LIGACHEV, YEGOR KUZMICH

(1920– )

Politician. A member of the Soviet Politburo and protégé ofMikhail Gorbachevduring the late Soviet period, Yegor Ligachev broke with his former mentor over the direction of reforms within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Critical of certain aspects ofglasnostandperestroika, Ligachev railed against Gorbachev for abandoningMarxism-Leninism, circumventing theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union(CPSU), and governing the country by popular mandate.In 1990, he ran against Gorbachev in the first genuine competition for leadership of the party since its creation. After losing his bid for power, he retired from public life for some time. After thedissolution of the Soviet Union, he returned topoliticsand was instrumental in founding theCommunist Party of the Russian Federation(KPRF) in 1993. He won election to theState Dumain the mid-1990s, holding a seat until 2003, when he lost to a candidate from the pro-KremlinUnited Russiaparty. His memoirInside Gorbachev’s Kremlin(1993) paints an intimate picture of power and governance in the waning days of the Soviet Union.

See alsoPolitical parties.