By Hu Xijin
September 02, 2022:
Information Clearing House
-- "Global
Times"
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the
former Soviet Union, passed away on Tuesday
local time. Russian President Vladimir Putin
expressed his condolences. But the real and
overwhelming compliments for him came from the
West, ranging from US President Joe Biden to
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and
politicians from the same era of Gorbachev, who
praised him for introducing "brave democratic
reforms," bringing "freedom," ending the Cold
War and making the world safer.
It can be argued that Gorbachev was one of the
most controversial world leaders. He won the
widespread acclaim from the West by sacrificing
the interests of his homeland. Because of him,
the West became more secure. But the aftermath
of the fall of the former Soviet Union has led
to a series of wars on that land, first in
Chechnya, then in Georgia, and now in Ukraine
where the most brutal war since the end of World
War II in Europe is taking place.
Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union in
1985 when he was only 54 years old. He had an
ambition to end the Soviet Union's economic and
social stagnation through reforms. However, he
had some political idealism and naivety - which
are common among some intellectuals - seriously
underestimating the complexity, risks and
challenges of reforms in a multi-ethnic country,
and lacking control over the reform process.
Under Gorbachev's leadership, the reforms of the
Soviet Union started from the political field,
aggressively promoting "new thinking," and
continuously transferring the power of the party
to the Congress of People's Deputies of the
Soviet Union. A few years after he came to
power, the country started to fall into chaos.
As the leadership of the party and the authority
of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Central Committee were weakened, narrow-minded
nationalism spread rapidly in the Baltic
countries and the Caucasus. The first
secretaries of some of the republics colluded
with the separatist forces and sought
independence. Some did not listen to the central
command, provoking "territorial disputes" and
armed conflicts among the republics.
The nationalism of those small republics, in
turn, stimulated the awakening of Russian
nationalism. The combination of nationalism and
democratization in various places resonated, and
finally led to the three major republics -
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus - proclaiming the
establishment of the "Commonwealth of
Independent States," and the Soviet Union came
to an end. Gorbachev was deposed.
Russia is the largest successor state of the
Soviet Union. Its population is nearly half of
that of the USSR, and its national strength
dropped dramatically. Russian society is "freer"
than Soviet society. With multi-party elections,
it wanted to integrate into the Western camp and
once became a member of G8. But it is a nuclear
power, thus the US will not let it go.
Washington's strategic goal is to continue to
weaken it, and NATO's eastward expansion is
advancing step by step, all of which eventually
led to the outbreak of countermeasures from
Russia, which was pushed into a corner.
After Gorbachev's death, many Westerners sang
praises for him. Some compared him with Putin,
expressing their hatred toward the latter.
However, Putin has been embraced and supported
by Russian people, reflecting their awakening in
the face of the negative strategic consequences
of the Soviet Union's disintegration. However,
today's Russia is not only weak in national
strength, but also no longer has its previous
Eastern European allies. It appears to show a
lack of strength in response to suppression from
the US.
Looking back, the Soviet Union was very powerful
with considerable technological innovation
capabilities. The first manmade satellite and
the first nuclear power plant were born in the
Soviet Union. Its problems at the time were weak
agriculture and light industry. With what we
know today, it should have been easy for the
resource-rich Soviet Union to solve these
problems. But Gorbachev misjudged the problems,
chose the wrong path of reform, and lacked
political leadership. He himself was obviously
an admirer of Western culture, and he cared
about and enjoyed the praises that Western
public opinion had given to him at that time. He
was largely fooled by the West.
Gorbachev had some good cards, but he played it
badly and both the Soviet Union and himself lost
everything. Today, Russia has fallen into an
unprecedented strategic passivity and
difficulty. As the last leader of the Soviet
Union, everything he did benefited the West,
while most members of the former Soviet Union
suffered long-term consequences.
The disintegration of one pole in a bipolar
world has driven global strategic changes, and
its impact will span centuries, and the feelings
and evaluations about it from different
countries will vary widely. If people go beyond
the perspective that leaders should be
responsible for their own countries' interests,
the evaluation of Gorbachev throughout human
history is likely to be more interesting.
However, the perspective from the entire
humanity has not yet really been formed, and
people often make their point from current
political interests. In short, Gorbachev's
controversy will continue for a long time.
Views expressed in this article are
solely those of the author and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
in this article are
solely those of the author and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
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