[CCIP]

What always fascinates me is the difference in views on Gorbachev between Russia and the West. The West still seems to be in love with him as a cold-war-stopper and visionary reformist; Russians have never liked him and only like him less over time. He was and remains incredibly unpopular, and (not unfairly) assigned a large part of the blame for the manner in which the USSR broke up, which was a massive (social, economic, political) disaster.

I can certainly respect Gorby's values - never doubted that he was a good man. I think the credit given to him for de-escalating the cold war and trying to bring reform to the USSR is deserved. The problem is that beyond those noble ideals, I don't think there was much substance to him. As a politician and leader, I think I'll have to side with the popular Russian view of him as someone who was unfit for the power that he was given, and ultimately mismanaged it. He in utterly lost control of the situation, at several crucial points, in a manner that was very irresponsible and downright unbecoming of a president, allowing people with not-so-positive interests run the show. All with good intentions, of course, but results that aren't only what most people in the West think them to be.