Mikhail Gorbachev - Our Worst Best Leader

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union, has died in Moscow at the age of 91. He is remembered in Russia as probably the most controversial Soviet leader. Some people adore him for the unprecedented freedom he gave to the Soviet people. Others hate him and put the blame for the collapse of the Soviet Union solely on his shoulders. He was one of the driving forces behind the end of the Cold War in 1989/90. He changed the course of world history with his twin policies of "glasnost” - "openness” - and "perestroika” - "restructuring”. But in the end he will never be celebrated as a great leader, simply because he failed his main task. Let's discuss the things Gorbachev accomplished, the things he failed to do, and the things he wanted to do.
00:00 - Introduction
01:54 - His Achievements
06:03 - His Mistakes
12:02 - His Intentions
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Hey there. Somehow you found my video and decided to watch it. So let me introduce myself. I'm Sergei and I'm from Russia. My channel is about my native country. I want to tell English-speaking viewers about the real Russia, about its past and present. Unfortunately, you can find a lot of propaganda about Russia on the Internet, both from the Russian media and from the Western ones. I want to tell you about Russia, as it really is, the country in which I was born, grew up, and lived all my life.
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[@GeorgeSemel]

I would have to say this was the best obituary of the man I have either read or heard. It's hard to build a house on a poor or nonexistent foundation and expect it to last.

[@johnpijano4786]

Vlad Vexler's obituary of him is better IMO. (Channel name is Vlad Vexler)

[@user-rl8hf8kt1r]

To be honest.... china was in a worce setution and its leaders manage to save it and make ot a World class power while in russia there leaders did the opposit since the last presedent of the USSR

[@GeorgeSemel]

@@johnpijano4786 I will check it out.

[@ForelliBoy]

Someone put it like "steering a ship toward the right direction - but so fast that it tore the ship open"

[@jbk19xx57]

The ONLY Soviet Leader born in The Soviet Union.

[@CuttinInIdaho]

Strange how that works huh?

[@magimon91834]

I had to listen to that one again because I though I heard it incorrectly

[@proud_tobe_texan2890]

The only one that was leader that was born after the revolution

[@RT-qd8yl]

@@proud_tobe_texan2890 Literally the same thing. There was no SU before the revolution, only the geographical space that had earlier comprised it

[@nathanseper8738]

I think Gorbachev was a man who struggled with a task that even greater men would've struggled with: trying to untangle the mangled knot that was the Soviet system. I like your nuanced take on the man and what he tried to do.

[@KekusMagnus]

He was a complete idiot who took a sinking ship and made it sink faster. The real problem is how he got to such a powerful position in the first place

[@nathanseper8738]

@@KekusMagnus Troll.

[@RT-qd8yl]

@@KekusMagnus How is that a problem? It worked out better for us in the long run. You sound like one of these equality SJWs.

[@RT-qd8yl]

@@nathanseper8738 Says the person LITERALLY NAMED NATHAN

[@SerebiiWarrior]

Being from the US, it's easy to see Gorbachev as a courageous reformer given our rivalry with the USSR and antipathy towards communism. But, looking back at Russia in the 90s, it's easy to see why Russians who remember the time wouldn't have such warm feelings towards him. Reforming the USSR was never going to be an easy process given the entrenched interests involved in that system. I think any reformer would've had a difficult time regardless. I think ultimately Gorbachev was a man of great ideals, who tried, but failed to meet the challenges of the moment.

[@rebralhunter6069]

I'm a europoor from a Soviet Satellite state that is now living in the US, so I actually have pretty good feelings toward Gorbachev. The ideals of openness and freedom appeal quite a lot to me. Im also not the biggest fan of the USSR to begin with. Though there is no denying his actions sped up the downfall of the USSR. I'm sure if I grew up in the USSR however I would be celebrating his death now. I saw an interview with a Russian rapper and he said it best I think. In the interview he essentially said "what good is freedom if you don't know what to do with it?". Which makes sense. If you grew up in a system that heavily restricts your liberties like freedom of speech, but provides you with a decently comfortable and stable life, and that's all you've known your entirely life, what good is that freedom when you have no idea what to do with it , and your once stable life has gone tits up?

