Famous publicist, author of books on American foreign policy and CIA activities, William Blum in "The Counter Punch" spoke about the ongoing cold war, and cited the review of the new biography of Mikhail Gorbachev in the New York Times Book Review (September New York Times) as an example of misunderstanding by the West of Russia.
This review notes that Gorbachev "was not a hero for his people" because he was "the destroyer of his empire." The New York Times simply avoids saying anything positive about life in the Soviet Union and about socialism! Do observers believe that the Russian people were upset by the loss of Czechoslovakia or Hungary? Blum recalls that Gorbachev, who organized the “perestroika”, plunged his people into the abyss of collapse: living standards plummeted, problems with employment, medical care, education, and many other aspects of the “welfare state” began.
Moreover, the new review is accompanied by a quote from a review of Gorbachev’s own memoirs (1996). That review said: “In the West, it is considered mysticism that Mikhail Gorbachev is hated and ridiculed in his own country. This is the man who took the world a few steps back from the nuclear abyss and freed his compatriots from suffocating fear, a man who ended the bloody foreign adventures, freeing Eastern Europe ... But one can hardly imagine a more complete renunciation of his own people. His attempt at a political return in June attracted the attention of less than one percent of the vote. ”
Thus, Gorbachev’s unpopularity among his people is simply viewed by observers as “secret”, the content of which is not amenable to analysis, and therefore is defined as something mystical. We note that experts and journalists in the West often forget a simple fact: many people in Russia still consider the USSR to be a country of peace, progress, happy childhood and multiethnic fraternity. These same people accuse Gorbachev, who is largely focused on the United States, of betraying the interests of the Motherland and the collapse of the Union.
Gorbachev himself does not believe that he played a role in the collapse of the USSR.
“The collapse of the Soviet Union was perpetrated, guided by personal ambitions and a thirst for power, by the participants of the Belovezhsk agreements. This is above all the then leadership of Russia, ”he said in recent interview. And again: “I categorically affirm that the collapse of the Soviet Union did not occur as a result of the development of perestroika in the country. It would be big to think so historical a mistake. "
Apparently, all the Russians, who did not give Gorbachev even one percent in due time, made a big mistake.
Observed and commented on Oleg Chuvakin
- especially for topwar.ru
- especially for topwar.ru