Who was 1 president of the USSR. The president of the ussr

The period from 1985 to 1991 went down in history as a time of great changes that ultimately led to the collapse of a large and powerful state. The highest post of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1985 was taken by Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, who in 1990 was elected to the post of President of the USSR. After his coming to power, he was adopted whole line reforms aimed at changing the economic situation in the country and rapprochement with many world states, including the United States. This whole process was called "perestroika". We will try to consider the essence of these reforms and the results to which they led in the article.

Socio-economic and political situation in the USSR in the mid-80s of the XX century

As part of the democratization process that has begun, laws have been passed aimed at expanding freedom of speech. At this time, newspapers began to appear, on the pages of which one could find criticism of the current government. Citizens were assigned the right to practice entrepreneurial activity... For the first time in the history of the country's existence, a reform was carried out, as a result of which the CPSU lost its status as the leading party of the USSR. This made it possible to create a multi-party system of power with equal chances of victory for any of the political organizations. The Secretary General initiated a large-scale program for the rehabilitation of political prisoners, as a result of which many repressed citizens were acquitted, including Academician Andrei Sakharov.

One of Gorbachev's most radical decisions, aimed at changing the established foundations of socialist society, was the establishment of the post of President of the USSR instead of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. A corresponding law was adopted and amendments were made to the constitution, according to which citizens of the country aged 35-65 could be elected to this position for a period of 5 years. One and the same person could not hold this post more than 2 times. All citizens of the Soviet Union who had reached the age of majority could take part in the election of the head of state. But the first president of the USSR was not elected by popular vote, but by the decision of politicians at the III Extraordinary Congress people's deputies, which took place in March 1990.

It was unanimously decided to approve Mikhail Gorbachev at the highest office of the country. But he could not hold out for a long time in a new place, and on December 25, 1991, he had to resign. And the next day, the decision to end the existence of the largest state on the planet was approved. In the light of those events, Gorbachev went down in history as the last president of the USSR.

Foreign policy

In the process of general democratization, serious steps were taken in the foreign policy arena aimed at rapprochement and cooperation with countries Western Europe and the USA. A whole program was formed, which had the name "New Thinking". It stated that the world should not be divided into two warring camps, where conflicts are resolved with the help of military force.

In the new conditions, the freedom of choice of all citizens was recognized. To this end, the influence of the Communist Party on the governments of states was reduced. of Eastern Europe... This led to the outbreak of uprisings, as a result of which the socialist leadership was defeated in many states of Central and Eastern Europe. During the negotiations between Gorbachev and Reagan, a decision was made to reduce the nuclear potential of both countries, including medium and short-range missiles. This marked the beginning of the end cold war... The issue with the Russian troops in Afghanistan remained unresolved. But in the course of negotiations with the United States, an agreement was reached, on the terms of which the Americans stopped providing military assistance to the Mujahideen, subject to the withdrawal of the Russian contingent from the country.

Board results

The political activities of Mikhail Gorbachev cannot be assessed unambiguously. On the one hand, he is a reformer who has struggled to pull the country out of stagnation and establish a dialogue with the West. On the other hand, all the decisions he made were ineffective and, as a result, accelerated the collapse of the USSR. President Gorbachev was never able to strengthen his position, and in popular masses he earned the fame of the pro-American politician who destroyed the Soviet Union. Be that as it may, Gorbachev went down in history as the first and last president of the USSR who was able to end the Cold War.

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR on March 15, 1990 at the III Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR.
On December 25, 1991, in connection with the termination of the existence of the USSR as a state formation, M.S. Gorbachev announced his resignation from the presidency and signed a decree transferring control of strategic nuclear weapons to Russian President Yeltsin.

On December 25, after Gorbachev's announcement of his resignation, a red state flag USSR and the flag of the RSFSR was raised. The first and last President of the USSR left the Kremlin forever.

The first president of Russia, then still the RSFSR, Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin was elected on June 12, 1991 by popular vote. B.N. Yeltsin won in the first round (57.3% of the vote).

