Mikhail Gorbachev who died on the 39 August 2022 presided over the break up of the Soviet Union, with the subsequent monumental political changes in Europe over the last thirty years. As such, his life deserves the attention it is receiving.
His obituaries at the west are glowing, a reformer who brought freedom to a continent.
Boris Johnson, in one of his briefer and more thoughtful comments, noted that Gorbachev changed the world for the better and paid the price in his own career.
In Russia, many still see him as an instigator of changes that have reduced Soviet power, and indirectly led to the thinking that resulted in today’s conflict in Ukraine
One of his best-informed critics is Garry Kasparov, one of Russia’s most famous emigrés, advisor to American presidents, and ranked among the greatest chess players of all time. Kasparov has emerged as an influential critic of the political path followed by his country of birth
