Democratic reformer or great power gravedigger. The death on Tuesday of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, sparked controversy on Wednesday among Russian citizens, who have very different memories of their years in power.
Upon arrival at the Kremlin in 1985, Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev tried to modernize and democratize the USSR with a series of reforms that did not prevent its collapse in December 1991. A historical trauma for many Russians.
Vladimir Zavkov, 70-year-old pensioner, Mikhail Gorbachev he was nothing more than a “traitor”.
“He was a kind of illiterate politician who allowed the collapse of a great country. Everything that he could do positively was nullified by this, ”the Muscovite told AFP.
Nadezhda Aleksina, a web designer, takes a more subtle view, believing that Gorbachev was a “contradictory” figure.
“AT Russia I think he was a very important figure. Thanks to him, Russia exists (as a country). So I think it’s a big loss for a lot of people,” he says.
Russian President Vladimir Putin himself was very reserved on Wednesday, limiting himself to saying that the last Soviet leader had “great influence on world history.”
More sharply accused his press secretary Dmitry Peskov. Mikhail Gorbachev nurtured a “romantic” vision of the relationship between Russia and West.
“very negative”
The fall and collapse of the Soviet Union continues to be an open wound for many Russians, especially the elderly, accustomed to living in an all-powerful state.
The 1990s were marked by a difficult transition to a capitalist economy amid rampant inflation, deprivation and crime under President Boris Yeltsin.
The chaos of those years also explains the viciousness of some Russians who believe Mikhail Gorbachev as the one responsible for their hardships.
In the USSR, “we weren’t rich, but at least we had job security,” laments Tatiana Silaeva, a 67-year-old pensioner who says she has a “very negative” attitude towards Mikhail Gorbachev.
In addition to the severity of those years, the collapse of the USSR left many citizens Russia accustomed to living in the cult of the Soviet superpower, America’s rival during the Cold War.
Mikhail Gorbachev “He did the United States a favor by letting our country drown. For us, he was a complete traitor,” says Tatyana Silaeva.
“Freedom”
Far from these reproaches, many foreign leaders paid tribute Mikhail Gorbachevawarded in 1990 Nobel Peace Prize for working to strengthen nuclear arms control and reduce tensions between Moscow D West.
“He gave our country and the world an incredible gift. He gave us 30 years of peace. Without the threat of a global nuclear war. Who is capable of this?” Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Heritage Mikhail Gorbachev already far away, with the onset of Vladimir Putin in Ukraine and the acceleration of repression in Russia.
Svetlana Gannushkina, human rights activist Russia post-Soviet era, asks not to forget the democratic reforms undertaken Mikhail Gorbachev.
“Those who are aggressive (with Gorbachev) today there are people who want to return to the Soviet system. People who were slaves and want to remain slaves,” Gannushkina told AFP.
“And they don’t want to thank the one who gave them freedom. Because Gorbachev gave us freedom,” he says.
(According to AFP)
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Source: RPP
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