In connection with the expiration of the term of office of the President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin and in accordance with the transitional provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the elections of the President of Russia were scheduled for June 16, 1996. It was the only presidential election in Russia where it took two rounds to determine the winner. The elections were held June 16 - July 3 and were notable for their severity competitive struggle between candidates. The main competitors were considered the incumbent President of Russia Boris N. Yeltsin and the leader of the Communist Party Russian Federation G. A. Zyuganov. According to the election results, B.N. Yeltsin received 40.2 million votes (53.82 percent, significantly ahead of G.A. Zyuganov, who received 30.1 million votes (40.31 percent). 3.6 million Russians (4.82%) voted against both candidates ...

December 31, 1999 at 12:00 a.m. Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin voluntarily terminated his powers as the President of the Russian Federation and handed over the powers of the President to Prime Minister Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. On April 5, 2000, the first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, was presented with certificates of a pensioner and a labor veteran.

December 31, 1999 Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin became the acting president of the Russian Federation.

In accordance with the Constitution, the Federation Council of the Russian Federation set the date for the extraordinary presidential elections on March 26, 2000.

On March 26, 2000, 68.74 percent of the voters included in the voting lists, or 75 181 071 people, took part in the elections. Vladimir Putin received 39,740,434 votes, which amounted to 52.94 percent, that is, more than half of the popular vote. On April 5, 2000, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation decided to recognize the elections of the President of the Russian Federation as valid and valid, to consider Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin elected to the post of President of Russia.

Who was the president of the USSR and the Russian Federation. Plot: Elections of the President of the Russian Federation: legislation, information, biographies (10) 18: 0529.02.2008 (updated: 12:25 06/08/2008) 068035305 Over the years of the existence of the institution of presidency on the territory of the USSR and the Russian Federation, there were three heads of state in the country - Mikhail Gorbachev (the first and only president of the USSR), Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin.

Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR on March 15, 1990 at the III Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR.
On December 25, 1991, in connection with the termination of the existence of the USSR as a state formation, M.S. Gorbachev announced his resignation from the presidency and signed a decree transferring control of strategic nuclear weapons to Russian President Yeltsin.

On December 25, after Gorbachev's announcement of his resignation, the red state flag of the USSR was lowered in the Kremlin and the flag of the RSFSR was raised. The first and last President of the USSR left the Kremlin forever.

The first president of Russia, then the RSFSR, Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, was elected on June 12, 1991 by popular vote. B.N. Yeltsin won in the first round (57.3% of the vote).

In connection with the expiration of the term of office of the President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin and in accordance with the transitional provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the elections of the President of Russia were scheduled for June 16, 1996. It was the only presidential election in Russia where it took two rounds to determine the winner. The elections were held June 16 - July 3 and were distinguished by the severity of the competition between the candidates. The main competitors were considered the incumbent President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin and the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation G. A. Zyuganov. According to the election results, B.N. Yeltsin received 40.2 million votes (53.82 percent, significantly ahead of G.A.Zyuganov, who received 30.1 million votes (40.31 percent). 3.6 million Russians (4.82%) voted against both candidates ...

On December 31, 1999 at 12:00, Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin voluntarily terminated his powers as the President of the Russian Federation and transferred the powers of the President to Prime Minister Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. On April 5, 2000, the first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, was awarded certificates of a pensioner and a labor veteran.

In accordance with the Constitution, the Federation Council of the Russian Federation set the date for the extraordinary presidential elections on March 26, 2000.

March 14, 2004 - Vladimir Putin was elected President of the Russian Federation for a second term. Six candidates competed for the post of President of Russia. 71.31 percent of the total number of voters (49565238 people) voted for Vladimir Putin. He took office on May 7, 2004.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation prohibits the current president of the country from running for a third consecutive term.

Image copyright AP

On March 15, 1990, the Third Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR elected Mikhail Gorbachev as President of the country. He managed to work out only a third of the established five-year term.

The congress opened on March 12. In addition to establishing the presidency, he introduced another historic change to the constitution: he abolished Article 6 on the leading and guiding role of the CPSU.