[@FOLIPE]

Compare with other countries that moved away from dictatorship around the same period: Taiwan, South Korea, Spain, Portugal, basically all of Latin America. Russia did comparatively the worst transition.

[@basileusgaming7047]

It can be argued that Gorbachev's successors caused Russia to be the way that it is, after all he really tried to save the union

[@rebralhunter6069]

@@FOLIPE 100%

[@rebralhunter6069]

@@basileusgaming7047 yes absolutely. Gorbachev laid the foundation for modern Russia in a sense. But Yeltsin was far worse and Gorbachev gets a lot of hate that should be directed at Yeltsin

[@krishshah3974]

@@rebralhunter6069 agreed

[@testiclegaming1250]

Ah hell nah what da Gorbster doin at the pizza hut

[@testiclegaming1250]

@SeenBefore Gorbster grindset

[@zersky495]

Gorbin’ 😳

[@BichaelStevens]

Gorbius

[@testiclegaming1250]

@@BichaelStevens It's gorbin' time -Gorbs all over the yelstinners-

[@unimportantcommenter4356]

@@testiclegaming1250 Gorbius' Quest

[@dogzabob]

As someone with a Russian girlfriend who mentiones a lot of the cultural topics you talk about. Your channel is a great window into a culture I only know from the window. I wish you nothing but growth man. Love from londongrad

[@RT-qd8yl]

Can we trade? I'm sick of my girlfriend calling me a grass mud horse every time I give her a drink that isn't fucking boiling in the middle of summer

[@benismann]

>the first USSR leader that was born in the USSR >under his leadership country collapses in less than a decade that says a lot about our society...

[@KozelPraiseGOELRO]

What does say? I don't get it.

[@nicholasgutierrez9940]

@@KozelPraiseGOELRO It means, a country that controls one of the most fertile lands in the world needing to import food is doomed to fail.

[@JohnSmith-cw4cq]

Goes to show how despite having good intentions, you can accidentally(or not) create very bad outcomes. We all like to hate and insult our politicians (and in most times we do so rightfully) but putting the average common man in power can lead to catastrophes

[@xsc1000]

Average common man was still better than KGB agent.

[@obosranecc2938]

@@xsc1000 bruh

[@789know]

@@xsc1000 u won't feel that when ur economy collapse and u r suffering from Progrom u can dislike Putin the KGB agent but at least there r no program hyperinflation and shortage

[@xsc1000]

@@789know What is progrom? Your economy collapsed because your younger communists took the opportunity and stole everything. Than if they supported Putin, they stayed and are the part of state mafia ruled by godfather Putin, if they did not support him, they are dead or in exile. There were problems in economy in every ex-eastern block country. But Russian way out is to mafia and now fascist state.

[@ondrejlukas1121]

@@789know yet

[@Stupetin]

What an excellent retrospective on the man. Great job👍🏻

[@shittymcrvids3119]

As a German I will always feel positively about him, my country would have never be reunited without him.

[@Paerigos]

and Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Azerbajdzani and others who he sent tanks against, (just like Brezniew did to Czechoslovakia) also righrfully detest the man as opressiver murderer who tried to stop them from ragaining independence. That he failed deservers no praise. As long as anyone (neither Russians nor you germans) ever ask us to mute this criticism and allow us to fully express absolute loathing of them in conjuction with your praise- we can coexist. and frankly this goes on with entire USSR - and Stalin - Russians constantly keep asking us in Estern block to worship it as "best thing in the universe" - well for us it was the very WORST time existence. And we loathe and detest it and will say that aloud constatnly.

[@jdm4198]

@@Paerigos Now say it without crying, baltic poodle

[@63Limar]

@@Paerigos is there any information about him sending forces and demanding a violent attempt to stop nationalist movements or you are just attributing everything USSR done to him? You know, there was a pretty big range of political elites, many of whom were interested in getting rid of Gorbachev, which in the end became a coup attempt.

[@Paerigos]

@@63Limar he bears reasponsibility for any action which he had power to prevent. Between Estonia and Romania, Czechia and Kazakhstan he will be nothing but murderer. He was offered a chance to defend himself. Lithuanians wanted to trial him for murders. He never dared go on front their court.

[@63Limar]

@@Paerigos you can call someone a "murderer" if it's someone who directly ordered it, did it themself or built a system designed to carry out these actions, none of which is true. It's pretty bad of him not to prevent violence from the army and police force soviets employed during the last years of the USSR, but that's over-the-top emotional nonsense to call him a "murderer". And well, he was bad at domestic policy and control over the state, as it was with an economy, the same thing goes with using state violence and controlling apparatuses of power. He is someone who was bad at his job when it comes to domestic policy and this incompetence led to deaths, not a "murderer" who intentionally decided to solve problems by killing people. That's a pretty big difference to me.

[@daddy_1453]

Jokes aside, he was it seems a nice man,husband and father who was unsuited for the top job. A kind, naive person ordinarily wouldn't achieve such a position that normally requires a degree of ruthless and cutthroat behaviour. Things which Gorbachev seemed to lack. And when on rare occasions Gorbachev tried to be ruthless, he wasn't very good at it. Just pointless bloodshed.Being violent didn't seem to come naturally to him. It truly was a miracle he ever came to power.

[@th3freakie]

Glad to see your video on Gorbachev. I find myself mostly in agreement: He was a true communist whose main "flaws" were believing too much in soviet propaganda about itself. His reforms were ultimately failures, but mostly because they had been delayed for so long that it was impossible to be gradual. And even so, the events that guaranteed that they failed, like the 1991 coup, were themselves panicky reactions by the hardliners. Still, state collapse is a terrible thing to experience, so he should be condemned as a terrible ruler. Just not as a terrible man.

[@ow4744]

Anyone who is interested in this period who wants a more nuanced take as given in this video should read Collapse: Downfall of the Soviet Union by Vadislav M Zubok. (warning - this book is very dense and detailed!) It is tough reading for someone from the west raised on the idea of freedom and democracy and the belief that the end of the Soviet Union was Inevitable and A Good Thing. But it clearly helps you understand the feeling towards him in Russia today. It also gives a really interesting account of something that is little known today - Gorbachev's attempt to make the Soviet Union an ally of the west in a kind of new NATO in exchange for massive economic aid. I can't really blame American leaders of the time for being suspicious of this but it's a very intriguing potential alternate history - and foreshadows Putin's alleged request to join NATO years later.

[@toonlink1723]

I’d love to see a video about Nikita Khrushchev. I’d say he was a leader who did a lot of things right and was actually successful. Of course he wasn’t perfect, god no! But overall I think he made the ussr amazing for a while

[@xsc1000]

He made USSR look stronger than it really was.

[@jameslawrie3807]

A lot of what Khrushchev is blamed for such as Hungary appears to not be so much his fault. He's still culpable but the Hungarian Communist Party really caused that dumpster fire and then threw petrol on it.

[@toonlink1723]

@@jameslawrie3807 yeah, I think that it’s not unreasonable to argue that he could have done more to stop it. But don’t forget that he was dangerously trying to balance reform and not alienating his own party (which literally came after Stalin). And even then Khrushchev never wanted to send soviet troops to Hungary and was actually against what ended up happening. And at least he learned from his mistakes as he allowed poland to reform without any intervention, quite the opposite and gave them a lot of autonomy. This is the story which I’ve heard so I may not be fully correct here but anyone is welcome to disagree✨

[@toonlink1723]

@@xsc1000 that’s very true. But as oppressive as the Cold War was, it woudnt agree to say it was his overall legacy, besides it being a time where he not only really innovated soviet technology and arguably surpassed the US (as seen with the progress made during the space race during Khrushchevs time of reform before he was ousted). But also he was finally able to open America’s eyes and raised awareness of the dangerous nuclear game they were playing (especially as the us placed missiles in turkey right on the border of the ussr) by placing missiles in cuba snd making them realise how dangerous and risky and provocative their actions were. This is an opinion I’m quite strong on but you’re all welcome to disagree

[@brandonlyon730]

Well I definitely give him credit in helping to stop the likes of Beria from becoming the head of state.

