# Mikhail Gorbachev - General Secretary; President of the USSR

URL: https://history-russia.com/rulers/mikhail-gorbachev
Reign: 1985 - 1991
Born-Died: 1931 - 2022
Dynasty: Soviet Leadership
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev

Gorbachev introduced perestroika and glasnost, ended the Cold War and withdrew from Afghanistan. His reforms unleashed forces that led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

## Succession
- Preceded by: [Konstantin Chernenko](https://history-russia.com/rulers/konstantin-chernenko)
- Succeeded by: [Boris Yeltsin](https://history-russia.com/rulers/boris-yeltsin)

## Timeline events during this reign
- 1985 - [Gorbachev becomes General Secretary](https://history-russia.com/timeline/1985-gorbachev-becomes-general-secretary)
- 1986 - [Chernobyl disaster](https://history-russia.com/timeline/1986-chernobyl-disaster)
- 1986 - [Sakharov freed and glasnost](https://history-russia.com/timeline/1986-sakharov-freed-and-glasnost)
- 1987 - [INF Treaty](https://history-russia.com/timeline/1987-inf-treaty)
- 1988 - [Millennium of Christianity and political reform](https://history-russia.com/timeline/1988-millennium-of-christianity-and-political-reform)
- 1989 - [Withdrawal from Afghanistan](https://history-russia.com/timeline/1989-withdrawal-from-afghanistan)
- 1989 - [Congress of People's Deputies](https://history-russia.com/timeline/1989-congress-of-people-s-deputies)
- 1989 - [Fall of the Berlin Wall](https://history-russia.com/timeline/1989-fall-of-the-berlin-wall)
- 1990 - [End of the one-party state; Gorbachev President](https://history-russia.com/timeline/1990-end-of-the-one-party-state-gorbachev-president)
- 1990 - [Russian declaration of sovereignty](https://history-russia.com/timeline/1990-russian-declaration-of-sovereignty)
- 1990 - [German reunification and Gorbachev's Nobel](https://history-russia.com/timeline/1990-german-reunification-and-gorbachev-s-nobel)
- 1991 - [Crackdowns in Vilnius and Riga](https://history-russia.com/timeline/1991-crackdowns-in-vilnius-and-riga)
- 1991 - [Yeltsin elected President of Russia](https://history-russia.com/timeline/1991-yeltsin-elected-president-of-russia)
- 1991 - [August coup](https://history-russia.com/timeline/1991-august-coup)
- 1991 - [Belovezha Accords](https://history-russia.com/timeline/1991-belovezha-accords)
- 1991 - [Dissolution of the Soviet Union](https://history-russia.com/timeline/1991-dissolution-of-the-soviet-union)