May 24, 1991 No. Appropriate changes and additions were made to the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1978, in which a special chapter appeared. On the basis of these legislative changes, the first President of Russia was elected by universal, direct, equal elections by secret ballot on June 12, 1991. They became B.N. Yeltsin, who previously held the position of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR.

Thus, the introduction of the post of President of the RSFSR was the result of those difficult, but on the whole very progressive, democratic processes that have taken place and are taking place in Russian society and in its political system since the early 1990s. It reflected the objective process of transformation of political power from the system of party bodies and organizations into the system of state bodies and organizations, including the institution of the President and the Soviets. This seems to be the main, main, but not exhaustive explanation of the structural and functional changes that have taken place in the mechanism of the country's political power. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that there are many other objective and subjective reasons that are inextricably linked with the above, which also need separate special consideration. These include: firstly, the desire to fill, with the introduction of the post of President of the RSFSR, a kind of "vacuum" of power that arose in the country in the process of economic and political reforms, as a result of the implementation of different areas the life of Soviet society of radical, but not always consistent and not always predictable in their consequences, transformations. A situation has arisen that was correctly noted at the Congress of People's Deputies by the former secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU V.A. Medvedev, when “the old system, in which the party was the supreme governing body, has become obsolete and is being dismantled. The processes of formation and development of a new parliamentary democratic system. But these processes turned out to be unsupported to the proper degree by the creation of strong mutually balancing and mutually controlling structures in state system, the role of which was previously performed by the party. Secondly, the need to change federal ties in order to see the institution of the president, established in such a complex multinational country as Russia, as a kind of supreme arbiter elected by all peoples. The President of the RSFSR was supposed to act primarily as a coordinator in relations between sovereign republics. Thirdly, the need to have an integrating force not only in the political system of society and in the system of separation of powers, but also in society itself. Fourth, the need to strengthen the executive power and improve management efficiency. The point lies, among other things, in the fact that the establishment of the post of President of the RSFSR was associated to a certain extent with the need to neutralize the negative consequences caused by the slowness in the activity and decision-making of representative bodies, their well-known inertia, inefficiency of collegiate leadership, especially when it was necessary make quick decisions on current issues requiring prompt intervention.

The subjective reasons should not be underestimated either. Among them in the first place: firstly, the obvious reception of this post by the all-union leadership, this was expressed, first of all, in the fact that the Russian political elite found it attractive for themselves. Secondly, the desire of the then Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR B.N. Yeltsin to strengthen his status in the system of state authorities, in order to carry out urgent socio-political and socio-economic reforms. Despite the obvious need, due to these reasons, to introduce the post of President of the RSFSR, the serious question remained open, which model of presidential power to choose. World experience offered several options. Firstly, the president is the head of state, with purely representative functions, he does not interfere in anything, but exercises only representative powers (grants awards and titles, opens official events, receives foreign delegations, etc.), while all serious The work of governing the country is carried out by the Prime Minister. Secondly, the president is the same head of state, but not for the entourage, i.e. the ruler of the country, who himself makes or predetermines everything. Thirdly, the president is the head of state and the head of the executive branch, i.е. both the leader of the country and the head of the state apparatus. This model would strongly orientate the president towards coordinating functions in relation to state bodies belonging to other branches of government. Fourth, the President is the head of the executive branch and the highest official. This model focuses the president on the leadership of the state administration apparatus. Such a model can have various manifestations: the president is not the head of government, but leads it up to presiding over its meetings; the president is officially the head of the government, who forms its composition, except for the prime minister, whose candidacy is agreed with parliament, etc. Naturally, because of the first option, it did not make sense to start introducing the post of president in Russia at all. Since, it was about strengthening the state itself, and the president was supposed to serve the named goal. The state needed a strong figure to strengthen and defend its interests. The use of the second model in establishing the post of president was hardly realistic, since the authoritarianism of this position was strong, which could have buried the idea of ​​the presidency altogether. Such a model can be introduced only as the authority of the already functioning president grows (as was the case in France in 1958. ), but not from the beginning of this constitutional institution. For the same reasons, it is initially difficult to use the third model. Therefore, objectively remained the fourth option. It was reflected in the normative acts of the RSFSR.

In discussions on the issue of introducing the post of President of Russia, negative arguments were also expressed, in which thoughts were expressed that the approval of this post with a strong, almost uncontrolled power could create prerequisites for the growth of authoritarian tendencies in the country, for the resurrection of the regime of personal power, for the usurpation her by one person or his environment.

