Drawing by Niyaz Karim
Mikhail Gorbachev, the first and last President of the Soviet Union, turned 80 on March 2. Vlast decided to ask its readers what they think of the Perestroika architect and his role in history.
Petr Aven, President of Alfa Bank.Gorbachev came to give us freedom, and he changed
our life for the better. He may not have known what he was doing, but I think
he did a good job. He made a huge breakthrough, renewing our country without
blood and violence.
Alexander Tkachev, Governor of the Krasnodar Region. He is the man associated
with the greatest geopolitical drama in Russia’s contemporary history. As a
result of huge imbalances in the alliance of forces in the international arena,
he became “the best German” and the best friend of the West, but for most of
our great Motherland’s people, his name is associated mainly with countless
problems and irrevocable losses.
Alexander Lebedev, co-owner of the National Reserve Corporation and Mikhail Gorbachev’s partner in planning an independent democratic party in Russia in 2008. He is the embodiment of the Socratic principle that the best should rule. He taught us moral values at the highest level. This man changed the entire world for the better, not just the material aspects of his personal life, as is the case with many politicians.
Alexander Rahr, Director of the Berthold Beitz Center at
the German Council on Foreign Relations, author of Gorbachev’s biography. He is the only living man
to have changed the course of history. They
don’t like him in Russia because he destroyed the empire, but he did it
together with Yeltsin, at least. He is a mystery for me, I still don’t quite
understand whether he had expected what was to happen, whether
he really wanted to give freedom to nations, or he was simply too weak.
Mikhail Barkov, Vice President of Transneft. As
many knowledgeable people in the West, I consider Gorbachev to be
short-sighted, cowardly and greedy. At
a sharp turn of history he showed himself in the negative light, although there
were some good moments at the beginning. He had no idea where he was leading the
country.
Nikita Belykh, Governorof the Kirov Region.
I am grateful to Gorbachev, because he gave freedom to the country. Yes,
he did make mistakes, but who didn’t? Gorbachev has really done a lot to change
the country for the better.
Andrei Ilnitsky, Deputy Head of the Central Executive Committee
of United Russia. He is the first Soviet
politician who did not resort to violence in order to keep the respect of the
woman he loved. The history of Gorbachev’s success is the history of his love.
He considered himself unworthy of his wife, and he had always tried to prove
that he was the right man for her. I did not have much respect for him during
the 1980s and 1990s, but now I think I understand him, and I now have
great respect for him as a person, and sympathy for him as a politician.
Mikhail Yemelyanov, member of the State Duma for A Just Russia. He is a political loser. He
tried to head the country during a difficult transition period, but he was not
up to the task. Everything he did led to the collapse of both the system and
the country.
Alexander Pochinok, a member of the Federation Council, Tax Minister in 1999-2000. Gorbachev is the savior of
the world, who helped reduce the threat of a third world war. This threat had
been a nightmare for decades. With difficulty, he eased the great standoff of
the bipolar world. It is only for this reason that Gorby will always be
remembered. They all say: This could have been done better, but why then didn’t
anyone do it better?
Vladimir Pekhtin, First Deputy Head of the United Russia party in
the State Duma. I
believe that Mikhail Gorbachev is a demagogue and traitor. He unleashed perestroika
to meet his own political ambitions, and he ruined the country shamefully. And
now, he speculates in a dignified tone on how efficient the president,
government and United Russia are. It doesn’t take much to criticize and advise,
but when Gorbachev had a real opportunity to care about Russia’s well-being, he
not just missed this chance, but he plunged the country into chaos and absolute
decline. We are still dealing with the negative implications of his reforms.
Grigory Yavlinsky, a member of the Political Committee of the
Yabloko Party. Gorbachev is the man who
brought freedom to people. What they did with it is not his responsibility.
Ruslan Khasbulatov, Head of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation, 1991-1993. He brought democracy to our country – something neither Yeltsin nor Putin were able to do. At the same time, the huge number of Gorbachev’s mistakes will always be remembered. His economic reforms were not just abortive but they destroyed the powerful country.
Vladimir Khotinenko, film director. It
is too early to judge, Gorbachev left politics not so long ago. But I am
convinced that he was the man Russia needed at the turning point in its
history. Gorbachev played no role in my life, because I have never depended on
the political situation.
Alexander Kiselyov, General Director of Russian Post. The greatest figure in the
20th century history, he has played a huge role in both Russian and
world history, and he has already immortalized his name. In May 1985, he made his first visit as General Secretary,
coming to my native Leningrad. I was lucky to see Gorbachev at an arm’s length:
He went out to the people, passing the guards, and began to talk with us. I
liked this openness.
Ilya Yashin, a member of the Political Council of
Solidarnost. He opened Russia’s
borders and changed the entire country. Despite
his contradictory reforms, he gave freedom to millions of people. No doubt, he is part of our history.
Valery Khalilov, Head of the Defense Ministry’s military band
service. Gorbachev is the symbol of
the past era, which saw the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the collapse of
the Communist Party and the Communist ideology. To everything there is a
season, and at that time Gorbachev was the right man. I see him in a rather
positive light, though there are some weak points, too.
Igor Yurgens, Chairman of the Management Board of the Institute
of Contemporary
Development, Vice President
of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. He is the man who taught me
the word “consensus.” Before
Gorbachev, it was either abusive or unknown. He
introduced it not just to the political vocabulary but also to our life. I know that Gorbachev had an opportunity to cling on
to power up to the last moment, and he had a better chance compared to the
current leaders in the Middle East, for example. Guided by his ideas about
consensus, however, he chose not to do so and brought violence to a minimum.
This alone is worth a monument.
Alexander Rutskoi, Vice President of Russia, 1991-1993 (in 1993 he led the standoff with the then-President Boris Yeltsin). For me, Gorbachev is the
man who betrayed his country and his people. Some politicians credit him with
democratization, but I think democracy could have been built without the
destruction of the country.
Kseniya Sobchak, TV host (and the daughter of Anatoly Sobchak, leading democratic reformer of the
early 1990s). He
is certainly a man of his era, and he can be assessed differently. He left
politics, he lost the love of his life, but he remained a Man with a capital M. His reforms were rejected by the elite, I myself do
not understand certain things, but he was driven by idealism, which is much
better than the pragmatism and cynicism we have now.
Valery Semyonov, Vice Chairman of the regional parliament of the
Krasnoyarsk Region. There would have been no
changes in the country hadn’t it been for Gorbachev, and Russia would not be
part of the international community now. He gave us freedom to think, move and
travel abroad. The only thing that cannot be justified is the collapse of the
Soviet Union.
Anatoly Lokot, First Secretary of the Novosibirsk Regional
Committee of the Communist Party of Russia. He is the man who
disappointed the hopes of a great nation. With his policy, he brought the
country first to an economic crisis, and then to political disintegration.
Tellingly, he celebrates his birthday not in Moscow or the Stavropol Region,
but in London, because no one needs him here.
Pavel Sigal, Vice President of OPORA ROSSII, an organization
of small-and medium-sized business. He
is an outstanding politician who initiated huge reforms in Russia and in the
rest of the world. Future generations will appreciate that. What he
accomplished is much greater than what he failed to do.
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