Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931, in Privolnoye, Stavropol Krai, Russia, then part of the Soviet Union.¹⁾

His father, Sergey Andreyevich Gorbachev, was a tractor driver, and his mother, Maria Panteleyevna Gorbacheva, was a kolkhoz (collective farm) worker.²⁾

Gorbachev's family suffered greatly during World War II, with his father fighting in the Red Army and his hometown being occupied by Nazi forces.³⁾

He studied law at Moscow State University, where he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1952.⁴⁾

While at university, he met his future wife, Raisa Titarenko, who was also a student there.⁵⁾

Gorbachev and Raisa were married in 1953 and remained together until her death in 1999.⁶⁾

After university, Gorbachev returned to Stavropol and began his career in the Komsomol (Communist Youth League).⁷⁾