Father: Sergei Andreyevich Gorbachev

Mother: Maria (Gopkalo) Gorbacheva

Marriage: Raisa (Titarenko) Gorbacheva (1953-September 20, 1999, her death)

Children: Irina

Education: Moscow State University, Faculty of Law (1955), Stavropol Agricultural Institute, Faculty of Economy (1967)

Other Facts

Timeline

1952 – Joins the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and works in various positions in the party for the next two decades.

1955-1958 – Becomes the first secretary of the Communist Party of the Stavropol Komsomol City Committee.

1963 – Becomes chief of the Agriculture Department in the Stavropol region.

1970-1978 – Named the first secretary for the Communist Party in the Stavropol region.

1970-1990 – Deputy of the Supreme Soviet, the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union.

1971 – Becomes a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

March 11, 1985 – Elected general secretary of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. In this post, he is effectively the leader of the USSR.

1989 – Announces the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan.

1989-1990 – Chairman of the Supreme Soviet.

1990 – Becomes president of the USSR.

December 21, 1991 – USSR dissolves and the Commonwealth of Independent States is formally established.

December 25, 1991 – Resigns as president of the USSR.

1993-2000 – Founds and serves as president of Green Cross International, an environmental organization.

November 24, 2001 – Is elected head of the Social Democratic Party of Russia.

May 2004 – Resigns from the Social Democratic Party of Russia over conflicts with party direction and leadership.

January 2006 – Along with a business partner, Gorbachev buys 49% of shares in the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper.

August 2007 – Appears in print advertisements for Louis Vuitton leather goods.

October 2007 – Becomes head of a new Russian political movement, Union of Social Democrats.