Raisa Maximovna Gorbacheva (, , Титаренко; 5 January 1932 – 20 September 1999) was a Soviet and Russian activist and philanthropist who was the wife of Soviet leader

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

. She raised funds for the preservation of Russian cultural heritage, fostering of new talent, and treatment programs for children's

blood cancer Tumors of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (American English) or tumours of the haematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (British English) are tumors that affect the blood, bone marrow, lymph, and lymphatic system. Because these tissues are al ...

Early life and education

Raisa Maximovna Titarenko was born on 5 January 1932 in the city of

Rubtsovsk Rubtsovsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Altai Krai, Russia, located on the Aley River (Ob River, Ob's tributary) southwest of Barnaul. Population: 167,000 (1975); 111,000 (1959); 75,334 (1939). Rubtsovsk is the ...

in the Altai region of

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. She was the eldest of three children of Maxim Andreyevich Titarenko, a railway engineer from

Chernihiv Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, and his Siberian wife, Alexandra Petrovna Porada, from Veseloyarsk. She spent her childhood in the

Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.

, 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

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

Life with Mikhail Gorbachev

She married Mikhail Gorbachev in September 1953 and moved to her husband's home region of

Stavropol Stavropol (, ), known as Voroshilovsk from 1935 until 1943, is a city and the administrative centre of Stavropol Krai, in southern Russia. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 547,820, making it one of Russia's fastest growing cities. E ...

southern Russia Southern Russia or the South of Russia ( rus, Юг России, p=juk rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a Colloquialism, colloquial term for the southernmost geographic portion of European Russia. The term is generally used to refer to the region of Russia's So ...

upon graduation. There she taught Marxist–Leninist philosophy and defended her

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

research thesis about

kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz. These were the two components of the socialized farm sector that began to eme ...

life. She gave birth to a daughter, Irina Mikhailovna (married name: Virganskaya; Ирина Михайловна Вирганская), on 6 January 1957. When her husband returned to Moscow as a rising

Soviet Communist Party The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

official, Gorbacheva took the post of a lecturer at her alma mater,

. She left the post when her husband became

General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. was the Party leader, leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). From 1924 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, country's dissoluti ...

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. She was one of the few communist party leaders' wives to have a high public profile of her own. On 1 June 1990, Gorbacheva accompanied U.S. first lady Barbara Bush to

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Both women spoke before the graduating class during the commencement service, touching on the role of women in modern society. All the American television networks covered the addresses live;

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

provided live cable-TV coverage around the world. The events of the Soviet Coup of 1991, which attempted to depose her husband from power, left a lasting scar on Gorbacheva, who suffered a minor stroke on the final day. The political turmoil that followed pushed the Gorbachevs into the shadows.

Philanthropy

In 1989, following a personal address from Professor Rumyantsev and others, Gorbacheva contributed US$100,000 to the charity "International Association of Hematologists of the World for Children". This and further donations raised by both of the Gorbachevs helped to buy equipment for

blood bank A blood bank is a center where blood gathered as a result of blood donation is stored and preserved for later use in blood transfusion. The term "blood bank" typically refers to a department of a hospital usually within a clinical pathology labora ...

s and to train Russian doctors abroad. In 1997 she established the Raisa Maksimovna's Club aimed at galvanizing the participation of women in politics. She also worked to raise awareness of children's issues (she had frequently welcomed youth delegations to the Kremlin when her husband could not be present).

Illness and death

Moskau-Nowodewitschi-Friedhof-62-Raissa Maximowna Gorbatschowa-2012-gje

Gorbacheva suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in October 1993. In July 1999, she was diagnosed with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

by the Institute of Haematology at the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. Shortly after, she travelled with her husband and daughter to

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

in Germany for treatment at the medical clinic of the Münster University Hospital. She received treatment for two months under the supervision of Thomas Büchner, a leading haematologist, but died on 20 September aged 67. She is buried at

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

in Moscow.

Legacy

In 2006, her family founded the Raisa Gorbacheva Foundation, which raises money to support those with childhood cancer. In 2007, the Raisa Gorbacheva Institute of Pediatric Hematology and Transplantology opened at the First Pavlov State Medical University of St. Petersburg.

Books

* *

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorbacheva, Raisa 1932 births 1999 deaths People from Rubtsovsk Russian people of Ukrainian descent Wives of heads of state of the Soviet Union Moscow State Pedagogical University alumni Moscow State University alumni Deaths from leukemia in Germany Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery