Gorbachev's Presidency 1990-91

• In March 1990, Gorbachev appointed himself as President of the USSR.
• Gorbachev created the presidency to increase his power as democratisation had weakened his position as leader.
• Gorbachev lacked democratic legitimacy unlike Yeltsin.
• Gorbachev had emergency powers for 18 months to deal with the economic crisis and the growing unrest in the Republics.
• Gorbachev was criticised by radicals for abandoning reform and creating a new form of dictatorship.
• Reform process failed to achieve the goals and contributed to the dissolution of the USSR.
• Gorbachev's reforms had destroyed his power base, increasing difficulty pushing through reforms.
• Soviet people lost faith in him.