17 deputies spoke in the debate. Opinions ranged from “We see the presidency as an important guarantee of the unity of our federation” (Nursultan Nazarbayev) and “Our country has raised a global leader, an author of new political thinking, a leader advocating for disarmament and peace” (Fedor Grigoriev) to “Perestroika will drown presidency "(Nikolai Jiba).

Let's not play hide and seek, tonight it comes on the election of a specific leader - Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev as president of the country Alexander Yakovlev

"An attempt to hastily, here, at the congress, to introduce the presidency is a gross, grave political mistake that will multiply aggravate our difficulties, worries and fears," said Yuri Afanasyev, co-chairman of the Interregional Deputy Group. Academician Vitaly Goldansky objected: "We cannot wait, we need resuscitation, not sanatorium treatment."

Proposal to prohibit the combination of the presidency and leader political party supported by both radical democrats and orthodox communists, who dreamed of seeing Alexander Yakovlev and Yegor Ligachev or Ivan Polozkov in the role of general secretary, respectively, received 1,303 votes and would have passed if it had not been for a constitutional amendment, which required two-thirds of the votes.

On March 14, a plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU took place, nominating Gorbachev as a presidential candidate. A number of congress deputies nominated Prime Minister Nikolai Ryzhkov and Interior Minister Vadim Bakatin, but they refused, and the elections were uncontested.

We were in a hurry to elect the President. But, perhaps, having chosen, it was not worth it right here, on the stage of the Kremlin Palace, to erect him to this post. It should have been postponed for one day, announcing that the ceremony would take place, for example, in the St. George Hall of the Kremlin. In the presence of deputies, the government, representatives of the capital's workers, soldiers, the diplomatic corps, the press, the Pravda newspaper

Of the 2,245 deputies (five seats at that time were vacant), exactly two thousand took part in the congress. 1329 votes were cast for Gorbachev (59.2% of the total number of deputies). 495 were against, 54 were spoiled. 122 people did not vote.

At the suggestion of Anatoly Lukyanov, who replaced Gorbachev as chairman of the Supreme Soviet, the elected president immediately took the oath - stepping onto the podium and laying his hand on the text of the constitution, uttered the only phrase: “I solemnly swear to faithfully serve the peoples of our country, strictly follow the USSR Constitution, guarantee rights and freedoms citizens, conscientiously fulfill the high duties of the President of the USSR entrusted to me. "

The foreign reaction was overwhelmingly optimistic.

"Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies Soviet Union made the greatest revolutionary transformations in the life of Soviet society, which have not been equal in Russia since the revolution of 1917, "- pointed out Japanese television." The decisions of the Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR were important changes in political and economic system USSR since the Bolshevik revolution in 1917, "echoed the Washington Post.

At the pace of a military operation

It is not known who the idea of introducing the presidency came from.

The topic has been discussed in the media since December 1989, but in the order of hypotheses and discussions.

Gorbachev's assistant Anatoly Chernyaev wrote in his memoirs that in January 1990 the "architect of perestroika" and secretary of the Central Committee Alexander Yakovlev told him under a terrible secret: Gorbachev once entered his office, upset, anxious, lonely. Like, what to do? Azerbaijan, Lithuania, economy, Orthodox, radicals, people at the limit. Yakovlev said: "We must act. The most important obstacle to perestroika and your entire policy is the Politburo. It is necessary to convene a congress of people's deputies in the near future, let the congress elect you as president." And Gorbachev agreed.

The decision on the presidential rule matured so urgently that they decided to call for an extraordinary congress. I did not understand such urgency, because after the II Congress of People's Deputies, where this issue was not even discussed, only two and a half months passed Nikolai Ryzhkov

Be that as it may, on February 14, unexpectedly for everyone, Gorbachev voiced the idea at a session of the Supreme Soviet, and on February 27 the parliament decided to convene an extraordinary congress. To put it bluntly, there was not enough time for preparation and public discussion.

The haste drew criticism from both the left and the right, who suspected some kind of trick and persistently but unsuccessfully tried to get a clear explanation from Gorbachev why he needed it.

