Gorbachev - The most overrated figure in history.
How so?
Gorbachev is a great man. If he hadn’t been overthrown he probably would have led Russia and the other republics through a much better long-term transition.
This film sounds like a 2 hour-long Gorbasm.
Agreed, he had little choice in the matter, as Reagan was breaking the back of the Soviet economy with a multi-front series of attacks (and Chernobyl didn’t help them in this regard). If he didn’t go along, his only choice was war - and I heard personally from someone in the know that in 1982 the Soviet general staff told the Politburo that they could never defeat the West, and that they should work out their best possible deal. This was in the immediate aftermath of the Israelis Downing 79 of the most advanced Soviet aircraft in Lebanon in 1 battle, many surreptitiously piloted by Russians, without the loss of a single aircraft of their own. It is likely that this recommendation led to the appointment of Gorbachev, since the appointment of a well-spoken and educated reformer was viewed as being less risky than putting in just another old Communist who would die in 5 years or less.