[@geofrizy]

One of the best videos i saw on the matter, congrats

[@farland8910]

I would love to see you deep dive into some of the projects and reforms that were mentioned in this video! Not necessarily Perestroika or Glasnost but rather some of the lesser known ones. And as always great and interesting content!

[@dawitketema4150]

Gorbachev's policy hugely contributed to the defeat of Ethiopia's communist regime in my country and the cessation of Eritrea, and brought a blood sucking government in power. We were too dependent on Soviet military for long and it was suddenly unplugged. We certainly don't miss him.

[@alexs5744]

And how the Emperor’s son was a communist simp who should’ve been beaten.

[@HauntedXXXPancake]

Sounds like Gorbachev was the least of your problems ...

[@dawitketema4150]

@@knobjockey76 A very long story short, both the problem and solution was the Soviets. They were massively arming neighboring Somalia while we were in bed with the US. When the military overthrew emperor Haileselassie and the country was in termoil, Somalia saw the chance and seized a vast swath of Ethiopia's Ogaden territory. Carter made the stupid mistake of (which he expressly regretted later) of imposing sanction on Ethiopia for the weapon it paid $74m. The regime had no alternative than turning to the East. The invaders were defeated. And the rest is history, an unfortunate one.

[@229masterchief]

He's a flawed but well meaning guy who wanted the best for his country, his people, and to some extent, the cause of communism (at that time), but was handed an impossible situation.

[@viktorandrej1303]

so informative video, and u have such a calming voice

[@catsruleacbanonogismanbo6107]

Great Video as always!

[@DDrew67]

By far the best video on the topic I've seen....thank you for taking the time

[@vodahlava]

that was a nice tribute video

[@raezad]

dude really sold his country for some pizza

[@elperrodelautumo7511]

Yep. Sold himself for Pizza Hut

[@user-qz9lc1lt2y]

I hope you're joking

[@raezad]

the red button is red for a reason ಠ⁠ ͜⁠ʖ⁠ ⁠ಠ

[@frejafan]

Stupid joke

[@aarondemiri486]

So happy I found this channel

[@rustomkanishka]

Nicely done.

[@twrags201]

Let me say this I feel like your underselling just what Gorbachev was handed when he became leader after Chernenko. The Soviet union was In a very very poor state corruption although being helped slightly by Andropovs measures was still rife, the economy was stagnant, housing food infrastructure all had decayed due to mismanagement neglect and corruption. Tell me how do you fix this? How do you fix something that was rotten? That's the issue Gorbachev was handed and to be honest I think he handled it far better than any other person (especially Yeltsin) could have. Also a quick note a lot of people put the blame on Russia's situation in the 90s on Gorbachev. This really isn't fair since Gorbachev was out of power in 1991 his ability to shape any policy was non-existent

[@ShinyaMerveilles66]

i dont know why but this made me tear up. its strange in a way how i can feel a lot of sadness and nostalgia for a man who wasnt my country's leader and who was in the middle of a coup when i was born

[@Man-of-Steel674]

Was Gorbochev a Good Leader ? Think of it Like This, Abraham Lincoln said "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the union without freeing any slaves I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that." If you can not preserve the territorial integrity of your Countrymen's Nation All the things you have done for Democracy, World Peace and Freedom can go to hell.

[@xsc1000]

But USSR wasnt state of one nation. So he could preserve territorial integrity for russians against all other nations?

[@lonerider5933]

@@xsc1000 the US also wasn't a nation as such. People were assimilated into its white anglosaxon protestant culture and abandoned their pasts. In this case if Russia was more like France or the US there would be no local languages taught in schools and no national republics and indigenization. Russian would be imposed and the state would be unitary. With that model its probable that the country would be just called Soviet Russia and couldn't collapse since much more people would identify as Russians no matter their origins, just like the US and being american, no matter asian, black or white.

