Margaret Thatcher in the Soviet Union - Rare and Unseen Footage (1987)

Jan 20, 2024 | Between 28 March and 1 April 1987, ITN filmed British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as she made her historic first trip to the Soviet Union at the invitation of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. The five-day schedule included a visit to an enormous tenement complex and supermarket in Moscow’s Krylatskoye District, a performance of Swan Lake at the capital’s prestigious Bolshoi Theatre, and a state banquet. Chief on the agenda, however, were negotiations on the reduction of American and Soviet nuclear arsenals.

WIKIPEDIA: Raisa Gorbacheva »

Obituary: Mikhail S. Gorbachev, Reformist Soviet Leader, Is Dead at 91

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Adopting principles of glasnost and perestroika, he weighed the legacy of seven decades of Communist rule and set a new course, presiding over the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the U.S.S.R.

Mikhail S. Gorbachev had a profound effect on his time: In little more than six tumultuous years, he lifted the Iron Curtain, transforming the map of Europe and the political climate of the world. | Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
Mikhail S. Gorbachev, whose rise to power in the Soviet Union set in motion a series of revolutionary changes that transformed the map of Europe and ended the Cold War that had threatened the world with nuclear annihilation, has died in Moscow. He was 91.

His death was announced on Tuesday by Russia’s state news agencies, citing the city’s central clinical hospital. The reports said he had died after an unspecified “long and grave illness.”

Few leaders in the 20th century, indeed in any century, have had such a profound effect on their time. In little more than six tumultuous years, Mr. Gorbachev lifted the Iron Curtain, decisively altering the political climate of the world. At home he promised and delivered greater openness as he set out to restructure his country’s society and faltering economy. It was not his intention to liquidate the Soviet empire, but within five years of coming to power he had presided over the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. He ended the Soviet debacle in Afghanistan and, in an extraordinary five months in 1989, stood by as the Communist system imploded from the Baltics to the Balkans in countries already weakened by widespread corruption and moribund economies.

For this he was hounded from office by hard-line Communist plotters and disappointed liberals alike, the first group fearing that he would destroy the old system and the other worried that he would not.

It was abroad that he was hailed as heroic. To George F. Kennan, the distinguished American diplomat and Sovietologist, Mr. Gorbachev was “a miracle,” a man who saw the world as it was, unblinkered by Soviet ideology.

But to many inside Russia, the upheaval Mr. Gorbachev had wrought was a disaster. President Vladimir V. Putin called the collapse of the Soviet Union the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.” For Mr. Putin — and his fellow K.G.B. veterans who now form the inner circle of power in Russia — the end of the U.S.S.R. was a moment of shame and defeat that the invasion of Ukraine this year was meant to help undo. » | Marilyn Berger | Tuesday, August 30, 2022

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Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the USSR, has died at 91 : The architect of the East-West rapprochement and father of perestroika has died at the age of 91. Deemed responsible in Russia for the chaos following the collapse of the Soviet Union, he left political life in 1991. »

Mikhaïl Gorbatchev, le dernier dirigeant de l’URSS, est mort :NÉCROLOGIE | Artisan du rapprochement Est-Ouest, le père de la perestroïka s’est éteint à l’âge de 91 ans. Perçu en Russie comme le responsable du chaos qui a suivi la chute de l’Union soviétique, il avait quitté la vie politique en 1991. »

Der Kreml-Chef mit dem menschlichen Antlitz: Michail Gorbatschow wollte die Sowjetunion retten – und scheiterte. In Putins Russland wirkte er wie aus der Zeit gefallen. Dort schlug ihm nur nach dem Tod seiner Frau große Sympathie entgegen. »

Gorbachev Freed My Generation of Eastern Europeans from the Abyss. We Saw a Different Future

THE OBSERVER: The man who liberalised the Soviet Union died last week, beset by a sense that his country had been betrayed – by the west and history

‘I still see Lenin as our god’: Mikhail Gorbachev in Aberdeen in December 1993. Photograph: Murdo Macleod/The Guardian
The German poet Hans Magnus Enzensberger labelled him “the hero of retreat”. But does retreat produce heroes? A lost man haunted by the death of his beloved wife and torn apart by a sense of guilt and anger for the tragic death of his beloved country. This is how Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union’s first and final president, vividly appears in Vitaly Mansky’s documentary Gorbachev. Heaven. This was also my experience several years ago when I visited Gorbachev in his foundation’s empty offices. This stark, poignant impression of Mikhail Sergeevich, who died last week at 91, will forever stay with me.

