Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was born on 2 March 1931 in Privolnoye, Stavropol province. His political career began after he joined the Communist Party in 1952. Gorbachev quickly advanced through the ranks of the Soviet government.

In 1985, Gorbachev was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party and then served as the President of the Soviet Union from 1990-1991.

In the 1980s, Gorbachev introduced a number of economic, political and social reforms and also sought to improve Soviet relations with

the West. On 11 October 1986, Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan met in Reykjavik, Iceland to discuss reducing intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe. This led to the signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty in 1987.