[@xsc1000]

@@lonerider5933 Its not comparable. USA was built by immigrants which all chose to be part of one "american" nation. But Russian empire and after it USSR consisted of many annexed countries (in 18-19th century) with own languages, culture and history sometimes older then Russia. So people would never identify itself as Russians, they didnt choose it voluntarily.

[@lonerider5933]

@@xsc1000 you forget that the US was taken from a lot of indigenous groups and the Southwest from Mexico. The Soviet model would make republics for those minorities. In the US they were assimilated or worse. In Europe France, Germany and Italy. They consisted of many peoples yet the government chose the main language for them which led to the almost total dissapearance of langue d'oc and breton speakers in France and only one official assimilating language. Many so called Italian and German "dialects" are quite different from what's taught in school. Also dissappearing. The SU was much more like today's Belgium or Switzerland on language policy but actually gave 14 republics to other people apart from Russians and inside Russia itself many republics were created. A ton of literature and scientific works in the SU were made by minorities or translated to local languages. I got a lot of Ukrainian books from the times of the SU. If the SU made it all completely Russian by the 90s a lot of people would identify as Soviet and would speak only Russian and its collapse maybe wouldn't happen. Even Ukraine understood that having many languages could be bad for them and they are leading a policy of Ukrainization and probably 50% are Russian speaking

[@xsc1000]

@@lonerider5933 Everytime we talk about Russia/USSR, someone came with "US is worse". And it isnt right again. Sorry, there was no soviet republic for Siberian nations as there is no extra state for indian population in US. And thats all.

[@bjrnbreivik4582]

I usually dont comment and sorry for that. But wanted to tell that i really love ur channel and movies and i watched them all. Its also nice because my GF is Russian and we have some discussions after watching ur vids. Keep the good work going 🥰

[@rotor7726]

Thanks for this really insightful video. I really appreciate the content you make - it's really good to learn things about Russia & the USSR that aren't dismissive or emotionally charged. I have a random question about Gorbachev's name. Why is the `e` at the end pronounced as an `o`?

[@mistershnuxter4870]

the letter "ё" at the end is read as "йо" ("yo"), but the sound "й" ("y") is transferred to the previous consonant, which makes "ч" ("ch") become "soft", but because for the fact that the consonant "h" in Russian is always soft, softening is not audible

[@roshansreedhar4727]

It really should be "Gorbachyov" but the "yo" sound in Cyrillic is just the letter ё, so 'Горбачёв' is just translated as 'Gorbachev.'

[@Gojoe107]

Such a great documentary! With his death I've wondered what his home countries view was!

[@Brick-Life]

No more living leaders of the CCCP anymore

[@tavishnundoo6002]

Great video! Can you make a video on the cossacks or on homelessness & employment in the Soviet Union?

[@TodaysAnalysis]

Thank you Mikhail Gorbachev for everything!

[@alishermukhametkali9230]

Gorbachev is better than Yeltsin in any way possible. I really hate Yeltsin and he is not a liberator.

[@thebandofbastards4934]

Gorbachev maybe was an US agent. But Yeltsin was an US agent.

[@boomr334]

I wasn't going to shed a tear or expected i would but jeez that last line

[@realsimonwest]

Estonian here. I was too young to remember anything but my parents have pretty neutral feelings towards Gorbachev - he did let us go relatively easily and they do recognize his importance in bringing about the post Cold War peace but in Latvia and Lithuania there were incidents indeed and the only reason these incidents didn't happen in Estonia is often attributed to Dzokhar Dudayev's refusals to follow orders from the Kremlin. I feel sad about what happened in Ichkeria... But regardless, Gorbachev becomes more and more liked the more West you go.

[@oliversmith9200]

Glad to hear balanced thinking about comrade Gorbachev.

[@efstratiosfilis2290]

Thank you for your objective account. We need more leaders like Mikhail Sergeyevich: people who seriously want to avoid the catastophe of wars. He struggled to promote cooperation between nations right up until he departed from this difficult world.

[@admirald2680]

Superb.

[@forsis80]

If you not have done one, id love a Yeltsin video

[@botatobias2539]

A tad ominous he and the Queen died within less than a couple weeks...