I recall two other Gorbachevs. The first I saw on TV in my native Bulgaria in 1985. I was a 20-year-old studying philosophy at Sofia University and Gorbachev had just been elected general secretary of the Communist party of the Soviet Union. His arrival to power, not to mention his opening policy gambits, was as surprising as snow in July. The very fact that the Soviet nomenklatura elected somebody who was younger than 70 and able to finish a sentence was a miracle. Even more supernatural was the sense of an opening that he brought – an infectious feeling that something impossible only yesterday was possible today and that even more might happen tomorrow. » | Ivan Krastev * | Sunday, September 4, 2022

* Ivan Krastev is chairman of the Center for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, Bulgaria. His latest book is Democracy Disrupted: The Politics of Global Protest

Mikhail Gorbachev Funeral: Hundreds Pay Respects to Last Soviet Leader | BBC News

Sep 3, 2022 Hundreds of people have paid their respects at the funeral of the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin cited a busy "work schedule" as a reason for him missing the event at the House of Unions on Saturday.

Liberal politician Grigory Yavlinsky said: "These people have come to Gorbachev to thank him, to say 'Thank you Mr Gorbachev, you gave us a chance.'"

Putin Skips Gorbachev Funeral due to 'Full Schedule' | DW News

The last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev is being laid to rest at a ceremony in Moscow. Gorbachev died on Tuesday at the age of 91 after a long illness. Crowds lined up in Moscow to see the former president lying in state at Moscow's Hall of Columns. But he is not being given a full state funeral usually held for former leaders. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend, citing a full schedule. Most western leaders are also staying away because of Putin's invasion of Ukraine. However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is expected to be in Moscow to pay his last respects.

Mikhail Gorbachev funeral held in Moscow as Putin too busy to attend: Hundreds of mourners pay tribute in Russian capital to former Soviet leader credited with helping to end cold war »

A Moscou, les funérailles de Gorbatchev sans Vladimir Poutine, qui s’est contenté d’un hommage minimal : Salué en Occident comme un homme de paix, le dernier dirigeant soviétique est perçu par beaucoup de Russes comme le responsable des années de crise politique, économique et morale qui ont suivi la chute de l’URSS. »

Ein historischer Glücksfall: Von den Deutschen wurde Michail Gorbatschow verehrt, weil er ihnen die Wiedervereinigung schenkte. Seine Gegner konnten ihm nicht verzeihen, dass er auch das Ende der Sowjetunion besiegelte. Dabei hat er das nie gewollt. »

Hunderte nehmen Abschied von Michail Gorbatschow: Kein nationaler Trauertag, kein Putin am Grab: In Moskau findet die Beerdigung des ehemaligen sowjetischen Präsidenten Gorbatschow statt – ohne große Feierlichkeiten. »

Konstantin of ‘Inside Russia’: Gorbachev RIP: “The Best Leader Russia Has Known”

Michail Gorbatchev died at old age of 92.

Putin Will Not Attend Gorbachev's Funeral

Mikhail Gorbachev (L) and Vladimir Putin in 2004 | EPA
BBC: Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the funeral of Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union's last leader, the Kremlin has confirmed.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Mr Putin's work schedule would not permit him to attend the event on Saturday.

He said the Russian leader had paid his respects at the Moscow hospital where Gorbachev died on Tuesday, aged 91.

