On this day in 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev took over as the new leader of the Kremlin, following the death of his predecessor Konstantin Chernenko. At the age of 54 Gorbachev became the youngest man ever to take over as secretary of the Soviet communist party. Despite being a strict orthodox Marxist, he was also a great modern day reformer, introducing 'glasnost' and 'perestroika', leading to an openness hitherto unheard of in the Soviet Union, which brought about deep political and economic changes. He also instigated new initiatives in foreign policy, announcing that he would hold arms talks with the Americans in Geneva and signing a number of agreements with the United States on nuclear disarmament. However, at home the Soviet economy fell into decline, and this, coupled with his more pro-western policies, caused unrest amongst his political opponents. In the face of growing support for his rival, Boris Yeltsin, and after surviving an attempted coup by communist hardliners in 1991, later that same year, on 25th December, he was forced to resign.
Gorbachev then went on to become president of the Green Cross, an organisation concerned with the clear-up of chemical and biological weapons. His wife, Raisa, died of leukaemia in 1999.