[@topperis1501]

Seems a bit like an end of some era...

[@blondezeke6640]

God really is good

[@alexs5744]

It’s out with the old guard and in with the new guard except the new guard are old as well.

[@lima153330]

Afghanistan was not a far away land it was the main country the USSR bordered in central asia. It was this fear in the mainly russian leadership that helped pushed for that afghan war

[@xsc1000]

USSR first created that unrests in Afghanistan. In 60s it was poor country wirh some attractivity for tourists and no political problems. In 70s there appear communist party in a country without industrial workers....

[@FOLIPE]

It seems the man was both incompetent and ideologically confused.

[@tomdip2094]

Ideologically, he was a Leninist. The problem was that he had none of the ruthlessness of Lenin's character, but instead was always quite slow to react and measured. He just wasn't really leadership material, other than quite good oratory skills.

[@FOLIPE]

@@tomdip2094 He might have been a Leninist, theoretically, but he didn't seen to have had the clarity of mind on how to translate that to politics/practice

[@xsc1000]

@@FOLIPE Lenins politics could be translated to real life only by red terror...

[@fairyheli2]

he just needed the пицца хат

[@milanbikics3144]

Brilliant video. The early 1980s joke about the old leaders went: - What is the protocol of succession for general secretaries of the USSR? - Pull the infusion needle from the old one and pierce it into the new one.

[@RDSyafriyar]

"Although Mikhail Gorbachev is a man of quite outstanding talent and ability, he insisted recently that the story of his own family is actually history itself or in other words the history of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev is in fact a child of the revolution and the world war, of Lenin's, Stalin's, Khrushchev's and Breshnev's Soviet Union. And like most people in this world he is a product of the society in which he grew up. Today, this Soviet society is a historical experiment which is being shaken to its foundations, and this is so not least because Mikhail Gorbachev was also capable of breaking the mould of the society from which he sprang. Or as he personally expressed it in the televised interview, in which he spoke of the perestroika which he symbolises: 'We came to the conclusion that we could no longer continue to live the way we were. We needed major changes in every department of life.'" - Gidske Anderson

[@nolo1337]

not a communist so i cant understand all the feelings on this man, but for what its worth he tried to do right by a lot of people so RIP

[@MBP1918]

Interesting

[@vorynrosethorn903]

Honestly the disconnect of the party elite sounds very familiar here in the Anglophone counties, scarily so.

[@AngelGonzalez-yb6gu]

Gorbachov was an interesting man, to say the least, he's push for reform but still saving the core of the system was a delicate act of balancing that in the end failed. I remember there were members of his cabinet that suggested him the best way to put an end to empty shelters in the supermarkets was to abolish prices and currency controls altogether, goods could cost 2 or 3 times more but still they'd be cheaper and easier to find than in the black market. However Gorbachov refused to allow more freedom in this field and others and this meant that at the end the core of the soviet economic system remained the same and the problems wouldn't be solved. They were other issues too, like he couldn't cut the military spending as much as it was necessary but I think he knew he couldn't have the army and the military-industrial complex against him because he'd lose power. So, at the end of the day my conclusion is that the USSR wasn't able to change the Marxist economic-political model that was leading into the abysm and thus was doomed to self-destruction.

[@MrExtraordinaire16]

Wow great video

[@MrHitomiz]

This isn't any useful comment or any partisan bullshit. I just love your work. Keep up. You're really good at what you're doing.

[@WagesOfDestruction]

One point that should be mentioned is that, unlike Russia, China did not have a significant issue with nationalism, nor did it have a system of republics that could potentially secede in theory and practice.

[@SovietLensReviews]

To turn around a sinking ship the size of late-eighties USSR, you would've needed the best captain to ever have lived. Gorbachev, as you've very eloquently described in this video, was perhaps a decent guy, but not that captain. One of the best legacies he left was showing the rest of the world that not every USSR leader was a freedom-hating, authoritarian, antagonistic tin-rattler.

[@elperrodelautumo7511]

Truly he could’ve allow the new union treaty to pass and only loosen some of the Soviet republics to their independence and the rest can stay for the renewed Soviet federation of course. Only allowing the best and young leaders of the cpsu.

