On October 15, 1990, the first and only President of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The award to "the man who destroyed the Soviet Union" was met with mixed reviews and criticism. Why did Gorbachev win the Nobel Prize? In order to understand this issue in detail, it is necessary to highlight the activities of the Soviet and Russian politicians, the criteria for presenting the award, and the ambiguous reaction in society. In what year did Gorbachev receive the Nobel Prize and for what? Find out in the article.
Last pages of the biography of the Soviet Union
In 1987, Mikhail Gorbachev, being at the top of power, launched the "perestroika". Large-scale changes in the pre-existing ideology, stable economic and political life of the Soviet Union, were carried out with the aim ofdemocratization of the socio-political and economic system that has developed in the USSR.
At the first stage of large-scale reforms, an anti-alcohol campaign was carried out, the acceleration of the national economy, automation and computerization, the fight against corruption (demonstrative) and unearned income (real). It was planned to provide each family with a separate apartment, to improve the economic situation in the country. At the 27th Party Congress, a course was announced no longer for "building communism", but for "improving socialism." Radical measures have not yet been applied, so everything in the USSR remained the same. Unless the old cadres of the Brezhnev nomenklatura were replaced by new managers, who in time will become at the head of fateful events.
Large-scale reforms in the USSR
Gorbachev's Nobel Prize was not yet on the horizon when the second stage of perestroika began. The team of the head of state came to the conclusion that it is not possible to change the current situation only by administrative measures. Then an attempt was made to reform in the spirit of socialism, emphasizing its democratic nature. The stage was characterized by a large-scale set of reforms in all spheres of life in the USSR.
- The glasnost policy lifted the ban on discussing topics that were previously hushed up.
- Private entrepreneurship was legalized (a cooperative movement appeared), enterprises began to be created jointly with foreign companies.
- New foreign policy doctrine improved relations withWest.
Against the background of faith in a brighter future (especially on the part of young people, the intelligentsia and the generation tired of two decades of stagnation), instability gradually began to grow: the state's economy deteriorated, separatist sentiments appeared on the national outskirts, interethnic clashes broke out.
When did the sharp destabilization occur in the Soviet Union?
Why was Gorbachev awarded the Nobel Prize? This became clear to Soviet society during the third stage of perestroika, because it was then that the political leader was awarded an outstanding award. At that time, a sharp destabilization took place in the USSR, so criticism and a mixed reaction was expected. Changes got out of control of the official ruling elite, economic problems escalated into a real crisis, the standard of living of the population fell catastrophically, a chronic commodity deficit reached its peak, the positive reaction of society to perestroika was replaced by disappointment and anti-communist sentiments, and the pace of emigration increased. The features of Western capitalism appeared in the socio-economic system of the Soviet Union: private property, stock and currency markets, Western-type business. In the international arena, the USSR is losing its position and ceases to be a superpower.
Characteristics of the period of perestroika
Post-perestroika is characterized by a situation when a single state continued to exist "on paper", but in reality the Soviet history came to an end, the collapse of the USSR became only a questiontime. At that time, the Nobel Prize to Gorbachev caused sincere misunderstanding among the majority of citizens: a peace prize for crimes against one's own people?
Be that as it may, the complete dismantling of the communist system occurred along with the collapse of the Soviet economy. In early December 1991, in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the political leaders of the three union republics proclaimed that the USSR was no more. The central government, headed by Mikhail Gorbachev, could no longer oppose these loud statements. The President resigns, and on December 26 of the same year, the Soviet Union ceases to exist completely. Mikhail Gorbachev had a serious impact on the situation in the country, but it was not always only negative.
Consequences of Mikhail Gorbachev's reign
The most controversial period in the history of Russia is associated with the name of Mikhail Gorbachev. He laid the foundations of democracy in the country, which became the reason for the formation of political pluralism - the diversity of opinions, directions, views. The beginning of the activities of individual entrepreneurs, the transition to a market economy, serious transformations in the state apparatus, and the formation of opposition movements are associated with the Gorbachev period. The situation of citizens deteriorated significantly, there was a split in the sphere of intellectuals and artists: talented scientists either went abroad or went into business.
But more significant in the matter of receiving the Nobel Prize by Mikhail Gorbachev are his actions and their results related to foreign policy. First, he saved the whole world from the threat of nuclear war. True, this was done by surrendering the foreign policy positions of the USSR in favor of the United States, so that in fact the Soviet Union lost the Cold War. In the West, this victory is officially celebrated.
Secondly, his policy caused another redistribution of the world and local conflicts. It was through the fault of Mikhail Gorbachev that numerous bloody conflicts occurred in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Lithuania, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Azerbaijan. Most of these acts were not just a reaction to the liberation movements in the republics and peaceful protests, but a systematic massacre. This statement is supported by at least the fact that a few days before the “black” January, the families of Russian officers were taken out of Azerbaijan, the problem of “refugees” was artificially created, and the official media claimed that the military would not enter the republic and a state of emergency was declared will not.
But on the night of January 20, 1990 (and this is the year when the Nobel Prize was awarded to Gorbachev), forty thousand contingents and tanks crossed the border, committing unprecedented atrocities and reprisals against civilians. The army used prohibited cartridges, they fired at living people from mortars and tanks. Information communication was blocked both within the country and with the outside world. During these actions, 134 civilians were killed, 700 were wounded, and 400 were missing. Operation Strike was led by the Minister of the Interior and the General of the Army.
Similar events took place in Tbilisi in 1989, Alma-Ata in 1986, Dushanbe in 1990(again, the year of the Nobel Prize for Gorbachev), Riga and Vilnius in 1991.
Why was Mikhail Gorbachev awarded the Nobel Peace Prize? Of course, he contributed to the unification of Germany, but at the same time, it was his policy that destroyed the Soviet Union. The Soviet leader signed an agreement with the United States to reduce the number of medium-range missiles, destroyed the Iron Curtain, withdrew troops from Afghanistan, and withdrew the country from the Warsaw Pact. In fact, he destroyed the bipolar world. This happened to please the West, but it had an extremely negative impact on the USSR itself, the successor country and the union republics that became independent.
Why did Gorbachev win the Nobel Peace Prize?
Officially, the Nobel Prize was awarded to the Soviet leader for his assistance in establishing peace throughout the world. The 15 October 1990 Nobel Committee statement was made in recognition of Gorbachev's leading role in the peace process. The ceremony was attended not by Gorbachev himself, the Nobel Prize winner, but by Minister of Foreign Affairs A. Kovalev. The recipient read his Nobel lecture only on June 5, 1991. This is not against the rules of the Nobel Committee, as the laureate must deliver such a lecture within six months of the award.
What is the unprecedented decision of the Nobel Committee?
The Nobel Prize for Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich was an unprecedented event. Up to this point, the award has not been awarded to a person who is the head of state. The only exception wasEgyptian President A. Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister M. Begin. They were awarded for a specific achievement, namely the signing of a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. Similarly, US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Le Dykh Tho received the Nobel Peace Prize for the truce between Hanoi and Saigon.
The difference of opinion about Gorbachev in Russia and in the West
The perception of the first and only president of the USSR in Russia and in the West is fundamentally different. In Western countries, he is regarded as a national hero, a liberator, and in the eyes of Russians and residents of the former Soviet republics, Mikhail Gorbachev is a man who brought chaos and long years of decline, and not the long-awaited freedom and progressive capitalism. For the Western world, the threat from the USSR disappeared just after Gorbachev came to power, while in Russia he was remembered as a leader who brought only famine years, devastation, the liquidation of a huge state and sheer chaos. Not surprisingly, Gorbachev's Nobel Prize was perceived negatively by the Soviet people.
What did Mikhail Gorbachev talk about in his Nobel speech?
It is significant that Gorbachev's Nobel lecture was delivered when six months remained before the actual collapse of the USSR. After lengthy discussions about the world, he turned to the internal political situation in the USSR. Before Gorbachev came to power, in his own words, society was fading away, but after his reforms, although unsuccessful in some respects, there was a positive trend. He acknowledged that in the USSR in recent years began to increaseserious difficulties, but promised that the reforms would continue, and a way out of the crisis should be expected soon. The exit was really close. The country fell apart six months later, and at the time of the speech, Georgia had almost seceded from the Soviet Union.
Reaction to the M. Gorbachev award
The Nobel Prize to Gorbachev in Soviet society caused an extremely mixed reaction. People who witnessed the bloody events that became the result of a peaceful protest did not at all compare Mikhail Gorbachev, the culprit of all these horrors, and hundreds of killed, maimed citizens. Failed reforms and problems within society were immediately recalled.
How did Western political leaders rate the award?
Gorbachev's candidacy was proposed to the Nobel Committee by the German leadership for the position he had taken on the issue of German reunification. Western leaders see the award as a reward for the destruction of the communist regime, significant economic and political changes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Gorbachev destroyed the bipolar world, which, of course, benefited the United States, discounting the possibility of a large-scale armed conflict between countries. Now the United States has become the leader in the political arena.
What did Eastern European leaders say?
Political leaders in Eastern Europe were more cautious in their assessments. The President of the CSFR (Czechoslovakia) said that if this award will contribute toestablishment of a peaceful transition of the Soviet Union to a society of equal peoples, the government of Czechoslovakia heartily welcomes it. In the Republic of Lithuania, it was recognized that the collapse of communism is connected precisely with the name of Gorbachev. Representatives of many other Eastern European states also stated the same, expressing their hope for a peaceful resolution of the contradictions that had reached their apogee in Soviet society.
How did the President of the USSR dispose of the funds received?
In addition to the award, Mikhail Gorbachev also received 10 million Swedish kronor. He transferred all this money to the creation of a children's hematological center in St. Petersburg. It was the project of his wife - Raisa Gorbacheva.
