Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/12/02/the-time-mikhail-gorbachev-sta.html
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I always feel sorry for Gorbachev. He was given command of a supertanker, and people blame him for not being able to turn it on a sixpence.
If his reforms had come before the era of stagnation, then there’s a good chance the USSR would still be around today. Of course, people have been saying these “what ifs” for 25 years. What if Kruschev wasn’t removed after the Cuban/Turkish missile crisis, What if Trotsky had replaced Lenin rather than Stalin, What if the sailors of Kronstadt has succeeded in restoring democracy and multi-party politics. And so on… The path dependence of the Soviet system on individual decisions, rather than robust systems is a key weakness in their entire history.
And this whole series of what ifs reminds me of a soviet-era joke:
Q- What is the difference between Dubček and Gorbachev?
A. Nineteen years.
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Perhaps a more salient what-if is: What if Yeltsin, Russia’s first President after the fall of Communism, had been a disciplined, principled statesman instead of the drunk, incompetent, corrupt fool that he turned out to be.
Russia’s constitution and institutions are a joke because of him. And Putin didn’t come out of nowhere; Yeltsin groomed him because he wanted to retire with his ill-gotten billions without being prosecuted.
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He couldn’t influence the onset of poor quality Pizza Hut in the 90s, either. /s
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Anybody knows what is Gorbachev reputation in Russia now? I mean, is he forgotten, considered a failure but respected for trying, actively hated?
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I know that everything in Trump’s life and career appears to be connected to Russia but this is just ridiculous.
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And to reply to myself, just read the full article. Boy, not loved at all, not even given a consolation prize for trying.
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Gorby came to Minneapolis in 1990; my wife and I were living in northern Minnesota that year, and we trekked down to see him. Being in one of the crowds of Minnesotans cheering his motorcade was a delight.
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