[@Armored_Ariete]

lmaooo putin and navalny reaction is the same if Mark Anthony and Caesar Augustus commenting on Brutus' death

[@tyemich8820]

I think that such a favourable opinion on Gorbachev had a right to exist before 2022. Now, however, he will forever be remembered as a traitor who opened the city gates to the Western enemy Also iirc, he claimed he believed he could revive the USSR as late as his 1996 presidential campaign

[@stevenbaksh5545]

Can we get a breakdown like this on Joseph Stalin

[@CarlMarxPunk]

I feel like history will absolve him eventually. If there's ever a chance for Russia and the eastern bloc to have democracy, eventually it's going to be because of him.

[@werre2]

I was born in early 70s. To a Finn of my age gorba was a breath of fresh air. Finally an evil overlord one can talk with.

[@KekusMagnus]

you can talk with all western politicians though?

[@thkiwi1]

He was a bloke with good intentions But he was not suitable to lead a nation Probably he would have been a great businessman But as a leader of nation, he was terrible That's why Putin and other authorities had a cold behaviour about his death I doubt he will have statues in Moscow

[@atuka9759]

You forgot about massacre in Tbilisi 9th of April.

[@Tweaks____]

привет cетарко из pумынии 🙏🙏

[@Setarko]

привет!

[@birds2637]

Good man but he was too dependent on his wife❤️

[@Man-of-Steel674]

Really? Gorbochev? Damn.

[@PitunghereTNOschizo100]

He was see the callapse wanted to save but.... he failed and get deserve blame for fanatical. Pity Gorby

[@joelmalone7922]

I think that Gorbachev, quite rightly, that he needed to fix and develop good relations with the West first in order to improve the situation at home. He was partially successful but in the end he ran out of time and events overtook him.

[@dotnask0001]

Dad to me: For you? Gorbachov has a small influence, but for me the massive shit he laid in my life. I know stories of 90s Bulgaria. Of how 15C* is good enough. Of engineering degrees going to the fire pit to keep warm. Communist reformator or not, I will live in the shell of my country never able to live up to its communist past. Of construction, paid work, low criminal rate and knowing I’m defended my my country’s army.

[@mariusd8649]

I am Romanian. We knew what we wanted in 1989. We wanted freedom, no more communism and... food. But I still wonder what did Soviet citizens expect from Gorbachev to do? Miracles? Wonders? Any answers?

[@dirkbastiaandejong997]

Do you believe that, if the USSR hadnt been as far along as it was, Gorbachev's ideas and reforms could have succeeded? Or was he doomed to fail regardless?

[@Setarko]

Probably, but I feel some problems were borderline unsolvable, like the Baltic/Caucasian problem.

[@xsc1000]

Socialism is unreformable.

[@qchtohere8636]

Only those growing in the Soviet Union could expect such naivity to work on politics as they currently exists... The world is such a sick place after all, huh.

[@PitunghereTNOschizo100]

Always has been my friend. Always has been but at least we faced it with big hearts and patience. Only that thing will survive us.

[@sababugs1125]

How many of Gorbachevs actions were due to weakness rather than egalitarianism/liberalism?

[@jimmyj1969]

In the geopolitical field, Gorb. naively believed West's assurances that NATO would not expand eastwards, therefore he didn't sign a treaty declaring former East Block countries to be neutral.

[@realsimonwest]

Gorbachev explained this in an interview a long time ago. He said that these talks were about expanding eastwards - into the Warsaw Pact region past East Germany. The Warsaw Pact disintegrated shortly after and a lot of new independent countries were formed who were no longer part of the Warsaw Pact. Those that wanted to remain with Russia signed with CSTO, those that didn't signed with NATO. Marshal Yazov was also not aware of any of these assurances you're talking about. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKC9oIVud7qZnc0

[@MrJack1992]

When I look at gorbechov I see both a great and terrible leader. He was a necessary reformer but at the same time he couldn't unite the people. He collapsed the Soviet Union

[@makentiyii372]

Peace death pronunciation

[@panrandom2127]

in yugoslavia gorbachev is hated

[@thekristler6865]

It’s is really sad that he was once saw a disaster (Russia) become a miracle after 2000 but then saw the disaster again in 2022 then died in the middle of dark time for Russia

[@nikinikipikipiki8547]

gorbachev was a good ruler but was given a bad spawn point

[@Ferelmakina]

Naive, well-intentioned reformist. We need more of them

[@qchtohere8636]

Sadly, you're in luck. The world filled with them in positions of power. The current world is the result, tho.