The official version set out in the draft law on the establishment of the presidency and the introduction of appropriate amendments to the constitution: "In order to ensure further development the deep political and economic transformations carried out in the country, strengthening the constitutional order, rights, freedoms and security of citizens, improving interaction between the supreme bodies of state power and administration of the USSR "did not satisfy anyone. One might think that Gorbachev did not have enough power before!

According to historians, the leading reason lay on the surface: the leader wanted, while remaining the secretary general of the CPSU, to weaken his dependence on the Central Committee, which could at any moment meet in a plenum and deal with it, as in his time with Khrushchev.

After Gorbachev was elected president and the abolition of Article 6, he no longer needed a party for his own legitimacy, but rather a party in him.

Using the powers of the secretary general, Gorbachev is precisely strengthening the power of the Communist Party. Including her power over himself the general secretary... The two ideas - the abolition of Article 6 and the introduction of the presidency - are closely related. Only after receiving the fullness of state, and not party power, can Gorbachev carry out the abolition of the party monopoly. Otherwise, he will simply lose power Anatoly Sobchak

Since the CPSU had lost its official powers of power, the vacuum needed to be filled.

After the events in Tbilisi and Baku, it turned out to be difficult to find out who made the decisions to use the army, and talk intensified that "a person who is responsible for everything" was needed. However, the presidency did not prevent Gorbachev from evading responsibility for the Vilnius drama.

There was another practical consideration.

According to the tradition laid down by Leonid Brezhnev, the secretary general at the same time headed the highest representative body. But, starting in the spring of 1989, the Supreme Soviet moved to work on a permanent basis. Gorbachev, who chaired it, had to spend a lot of time at meetings. The other members of the leadership did the same, always copying the behavior of the first person.

I urge you to vote for the presidential power and I believe that under this condition there will be social justice, national protection, including the Russian people Deputy Ivan Polozkov, an orthodox communist

Naturally, this made it difficult to govern the country. And in society, the question arose: who is doing business while the debate is going on?

Meanwhile, the opinion was expressed that Gorbachev, in his makeup, was more suited to the role of a speaker than a head of state. He was brilliant at manipulating a large, diverse audience and getting the voting results he needed.

Anatoly Sobchak in his book "Walking into Power" noted that in personal communication, the magic of Gorbachev's influence was irresistible. “Give in to this charm, and you will begin to act as if under hypnosis,” he wrote.

The main mystery

The main question that researchers are still racking their brains over is why Gorbachev did not go to the popular elections? Moreover, this was provided for by the law on the introduction of the presidency, and only for the first case they made a special reservation.

Many consider this to be a fatal mistake. As Boris Yeltsin later proved, it is very difficult to legally remove a popularly elected president from power.

Image copyright RIA Novosti Image caption According to a number of historians, Gorbachev did not want to directly measure his popularity with Yeltsin.

The election not by citizens, but by deputies made Gorbachev's status insufficiently convincing, since the legitimacy of the congress itself was tarnished. He was elected under Article 6, in the absence of an organized opposition everywhere, except for Moscow, Leningrad, Sverdlovsk and the Baltic States, a third of the deputy corps were representatives of public organizations.

Some historians suggest that Gorbachev, even with an objective advantage, experienced a mystical fear of Yeltsin, who somehow succeeded. Others - that he followed the lead of the nomenklatura entourage, who, in principle, did not like direct democracy and feared that the election campaign would give the reformers an additional opportunity to propagandize their views.

In conditions of political and economic instability, once again tempt fate and go to national elections is a risk, and a considerable Anatoly Sobchak

V public speaking Mikhail Sergeevich mainly emphasized that the situation was difficult, and the country would not be able to do without an extra day without a president.

“They [interregional deputies] also spoke in favor of the presidency, but they conditioned it with such reservations and such approaches that it is possible to slow down for a long time, if not to bury this process. serious decisions... The introduction of the institution of the presidency today is necessary for the country, "he said at the session of the Supreme Soviet on February 27.

Position of the Democrats

Considering in the Principle the institution of the presidency as progressive in comparison with the current form government controlled, the question of the President of the USSR and the procedure for his election cannot be resolved hastily, without the participation of the new Supreme Soviets of the republics, without a developed multi-party system in the country, without a free press, without strengthening the current Supreme Soviet. This issue should be linked with the constitutions of the republics, with the new Union Treaty. Without these indispensable conditions the adoption of a decision on the presidency will undoubtedly lead to a new aggravation of relations between the Center and the republics, to the limitation of the independence of local Soviets and self-government, to the threat of the restoration of the dictatorial regime in the country. From the statement of the Interregional Deputy Group

Supporters of perestroika and renewal have split over the Gorbachev presidency.

Some continued to see him as the only chance and believed that Gorbachev should be supported in everything, because he knows what he is doing, and because otherwise it would be even worse. The point of view of these people was expressed in a remark from a place at the congress by a deputy who did not introduce himself: "Is it that we have no food? The most important thing is that we have found in history someone like Gorbachev, a pure person whom we can no longer find."

Some were simply impressed by the word "president": here, and we will have, as in civilized countries!

Others pointed out that this term is associated not only with America and France, but also with Latin American and Asian dictators, and most importantly, demanded popular alternative elections.

"I believe that only the people can make an appropriate decision," said Alexander Shchelkanov, a member of the Interregional Group, during the debate at the congress.

On the opening day of the congress, a resident of Zelenograd, Shuvalov, went on a hunger strike on Teatralnaya Square "in protest against the election of the president only by deputies."

Anatoly Sobchak was a supporter of Gorbachev's presidency on the conditions he put forward, while Yuri Afanasyev and Yuri Chernichenko were opponents. The latter, in particular, feared that "we will again allow ourselves to be cheated; if the deputies cannot really control the actions of the chairman of the Supreme Soviet, then it will not be possible to keep track of the president."

Image copyright RIA Novosti Image caption One of the main opponents of Gorbachev at the congress was the deputy Yuri Afanasyev

Boris Yeltsin, as far as is known, did not speak publicly on this issue.

Sobchak wrote in his memoirs that shortly before the death of Andrei Sakharov, he tried to discuss with him the prospects for Gorbachev's presidency, but the academician showed no interest in the topic, considering the issue insignificant in comparison with the development of a new constitution.

Not a new idea

We need to cast aside fears and despondency, gain faith in our strengths and capabilities. And they are huge. The Russian people and all peoples who have united with them into a great multinational state will be able to revive their common homeland. And they will certainly achieve this on the path of perestroika and socialist renewal From the speech of Mikhail Gorbachev at the congress after the election

The idea of establishing the post of a popularly elected president in the USSR has been quite seriously discussed in the past: during the preparation of the "Stalinist" constitution of 1936, in last years reign of Nikita Khrushchev and at the dawn of perestroika.

Why Stalin rejected it is not entirely clear. For him, 99.99% of the votes were guaranteed, and the nationwide expression of support for the "beloved leader" could be turned into a powerful educational and propaganda event.

Khrushchev, according to researchers, simply did not have enough time, and his successors were guided by their deep conservatism and dislike of innovation.

According to the testimony of people who knew him, Leonid Brezhnev liked the address "Mr. President" during his foreign visits, but he did not legitimize the title.

Third attempt

In 1985, the "architect of perestroika" Alexander Yakovlev suggested that Gorbachev begin political reform with the party and put forward a detailed plan: to arrange a general party discussion, following its results, to divide the CPSU into two parties - the reformist people's democratic and conservative socialist - to hold elections to the Supreme Soviet and instruct the winners government formation.

Now, as I see it, Gorbachev is pressing the gas and simultaneously pressing the brake. The motor roars to the whole world - this is our publicity. And the car stands still Olzhas Suleimenov, deputy, Kazakh poet

According to Yakovlev's plan, both parties had to declare their adherence to the basic values of socialism, join an alliance called the Union of Communists, delegate an equal number of members to its Central Council, and nominate the chairman of the council as a joint candidate for the presidency of the USSR.

