DO SVIDANIYA, MR GORBACHEV!!

On his passing on August 30^th at the ripe old age of 91, the last political head of the USSR (1998 -1991), Mr Mikhail Gorbachev, leaves behind a legacy which is as confused and mixed up as the world he lived in his final days.

Mikhail Gorbachev has been much venerated in some quarters in the West as the paragon of peace (earning him the Nobel Peace prize in 1990 for ending the Cold War) but labelled as a ‘western stooge’ who orchestrated the downfall of the Soviet Union. For his opposite number, President Ronald Reagan, it was a total victory with the ‘evil empire’ struck down, and not even a shot fired in anger. However, for Mr Gorbachev, many more travails lay ahead for his country, now returning to the historical name of Russia. The seeds that were sown in 1991 have sprung shoots in 2022 in Ukraine, and worse is yet to come.

Writing in his much-acclaimed book, “Gorbachev: His Life and Times”, William Taubman tries to give the logic behind Gorbachev’s ‘perestroika’, ‘glasnost’ and ultimately allowing the Berlin Wall to collapse. “He simply wanted to improve the dismal living conditions of his countrymen, which mattered more to him than the Soviet Union's geopolitical status as a superpower, which he took for granted. ” However, this is a narrative inspired by Western thoughts.

So, what did he get in return for Russia? A demoralised nation and a vaunted military that was rendered toothless overnight with its officers selling purloined ration items on the streets. For a triumphant America, it was a victory, and President Bush had no qualms about not making concessions for Mr Gorbachev or Russia in the new 'Game of Thrones'. In a Camp David Summit with Chancellor Kohl of West Germany, President Bush said, "To hell with that! We prevailed; they didn't. We can't let the Soviet clutch victory from the jaws of defeat." This smugness which continued to prevail in the successive American administrations was obviously misplaced and would extract its price in the 21^st century.

The statement put out by the Kremlin to mark the demise of Mr Gorbachev said it all. Calling him an "extraordinary global statesman who helped end the Cold War", the press release pointed out that he had been ``badly wrong" about rapprochement with the 'bloodthirsty' West. Mr Putin is on record calling the dismantling of the USSR the 'greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20^th century’. And Mr Gorbachev has the major share of the blame for this disaster, which Mr Putin is determined to correct.

In the late 1980s, the most bandied-around words were 'perestroika' (restructuring or reformation) and 'glasnost' (openness). It was Gorbachev's hope, if not belief, that a post-Cold War Russia would get its well-deserved seat at the high table along with the western democracies, and the end of the state of perpetual tensions and confrontation would lead to more democratic and humane socialism. This was not to be, and a broken, near-bankrupt Russia was his legacy. In his later interactions, he said that he did not mean to see the Soviet Union die like this; he wanted to reform his country and not destroy it. But by then, it was too late and like Germany after the Versailles Treaty of 1919 (which was forced to take on the entire blame for the Great War), a discontent, simmering Russia with actual and perceived injustices bid it's time to recover its lost status. Even in his wildest dreams, Mr Gorbachev would not have imagined that the steps he had initiated would trigger bloody nationalist movements in 15 Soviet republics, which the dying Soviet Union was powerless to stop.

It was this sense of loss and injustice that Mr Putin has been able to harness for his rise in power in Russian politics and is now being manifested in Ukraine, more than three decades later. While today, few of the modern generation would recognise a photo of Mr Gorbachev with his signature red birthmark, in the 1990s, he was the toast of a gloating West. But he remains unloved in his homeland, where the reigning President has said he would not be able to attend his funeral due to ‘other commitments.’ The late head of state will be honoured with a military guard of honour but will not merit a state funeral.