[@radioreactivity3561]

@@qchtohere8636 They got what the previous generation left them.

[@AnnoNymus]

u dumb?

[@nyrdov]

as a Czech person I look up to this USSR secretary in a positive light, revolution in our country to democracy political system was extremely peaceful and USSR let us unlike in 1968

[@jasonkinzie8835]

Many of us might not be alive today if he hadn't worked so tirelessly to end the cold war and reduce nuclear armaments to a fraction of what they were. I feel like I'm personally indebted to him.

[@jolt9484]

If the USSR continued to exist to the present you and I would still exist so no none of us are "indebted" to this dead imbecile, may he rest in hell alongside his boyfriend Ronald "supporting genocide in Guatemala" Reagan.

[@kensukefan47]

Леберахи сговорились

[@vincebogdan3368]

8:11 oh no ... The day it become a "Manslaughter"🕳️☝️🤐

[@akutoda]

О, запахом свободного рыночка пахнуло.

[@addisonsmith7949]

Have you been drafted

[@Abdirazak_sulley]

Hello

[@mlin3622]

Hi

[@lly_09]

I guess the burdens were to big for him

[@AlexSamarin07]

Hell-his place now

[@ArchFarm]

Human and being retrad and coward are not synonyms

[@fgjjdgb3949]

I think his importance in history is greatly exaggerated, he just "went with the flow" and agreed with all who were in charge of everything.

[@lotrlmao1648]

That remind me of Taoism from 2000 years ago. Lao Zi think everything especially government should went with the flow, when it decline just let it decline, when it rise let it rise, interesting that it still work.

[@xsc1000]

But its huge mistake. He have to fight inside communist party for every reform. He was voted, because all other candidates were extremly old, but they expected that he would be like them, only younger.

[@brandonlyon730]

If that was the case, why did a bunch of them including his VP started a coup against him in the first place?

[@newguardian5725]

But he had a bad choice of pizza franchises 🤔

[@naoyanaraharjo4693]

He could have been more lickier had August Coup not happened. Read on BJ Habibie and look at Indonesia. If the USSR successfully reform itself

[@dumyjobby]

Gorbaciov tried to make Russia into a free abd democratic state, some that russians were not ready for. In my eyes he was a great lider that tried to do too much too fast and things blew up in his face

[@turkkebab43]

And the 91 referundum

[@againsttheriver3657]

"Far away Afghanistan" bro, check the map of USSR.

[@limoncello3200]

He wanted pizza hut

[@daddy_1453]

Stalin didn't have an higher education? Wow

[@tosijjaan]

His forehead thing looks like Thailand

[@ThePurplePassage]

Gorbachev is only a terrible ruler if you consider the Soviet Union was worth saving. And if it was worth saving, the successor states would never have wished to become independent of it.

[@comradebagel9995]

10:42 Really? Didn't Gorbachev sent in the red army to Baku because the Azerbaijani nationalists were killing innocent Armenians and had to use deadly force to quell the bloody unrest?

[@Setarko]

Armenian pogroms did take place at the time and I won't deny that. But Minister Yazov himself in his interview in 1990 claimed that the Soviet army's goal in Baku was to "defeat the networks of takeover that had branches everywhere". So yeah, it was not to save Armenians, it was to save the Union.

[@emrecanarduc4378]

armenians did the same , just blaming one side is rewriting the history

[@comradebagel9995]

@@Setarko Touche, I didn't know much about Minister Yazov's interview in 1990. But, you must agree. Either it was to save the Union or the Armenians, it prevented more bloodshed. Excellent video btw