A political structure in which two parties, competing with each other in the elections, simultaneously enter into a kind of coalition with a single leader, would show the world another "Russian miracle." At the same time, some researchers believe that the implementation of the "Yakovlev plan" would allow a smooth transition to multi-party democracy and avoid the collapse of the USSR.

Then Gorbachev did not support the idea. Five years later, it was too late.

Pyrrhic victory

Gorbachev rushed about in search of alternatives, compromises, optimal combination old and new leadership methods. There were mistakes, miscalculations, delays, just absurdities. But they are not the reason for the beginning of the disintegration of society and the state. It was inevitable by the very nature of the transition to freedom, unique in world history, of a society notorious and corrupted by a long dictatorship Anatoly Chernyaev, Gorbachev's assistant

Historians believe that the peak of Gorbachev's political career was the 1st Congress of People's Deputies in May 1989, and his election as president was the beginning of its end. Soon the leader's rating went down rapidly and irreversibly.

This was the last credit of trust issued by the society.

Conservatives hoped that Gorbachev needed presidential powers to "restore order," while democrats needed bold reformatory steps. When neither happened, although he got everything he wanted, the disappointment was universal and devastating.

The prediction made at the congress by deputy Teimuraz Avaliani came true: "You will rush here and there, and at this time what we have now will happen."

After 660 days, Gorbachev resigned (more precisely, was forced to resign).

Twenty-one years ago, on March 15, 1990, at the third extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev was elected the first and only president in the history of the Soviet Union.

He stayed in this post for about two years, until Judas Yeltsin, through deception and thieves' manipulations, sent his old political opponent to the dustbin of history. It is still not known for certain whether the resignation of the incumbent president of the USSR was accepted in the established manner by the State Council.

However, neither then, nor now, nobody was interested in this. Scavengers and marauders from all over the world flocked to the numb corpse of the Soviet Union. A camarilla of crooks and thieves came to power in Russia, "free" of 1/3 of its territory.

But let's leave the gangster junta EBN, who shot parliament from tanks, in best traditions Pinochet, and brought the once mighty power to its knees. Let's return to Mikhail Sergeevich, the restless chatterbox, who to this day piously believes that he utters the truth. Probably, like any Soviet citizen, my attitude towards Gorbachev changed from enthusiastic to contemptuous. This figure is controversial, as has been written about more than once, there is no point in repeating his mistakes and miscalculations. I want to say only about two things for which, before today, I can thank him.

The first is something that many have forgotten. It was Gorbachev who gave us the freedom to think, read and speak. And all the myths that the alcoholic Boris Yeltsin did it are simply the result of shameless propaganda organized by his former accomplice Boris Berezovsky.

In 1987-1988, we stood in line for new issues of newspapers, we craved spiritual food, and like a sponge absorbed thousands of pages of books, newspapers and magazines. We became different every day. The air of freedom intoxicated and parted our shoulders. We were waiting for a change. The atmosphere in society was filled with energy hitherto unknown to us. We were waiting for real deeds and new worthy tasks. And on this wave, we could catch up and overtake both Europe and America. But this did not happen. Gorbachev blabbed out his greatest accomplishment.

And the second thing. Gorbachev, undoubtedly, was not a sufficiently sober-minded and pragmatic leader, yes, such could not appear in Soviet system Mikhail Sergeich, was a vain romantic chatterbox who, for a friendly pat on the shoulder from the President of the United States, could surrender the GDR, and our troops are there, with all the giblets. Who believed the "word" of Western politicians, who secretly laughed at his naivety. But ... Mikhail Sergeevich always tried to avoid violence. He is perhaps one of the few leaders of our country, whose hands are not up to the elbows in blood. He did not convulsively cling to the presidential chair, as did EBN and his successors. He did not create a "family" that mercilessly robbed everything that could be robbed in Russia. He did not bring to power a gang of crooks and thieves from St. Petersburg who call themselves "statists". The statesmen who saw the state property.

Gorbachev himself once said about three mistakes that he made: He did not reform the party at the time, was late with the reform of the Soviet Union as a multinational community and did not exile Yeltsin to some distant country to harvest bananas ...