Mikhail Gorbachev for his role in the collapse of the Soviet Union and the ensuing economic collapse. During his career, Gorbachev attracted the admiration of some colleagues, but others came to hate him. Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (born 2 March 1931) is a Russian and formerly Soviet politician. He was the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union, having been General Secretary of the governing Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991. He was the country's head of state from 1988 until 1991, serving as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 1988 to 1989,
Mikhail Gorbachev In Stavropol, he formed a discussion club for youths, and helped mobilise local young people to take part in Khrushchev's agricultural and development campaigns. He went out of his way to appoint women as city and district leaders. With an ability to outmanoeuvre rivals, some colleagues resented his success. In 1961, Gorbachev played host to the Italian delegation for the World Youth Festival in Moscow. In January 1963, Gorbachev was promoted to personnel chief for the regional party's agricultural committee. In August 1968 the Soviet Union led an invasion of Czechoslovakia to put an end to the Prague Spring, a