Raisa Gorbachyova
Encyclopedia
Raisa Maximovna Gorbachova was a major fundraiser for preservation of the Russian heritage, for new talents' education and for children's blood cancer treatment programs in Russia.
She was the wife of Mikhail Gorbachev
and was normally referred to in English-language media as Raisa Gorbachev.
in the Altai
region of Siberia
. She was the eldest of three children of Maxim Andreyevich Titarenko, a railway engineer originally from Chernihiv
, Ukraine, and his Siberian wife, Alexandra Petrovna Porada, originally from Veseloyarsk. She spent her childhood in the Ural Mountains
region, and met her future husband while studying philosophy in Moscow. She earned an advanced degree at the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute, and taught briefly at the Moscow State University
. They married in September 1953 and moved to Mikhail's home region of Stavropol
in southern Russia upon graduation. There, she taught Marxist-Leninist
philosophy and defended her sociology research thesis about kolkhoz
life.
She gave birth to their only child, daughter Irina Mihailovna Virganskaya (Ири́на Миха́йловна Вирга́нская), in 1957.
When her husband returned to Moscow as a rising Soviet Communist Party
official, Raisa Gorbachova took a post of a lecturer at her alma mater, Moscow State University. She left the post when Mikhail Gorbachev became a leader of the Soviet Union
in 1985.
Her public appearances beside her husband as First Lady were a novelty at home and went a long way in humanizing the country's image. Her dynamic personality and style caught the attention of Western media and observers. This contributed to mollifying the Western perception of the country as an "Evil Empire
" that Ronald Reagan's anti-Soviet discourse had helped solidify.
Gorbachova made a $100,000 contribution to the charity "From hematologists of the world to children" when Prof. Rumiantsev and others addressed her in 1989. This and further donations raised by Gorbachevs helped to buy equipment for blood banks and to train Russian doctors abroad. As a result, country-wide children's leukemia
survival rates have since improved (Transcripts 2000).
On 1 June 1990, Gorbachova accompanied U.S. First Lady Barbara Bush
to Wellesley College in Massachusetts
. Both women spoke before the graduating class during the commencement service, touching upon the role of women in modern society. Their addresses were covered on live television by all of the American broadcast networks. The CNN
cable network provided live television coverage of their speeches around the world.
The events of the Soviet Coup of 1991 left a scar on Gorbachova. The political turmoil that followed pushed aside Gorbachevs' life from the headlines. In 1997 she established Raisa Maksimovna's Club, meant to galvanize the participation of women in politics.
Gorbachova was diagnosed with leukemia
and died on 20 September 1999 at Münster University
Hospital in Germany, aged 67.
She is interred at the Novodevichy Cemetery
in Moscow.
She was the wife of Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
and was normally referred to in English-language media as Raisa Gorbachev.
Biography
Raisa Titarenko was born in the city of RubtsovskRubtsovsk
Rubtsovsk is a city in Altai Krai, Russia, located on the Aley River southwest of Barnaul. Population: 167,000 ; 111,000 ; 38,000 ....
in the Altai
Altai Krai
Altai Krai is a federal subject of Russia . It borders with, clockwise from the south, Kazakhstan, Novosibirsk and Kemerovo Oblasts, and the Altai Republic. The krai's administrative center is the city of Barnaul...
region of Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. She was the eldest of three children of Maxim Andreyevich Titarenko, a railway engineer originally from Chernihiv
Chernihiv
Chernihiv or Chernigov is a historic city in northern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Chernihiv Oblast , as well as of the surrounding Chernihivskyi Raion within the oblast...
, Ukraine, and his Siberian wife, Alexandra Petrovna Porada, originally from Veseloyarsk. She spent her childhood in the Ural Mountains
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
region, and met her future husband while studying philosophy in Moscow. She earned an advanced degree at the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute, and taught briefly at the Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
. They married in September 1953 and moved to Mikhail's home region of Stavropol
Stavropol
-International relations:-Twin towns/sister cities:Stavropol is twinned with: Des Moines, United States Béziers, France Pazardzhik, Bulgaria-External links:* **...
in southern Russia upon graduation. There, she taught Marxist-Leninist
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
philosophy and defended her sociology research thesis about kolkhoz
Kolkhoz
A kolkhoz , plural kolkhozy, was a form of collective farming in the Soviet Union that existed along with state farms . The word is a contraction of коллекти́вное хозя́йство, or "collective farm", while sovkhoz is a contraction of советское хозяйство...
life.
She gave birth to their only child, daughter Irina Mihailovna Virganskaya (Ири́на Миха́йловна Вирга́нская), in 1957.
When her husband returned to Moscow as a rising Soviet Communist Party
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
official, Raisa Gorbachova took a post of a lecturer at her alma mater, Moscow State University. She left the post when Mikhail Gorbachev became a leader of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1985.
Her public appearances beside her husband as First Lady were a novelty at home and went a long way in humanizing the country's image. Her dynamic personality and style caught the attention of Western media and observers. This contributed to mollifying the Western perception of the country as an "Evil Empire
Evil empire
The phrase evil empire was applied to the Soviet Union especially by U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who took an aggressive, hard-line stance that favored matching and exceeding the Soviet Union's strategic and global military capabilities, in calling for a rollback strategy that would, in his words,...
" that Ronald Reagan's anti-Soviet discourse had helped solidify.
Gorbachova made a $100,000 contribution to the charity "From hematologists of the world to children" when Prof. Rumiantsev and others addressed her in 1989. This and further donations raised by Gorbachevs helped to buy equipment for blood banks and to train Russian doctors abroad. As a result, country-wide children's leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
survival rates have since improved (Transcripts 2000).
On 1 June 1990, Gorbachova accompanied U.S. First Lady Barbara Bush
Barbara Bush
Barbara Pierce Bush is the wife of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, and served as First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993. She is the mother of the 43rd President George W. Bush and of the 43rd Governor of Florida Jeb Bush...
to Wellesley College in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Both women spoke before the graduating class during the commencement service, touching upon the role of women in modern society. Their addresses were covered on live television by all of the American broadcast networks. The CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
cable network provided live television coverage of their speeches around the world.
The events of the Soviet Coup of 1991 left a scar on Gorbachova. The political turmoil that followed pushed aside Gorbachevs' life from the headlines. In 1997 she established Raisa Maksimovna's Club, meant to galvanize the participation of women in politics.
Gorbachova was diagnosed with leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
and died on 20 September 1999 at Münster University
University of Münster
The University of Münster is a public university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. The WWU is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, a society of Germany's leading research universities...
Hospital in Germany, aged 67.
Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Moscow, Russia. It is next to the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. It should not be confused with the Novodevichy Cemetery in Saint Petersburg....
in Moscow.