Period from 1985 to 1991 went down in history as a time of great change, which eventually led to the collapse of a large and powerful state. The highest post of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1985 was taken by Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, who in 1990 was elected President of the USSR. After he came to power, a number of reforms were adopted aimed at changing the economic situation in the country and rapprochement with many world states, including the United States. This whole process was called "perestroika". The essence of these reforms and the results to which they led, we will try to consider in the article.

Socio-economic and political situation in the USSR in the middle of the 80s of the XX century

As part of the democratization process that had begun, laws were passed to expand freedom of speech. At this time, newspapers began to appear, on the pages of which one could find criticism of the current government. Citizens were given the right to practice entrepreneurial activity. For the first time in the history of the country, a reform was carried out, as a result of which the CPSU lost the status of the leading party of the USSR. This made it possible to create a multi-party system of power with equal chances for the victory of any of the political organizations. The General Secretary initiated a large-scale program for the rehabilitation of political prisoners, as a result of which many repressed citizens were acquitted, including Academician Andrei Sakharov.

One of Gorbachev's most radical decisions, aimed at changing the established foundations of socialist society, was the establishment of the post of President of the USSR instead of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. A relevant law was adopted and amendments were made to the constitution, according to which citizens of the country aged 35-65 could be elected to this position for a period of 5 years. The same person could not hold this post more than 2 times. All citizens of the Soviet Union who had reached the age of majority could take part in the election of the head of state. But the first president of the USSR was not elected by popular vote, but by the decision of politicians at the Third Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies, which took place in March 1990.

It was unanimously decided to appoint Mikhail Gorbachev to the highest office of the country. But he could not hold out for a long time in a new place, and on December 25, 1991 he had to resign. And the next day, a decision was approved to terminate the existence of the largest state on the planet. In the light of those events, Gorbachev went down in history as well as the last president of the USSR.

Foreign policy

In the process of general democratization, serious steps were taken in the foreign policy arena aimed at rapprochement and cooperation with countries Western Europe and USA. Was formed whole program called "New Thinking". She said that the world should not be divided into two hostile camps, where conflicts are resolved with the help of military force.

The new conditions recognized the freedom of choice of all citizens. To this end, the influence of the Communist Party on the governments of states was reduced. of Eastern Europe. This led to the emergence of uprisings, as a result of which the socialist leadership was defeated in many states of Central and Eastern Europe. During Gorbachev's talks with Reagan, a decision was made to reduce the nuclear potential of both countries, including medium and short-range missiles. This marked the beginning of the end cold war. The issue of Russian troops in Afghanistan remained unresolved. But in the course of negotiations with the United States, an agreement was reached, on the terms of which the Americans stopped providing military assistance to the Mujahideen, subject to the withdrawal of the Russian contingent from the country's territory.

Board results

The political activity of Mikhail Gorbachev cannot be assessed unambiguously. On the one hand, he is a reformer who struggled to pull the country out of stagnation and establish a dialogue with the West. On the other hand, all the decisions he made were ineffective and as a result accelerated the collapse of the USSR. President Gorbachev was never able to consolidate his position, and among the masses he earned the glory of a pro-American politician who destroyed the Soviet Union. Be that as it may, Gorbachev went down in history as the first and last president of the USSR, who was able to put an end to the Cold War.

Few people in modern political history have been honored with such lifetime glory and at the same time have been subjected to such sharp attacks and ridicule as a man with a simple Russian surname Gorbachev - "Gorby", as he was somewhat familiarly, but with obvious sympathy, nicknamed in the West.

This man has enough titles and awards, his biographies in different languages ​​occupy a whole shelf, and over time, no doubt, more than one feature film will be made about him - the zigzags of his political career are too contradictory. Not a single decision made by him during his years in power was unambiguous, whether it was an anti-alcohol legislative decision or he held a wide variety of positions, but if you choose the most “exclusive” of them, then it sounds like this: First President of the USSR. The uniqueness of this position is that it existed for a very short time, less than two years, and then disappeared into history along with the state itself, the Soviet Union.

The first President of the USSR was elected in March 1990 at the third (I note, extraordinary!) Congress of People's Deputies, which at that time served as the highest body of state power. In the USSR, there has never been a political post called "president of the country". In this regard, it is curious to recall that the hierarchy of the Soviet state was strikingly different from the generally accepted system in the world, this created a lot of delicate problems in diplomatic communication. To whom, for example, should congratulations be addressed on the occasion of the main national holiday?

