Gorbachev,
Mikhail (Sergeyevich) 1931-; general secretary of the Communist Party of the U.S.S.R. (1985-91)
See Gorbachev in American Heritage Dictionary 4
Soviet politician who was general secretary of the Communist party from 1985 to 1991 and president of the USSR from 1989 to 1991, ushering in an era of unprecedented glasnost and perestroika. He won the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize.