Georgy Shakhnazarov
| Georgy Shakhnazarov | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 4, 1924 Baku, Soviet Union |
| Died | May 15, 2001 (aged 76) Tula, Russia |
| Nationality | Soviet-Armenian |
| Occupation | politician and political scientist |
Georgy Khosroevich Shakhnazarov (Armenian: Գեորգի Շահնազարով; October 4, 1924 in Baku, Soviet Union - May 15, 2001 in Tula, Russia) was a Soviet-Armenian politician and political scientist. He was one of the half-dozen aides closest to Mikhail Gorbachev both while he was Soviet leader and after his fall from power at the collapse of the Soviet Union. Shakhnazarov was an early advocate of reform and helped Gorbachev to shape his plans to open up the system to new ideas and freedoms, but, like his boss, he failed to articulate a clear vision of where he believed the country should go.
After Gorbachev was ousted by Boris Yeltsin (who retained the mistrust and hostility of the two), Shakhnazarov became a key figure in the newly established Gorbachev Foundation.
His loyalty to Gorbachev was unquestioned, and he was with him at many of the key moments as Soviet leader. He was at his side when Gorbachev failed to convince the East German Politbüro to reform at a strained meeting in East Berlin in October 1989. The two shared a celebratory private glass of champagne when Gorbachev was elected the first (and last) Soviet president in March 1990.
Shakhnazarov was staying at a sanatorium close to the presidential dacha at Foros in the Crimea that fateful August 1991, when he helped Gorbachev in his plans for a new Union Treaty to define relations between the republics. Indeed, the two spoke by telephone about it on the afternoon of 18 August, the last call Gorbachev took before the coup plotters moved in and cut off his contact with the outside world.
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