RIP, Mikhail Gorbachev

[Dan Murphy]

Mikhail Gorbachev, age 91, has passed away. I recall when he took over Soviet Union power, I just thought, well here is the next dictator in line of most of the communist world. During his tenure, as desires for freedom grew in the late 1980's, early 1990's, he tried to control it, though not with an iron fist as previous rulers had done. In the end, he allowed freedom to exist and the Soviet Union dissolved in epic fashion.

In all my days, I never, ever thought I would see, in my lifetime, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the ending of the Iron Curtain, the ending of the permanent MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) stand-off of the U.S. might vs. the Soviet Union might nor the ending of the majority of Communism as we once knew it. EVER. Others have come to fill those gaps some, such as China, but not to the degree that it once was. And then we have Putin today.

Gorbachev will be a well-studied historical figure for generations to come. RIP, and thank you.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-u...v-obituaries-5cb7a604243668f08dfaed953c09559e

 

[BrianL]

Gorbachev was someone who could see that the old ways just weren't working, that it was time for change, even if it's difficult and painful for some. I respect that and what he was able to accomplish, even at the expense of his own power. RIP, sir.

 

[Kittyblue]

Ronald Reagan Library

 

[RUDisney]

I will always be grateful to Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan. Without these two men, I would not have the wonderful family that I do. They opened up borders for American adoptions in Russia.

If my DH's uncle could have made it work, I would have gone to one of our local college graduations to meet Gorbachev in person. Unfortunately, his schedule didn't allow it. I had been practicing how to say, "thank you for my beautiful children" in Russian. Uncle was on the school's BOD and had connections to him. I did get to see where his wife was buried in Moscow, though.

 

[Communicore1991]

While no man is perfect (Gorbachev was responsible for the violent killing of Lithuanians seeking freedom in 1990 as a last ditch effort to prevent the country from seceding from the Soviet Union), Gorbachev was someone that the Americans, in particular Ronald Reagan, could actually have an open and honest dialog about the future of two world powers and how to resolve their differences.

As someone who likes to study world history during the 80s, it is quite a loss to lose Gorbachev.
This picture is making the rounds on my social media feed and I want to share it here as well. Three leaders that are no longer on this earth

 

[Kennywood]

In China, Gorbachev is taught as a villain, on par with Adolf Hitler. I suspect that the Chinese government fears that someone might use glasnost to topple communism there.

 

[RedAngie]

And his wife, Raisa, was the first and last “fashionable” First Lady of the USSR, ala Jackie Kennedy.