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⁾

His early work focused on agriculture, and he rose through the ranks to become a regional party leader.⁸⁾

Gorbachev was known for his reformist attitudes and was an advocate for modernization and anti-corruption.⁹⁾

In 1971, he was elected to the Central Committee of the CPSU.¹⁰⁾

By 1980, Gorbachev had become a full member of the Politburo, the top decision-making body of the CPSU.¹¹⁾

He was elected General Secretary of the CPSU on March 11, 1985, following the death of Konstantin Chernenko.¹²⁾

At 54, he was the youngest member of the Politburo to become General Secretary since Joseph Stalin.¹³⁾

He introduced the policy of “glasnost” (openness), which aimed to increase transparency in government institutions and reduce censorship.¹⁴⁾

Gorbachev's policy of “perestroika” (restructuring) sought to reform the stagnant Soviet economy by introducing elements of market economics.¹⁵⁾