BZ
Big Z
Michail Gorbachev,Soviet leader,born Stavropol,Russia,1931
After becoming Secretary General of the Communist Party in 1985,he began his policy of''perestroika' wich brought greater freedom to the Soviet Union and eventually enabled countries such as Hungary,Poland and Romania to form their own democratic goverments.His policies were much admired in the West and he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.However,his popurarity declined in his own country and he resigned a yeat later.By 1996 he was so unpopular that he gained onl y 0,5 per cent of the vote in Russian's first presidential election.