All over the world, the president of a state writes to the president of another country, the prime minister to his colleague, but what if it is clear that the most influential person in the USSR is not the chairman of the council of ministers at all, but the General Secretary, but this is a party, not a state fast...

With some stretch, the President of the country could be called the Chairman, that is, the head of the highest legislative body of the Soviet state. The first President of the USSR, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, held this position until his election to the post, which now allowed him to consider even the most implacable anti-communist, for example, the President of the United States of America, Ronald Reagan, as his colleague.

It is M. Gorbachev and R. Reagan who are considered the creators of the new world order, which forever ended the era. The last President of the USSR did not leave the pages of the most respectable newspapers and magazines, glorifying him as a politician who managed to make our planet safer for living. The Nobel Peace Prize is the most weighty proof of the recognition of M. Gorbachev's merits in this field.

However, the first, he is also the last President of the USSR in his country was more often honored with completely different epithets - such as a destroyer, traitor, defiler and others. Some of these accusations may be true, but for the most part they are not. The last word in any case, it will remain with History, but for now, the name of Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev alone still acts on some not very smart people as the strongest irritant.

But he has long been accustomed to this and does not pay attention to the streams of accusations and direct slander - that's why he and Mikhail Gorbachev, the only one of its kind, the first President of the USSR!

(last in office)
The country the USSR Previous position (as head of state) Successor position President of Russian Federation First in office M.S. Gorbachev Last in office M.S. Gorbachev Residence Moscow Kremlin Appointed through direct elections Established March 15, 1990 abolished December 25, 1991 Current Challenger Not

President of the USSR- the post of head of state in the USSR in -1991.

The post of President of the Soviet Union was introduced on March 15, 1990 by the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR with the corresponding amendments to the Constitution of the USSR. Prior to this, the highest official in the USSR was the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

Under the President of the USSR, there was a Cabinet of Ministers - the Government of the USSR and other advisory and administrative bodies.

Story

According to the Constitution of the USSR, the President of the USSR was to be elected by the citizens of the USSR by direct and secret ballot. As an exception, the first elections of the President of the USSR were held by the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR. Mikhail Gorbachev was nominated as candidates, along with Nikolai Ryzhkov and Vadim Bakatin, who withdrew their candidacies. National elections of the President of the USSR were not held.

The first and only President of the USSR was Mikhail Gorbachev, who took the oath as President of the USSR at a meeting of the Extraordinary III Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR in the Kremlin Palace of Congresses on March 15, 1990.

After the introduction of the highest position of the President of the USSR, the posts of the President also began to be introduced in the union and autonomous republics.

Notes

see also

• Political Advisory Council under the President of the USSR

Links

• Constitution (Basic Law) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (adopted at the extraordinary seventh session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the ninth convocation on October 7, 1977) (as amended on December 26, 1990)

Institutes of State Power and Administration of the USSR

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Adviсe
Allied bodies Republican bodies local authorities Regional Council of People's Deputies Regional Council of People's Deputies Council of People's Deputies of the Autonomous Region Council of People's Deputies of the Autonomous Okrug District Council of People's Deputies City Council of People's Deputies Village Council of People's Deputies Village Council of People's Deputies Executive Committee

Government

Other organs

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Mikhail Gorbachev is one of the most famous public figures of the 20th century. He became the first president Soviet Union, and also the only one, because soon after he headed the country ceased to exist.

In youth and childhood

Gorbachev's personality is quite interesting. He entered not only into the Soviet, but also into Russian history. His actions in the political field had an impact on the situation in the world. Gorbachev is assessed in different ways: someone believes that he really improved the lives of Russians, someone is sure that all the troubles that began after the collapse of the USSR are entirely his fault.

Mikhail Gorbachev was born in the Stavropol Territory in 1931. His parents lived in the village of Privolnoye. They were ordinary peasants, worked hard, but did not live well.

Expert opinion

Konstantin Pavlovich Vetrov

Assistant and Advisor to the Minister of State Control of the USSR, Hero of Socialist Labor, historian, Doctor of Historical Sciences. Author of many scientific works about the history of the Soviet Union.

Gorbachev's childhood fell German occupation. Later, he often recalled this event.

When Mikhail Sergeevich was 13 years old, he went to work on a collective farm, but he did not leave school. He managed to successfully combine work and study. Initially, he was assigned to work at a mechanical and tractor station. After some time, Gorbachev began to help the combine operator, which was a very difficult and difficult task. Nevertheless, the teenager coped with this, which is why he was awarded the order in 1949. Such an insignia was issued for overfulfillment of the plan.

Gorbachev studied well. He graduated from school with a silver medal. Admission to a lawyer at Moscow State University also went without problems. Already studying at a higher educational institution, he joined the Komsomol, in which he was later one of the most active participants. This event started political career. In 1952, Gorbachev became a member of the CPSU, and soon became the first secretary of the city committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League of the city of Stavropol.

Political activity

As already mentioned above, Gorbachev's career began with the Komsomol. It was during this period that he realized that he wanted to go into politics. Because of this, he turned down an offer of a job as a lawyer.

Is Gorbachev to blame for the collapse of the USSR

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Later, Gorbachev went back to study. At the Stavropol Agricultural Institute, he received a diploma in economics and agronomy. After that, he became a party organizer of the Stavropol Agricultural Administration. After that, his career began to develop even faster. Gorbachev moves into the category of promising politicians.

During Gorbachev's work in the agricultural administration in Stavropol, there were just good harvests. Thanks to the indicators growing upwards, Mikhail Sergeevich began to be considered an excellent expert in the field Agriculture. This opened the way for him to the post of ideologist of the CPSU on issues in this area.

In 1947 Gorbachev was elected to the Supreme Soviet. Here he headed the commission dealing with youth issues. The very next year he was transferred to the capital, where he was appointed secretary of the Central Committee. This was done on the initiative of Yuri Andropov. He considered Gorbachev very educated and experienced.

1980 was the year when Mikhail Sergeevich began working in the Politburo. He had a hand in many reforms, in particular, those that took place in the political system and economy. He actively initiated "perestroika". His reports on this topic were welcomed both by colleagues and by the entire Soviet people. Activities in this direction made Gorbachev famous, he was known as a global reformer. This gave him significant support. Already in 1985 he was elected General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. In this post, Gorbachev proclaims a course towards democratization, he begins to reform the country.

Mikhail Gorbachev tried to bring a huge country out of stagnation. He made a number of changes to foreign policy. Ultimately, his actions led to the collapse of the USSR.

In particular, inside the country, at the initiative of Gorbachev, a "dry law" was introduced. Also, under him, they exchanged money, introduced self-financing. Mikhail Sergeevich stopped the war that had lasted for many years in Afghanistan, he also did a lot to end the Cold War with Western states.

Expert opinion

Fedor Andreevich Bryansky

Russian source historian, assistant professor at many universities, writer, candidate of historical sciences.

Under this head, the liberalization of society began in the USSR, censorship was lifted. Such steps received positive feedback from the population, this made Gorbachev popular.

There were also some actions of the politician, which are assessed as unsuccessful. In particular, economic reforms failed. They were too inconsistent, which only aggravated the crisis in the country. Because of this, the standard of living of ordinary citizens was reduced.

According to the new legislation in 1990, Gorbachev began to be called president. He became the first and last who had such a title in the USSR. He stayed in his post for a short time. Soviet society had already been significantly changed, it was already difficult to control. Strikes were organized in the country every now and then, people were dissatisfied with the shortage of the most necessary goods, the economic crisis made itself felt. The country already had a minimum of strategic resources, the collapse was inevitable.

Already in 1991, the State Emergency Committee was created. The emergency committee was set up by Gorbachev's allies. They demanded that the president give up his powers, but he did not agree. Instead, Gorbachev initiates a military coup d'état. In the end, however, a deal had to be reached. In December of the same year, the Belovezhskaya Agreement was signed, according to which the USSR ceases to exist, and the CIS is created. This document was signed by 11 union republics.

After that, Gorbachev resigned his powers. He moved away from political life and got into science. In particular, he created the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Research. It was headed by Mikhail Sergeevich himself. This organization is engaged in the study of history, in particular, the perestroika period of the USSR. Funding for the fund comes from Gorbachev's personal funds, as well as through charity.

At the moment, Mikhail Sergeevich supports the current President of Russia, Vladimir Putin.

Personal life

Mikhail Gorbachev was married only once. Raisa Titarenko became his wife. Young people got married in 1953. At that time, Mikhail Sergeevich was still a student, he earned money for the wedding by working on a collective farm.

The life of the Gorbachevs was calm and measured. In marriage, their only daughter was born. In 1999, Raisa Gorbacheva died, before her death she had been ill with leukemia for a long time. Mikhail Sergeevich took it hard.

In 2015, Gorbachev began to get sick. It became known that he had diabetes in a serious form, which leads to frequent crises. Because of this, he often has to be hospitalized. Despite this, Gorbachev actively writes books. Many of them are autobiographical, but there are also those in which he criticizes the current reality.