He was a communist fool, but he let the country separate peaceably (after some mistakes in the Baltic States). He didn't unleash the horror he could have when it was obvious the USSR was being actively undermined by its eastern satellite states.
Dead-on accurate commentary!
Maintaining the USSR required a ruler who was willing to use force. For the most part, Gorbachev was not that person. Depending on your perspective, that can make him a loser or a hero. I tend to come down on the loser side because, as the article points out, he did not want the USSR to collapse. In fact, considering what a massive failure he was, I was suprised that Gorbachev lived as long as he did.
On the flip side, the mini-series “Chernobyl” does paint Gorbachev in a very good light with regard to that crisis. It is possible that he saved much of Europe from disaster with his decisive actions.
Very accurate
Is it true that biden is giving the eulogy?
There’s a very old Russian saying: ‘The first Russian tsar will be named Mikhail. And the last Russian tsar will be named Mikhail.’
Well, the first Romanov tsar was Mikhaíl I. And then there’s Mikhail Gorbachev.
Just something to think about.
Very accurate
It requires some age for the reader to remember, but I do recall when the Democrats severely criticized Ronald Reagan, during the 1984 campaign, for not having a summit meeting with these elderly Russian Kremlin bureau apparatchiks. Pure stupidity mixed with RDS to scare the voters that RR was starting a nuclear war.
Mikael Gorbachev, loser
Reagan - 1
Gorbachev - 0
bump