October 15, 1990 the first and only President of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Awarding of the award “to the man who destroyed the Soviet Union” responded with mixed opinions and criticism. Why did Gorbachev receive the Nobel Prize? To understand this issue in detail, you need to highlight the activities of Soviet and Russian politicians, the criteria for presenting awards, and mixed reactions in society. In what year did Gorbachev receive the Nobel Prize, and for what? We learn in the article.
The 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 previously existing ideology, stable economic and political life of the Soviet Union, were carried out with the aim of democratizing the socio-political and economic system that prevailed in the USSR.
At the first stage of large-scale reforms, an anti-alcohol campaign was carried out, the pace of the national economy was accelerated, 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 no longer declared for "building communism, " but for "improving socialism." Radical measures have not yet been applied, so everything in the USSR remained as before. Unless the old cadres of the Brezhnev nomenclature were replaced by new managers, who in time will become the head of the fateful events.
Large-scale reforms in the USSR
Gorbachev's Nobel Prize had not loomed on the horizon when the second phase of perestroika began. The team of the head of state came to the conclusion that it is not possible to change the current situation by administrative measures alone. Then an attempt was made to reform in the spirit of socialism, emphasizing its democracy. The stage was characterized by a large-scale complex of reforms in all spheres of life of the USSR.
- The publicity policy lifted the ban on discussing topics that were previously hushed up.
- Private enterprise was legalized (a cooperative movement appeared), enterprises began to be created, joint with foreign companies.
- A new doctrine in foreign policy has improved relations with the West.
Against the backdrop of faith in a brighter future (especially from young people, the intelligentsia, and a generation tired of two decades of stagnation), instability also began to grow: the state’s economy worsened, separatist sentiments appeared on the outskirts, and ethnic clashes broke out.
When in the Soviet Union there was a sharp destabilization?
Why did they give the Nobel Prize to Gorbachev? This became clear to Soviet society during the third stage of perestroika, because it was then that the political leader was given an outstanding award. At that time, a sharp destabilization took place in the USSR, so criticism and mixed reactions were expected. The changes got out of the control of the official ruling elite, economic problems escalated into a real crisis, the standard of living of the population fell catastrophically, a chronic shortage of goods peaked, the positive reaction of society to perestroika gave way to disappointment and anti-communist sentiments, and the pace of emigration intensified. The features of Western capitalism appeared in the socio-economic system of the Soviet Union: private property, stock and foreign exchange markets, and Western-style business. In the international arena, the USSR is losing ground and is no longer a superpower.
Characterization of the adjustment period
Post-perestroika is characterized by a situation where a single state continued to exist “on paper”, but in reality Soviet history came to an end, the collapse of the USSR was only a matter of time. At this time, the Nobel Prize to Gorbachev caused a genuine misunderstanding among the majority of citizens: the peace prize for crimes against his 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 that year, the Soviet Union ceases to exist permanently. Mikhail Gorbachev had a serious impact on the situation in the country, but not always it was only negative.
Consequences of the reign of Mikhail Gorbachev
The name of Mikhail Gorbachev is associated with the most controversial period in the history of Russia. He laid the foundations of democracy in the country, which led to the formation of political pluralism - a variety of opinions, directions, views. The beginning of the activity 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 worsened significantly, there was a split in the sphere of intelligentsia and artists: talented scientists either went abroad or went into business.
But more significant in the issue of Mikhail Gorbachev receiving the Nobel Prize, 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 USSR’s foreign policy positions in favor of the United States, so in fact the Soviet Union lost the Cold War. In the West, this victory is officially celebrated.
Secondly, his policy caused another redivision 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 planned reprisal. This statement is supported in favor by at least the fact that a few days before the “black” January, the families of Russian officers were removed from 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 be.
But on the night of January 20, 1990 (and this is the year the Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Prize), the 40, 000 troops and tanks crossed the border, committing unprecedented atrocities and reprisals against civilians. The army used forbidden cartridges; mortals and tanks shot at living people. Information communication has been blocked both within the country and with the outside world. In the course of these actions, 134 civilians were killed, 700 injured, and 400 missing. Operation Udar was led by the Minister of the Interior and the Army General.
Similar events took place in Tbilisi in 1989, Alma-Ata in 1986, Dushanbe in 1990 (again, the year of the Nobel Prize to 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 ruined 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 receive the Nobel Peace Prize?
Officially, the Nobel Prize was awarded to the Soviet leader for his assistance in the establishment of world peace. A statement of the Nobel Committee on October 15, 1990 was made in recognition of the leading role of Gorbachev in the peace process. The presentation ceremony was attended not by Gorbachev himself, a Nobel Prize laureate, but by Minister of Foreign Affairs A. Kovalev. The awarded lecturer read his Nobel lecture only on June 5, 1991. This does not contradict the rules of the Nobel Committee, as the laureate must deliver such a lecture within six months after the award.
What is the unprecedented decision of the Nobel Committee?
The Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich's Nobel Prize was an unprecedented event. Up to this point, the prize has not been awarded to the person in charge of the state. The only exceptions were Egyptian President A. Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister M. Begin. They were awarded with a specific achievement, namely the signing of a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. Similarly, the US Secretary of State G. Kissinger and the Vietnamese Foreign Minister Le Dykh Tho received the Nobel Peace Prize for the armistice between Hanoi and Saigon.
Differences of opinions 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 radically different. In Western countries he is seen as a national hero, a liberator, and in the eyes of Russians and residents of the former Soviet republics Mikhail Gorbachev is a person 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 when Gorbachev came to power, while in Russia he was remembered as a leader who brought only hunger years, devastation, the elimination of a huge state and sheer chaos. It is not surprising that the Gorbachev Nobel Prize was perceived by Soviet people negatively.
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 moved on to the internal political situation in the USSR. Before Gorbachev came to power, in his own words, the society faded away, but after its reforms, although unsuccessful in some respects, there was a positive trend. He admitted that serious difficulties have recently begun to build up in the USSR, but promised that reforms would continue, and that a solution to the crisis should be expected soon. The exit was really close. The country collapsed six months later, and at the time of the speech, Georgia was almost separated from the Soviet Union.
Reaction to the award of M. Gorbachev
Gorbachev's Nobel Prize in Soviet society caused an extremely mixed reaction. The people who witnessed the bloody events resulting from the peaceful protest did not at all compare Mikhail Gorbachev, the culprit of all these horrors, and hundreds of killed, crippled citizens. Immediately recalled failed reforms and problems within society.
How did Western Western political leaders rate the award?
Gorbachev’s candidacy was proposed by the German leadership to the Nobel Committee for the position he had taken on the reunification of Germany. 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 the countries. Now the leader in the political arena is the United States.
What did the leaders of Eastern European states say?
Political leaders in Eastern Europe were more cautious in their assessments. The President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (Czechoslovakia) said that if this award would help establish the peaceful transition of the Soviet Union to a society of equal peoples, the Czechoslovak government would cordially welcome it. The Republic of Lithuania recognized that the collapse of communism is connected precisely with the name of Gorbachev. Representatives of many other Eastern European states also declared the same, expressing hope for a peaceful resolution of the contradictions that have reached their climax in Soviet society.