Gorbachev's reforms helped end the Cold War, but saw the demise of the Soviet Union, which Mr Putin has lamented. » | Robert Plummer, BBC News | Thursday, September 1, 2022

Death of Gorbachev: Global Tributes but Little Sorrow in Russia - BBC News

World Leaders React to Gorbachev's Death amid Russian Tensions with West

Aug 31, 2022 Tributes have also been pouring in from leaders around the world. In Russia, a spokesman for Vladimir Putin said the president expressed his deepest condolences to Gorbachev's family.

UN Chief Antonio Guterres said he was deeply saddened by Gorbachev's passing and described him as a "one of a kind states-man, who changed the course of history.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Gorbachev's crucial role in bringing down the Iron Curtain opened the way for a free Europe.

And the foundation of then U-S president Ronald Reagan tweeted that Gorbachev was a man, who was once a political adversary, but who ended up becoming a friend.

Last Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev: Dies Aged 91 - BBC News

Aug 31, 2022

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev Dies Aged 91 | DW News

Aug 30, 2022 Mikhail Gorbachev, the final leader of the Soviet Union who ended the Cold War without bloodshed, has died in hospital on Tuesday. He was 91.

From 1985 until the collapse of the Soviet union in 1991, Gorbachev oversaw a massive overhaul of the country's economic and political policies.

His policy of glasnost, or free speech, allowed previously unthinkable criticism of the Communist Party and the state, but it also emboldened calls for independence in the Soviet Union's constituent republics — first in the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and then elsewhere.

As the last Soviet leader, Gorbachev forged arms reduction reals with the United States and partnerships with the West to remove the Iron Curtain that had divided Europe since World War II, which saw the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990.

Gorbachev and the Opportunity for Peace Wasted | DW Documentary

Mikhail Gorbachev wrote world history with his politics: from the 1985 elections to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. [Online until: 02.11.2018]

This documentary looks at one of the most gripping chapters in contemporary history from the election of Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985 to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War four years later. It features exclusive interviews with the former Soviet leader and leading politicians and statesmen active on the international stage at the time. Mikhail Gorbachev was elected Secretary-General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985. His policies of "glasnost" - "openness" - and "perestroika" - "restructuring" - ultimately ended in the collapse of Moscow’s empire and changed the course of world history. But in the end, his legacy is still at best an ambiguous one. This documentary examines one of the most exciting chapters in contemporary history since the Second World War and talks to former French Foreign Minister Hubert Védrine and German politician Horst Teltschik, both of whom played important roles in German reunification. Gorbachev's former national security adviser Alexander Likhotal and others also chart the way nuclear weapons have continued to spread throughout the multipolar world that grew out of the end of the Cold War. Could this new arms race bring us to the brink of nuclear war again? The film draws on the wisdom and experience of men who ushered in the end of the Cold War to ask how real peace can be achieved.

Mikhail Gorbachev: America needs a Perestroika (2014)

The Ukrainian issue has intensified the tension that existed between the West and Russia: now, another Cold War is possibly lurking on the horizon. Are we to witness another stand-off - or will it be averted? The relations between Russia and the West seem to be stuck at dead-end, so is there hope common ground will emerge between the two? We ask these questions to the man who prides himself on ending the Cold War, the last leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, on Sophie&Co today.

Mikhail Gorbachev: 'It All Looks as if the World Is Preparing for War'

TIME: The world today is overwhelmed with problems. Policymakers seem to be confused and at a loss.

But no problem is more urgent today than the militarization of politics and the new arms race. Stopping and reversing this ruinous race must be our top priority.

The current situation is too dangerous.

More troops, tanks and armored personnel carriers are being brought to Europe. NATO and Russian forces and weapons that used to be deployed at a distance are now placed closer to each other, as if to shoot point-blank.

While state budgets are struggling to fund people’s essential social needs, military spending is growing. Money is easily found for sophisticated weapons whose destructive power is comparable to that of the weapons of mass destruction; for submarines whose single salvo is capable of devastating half a continent; for missile defense systems that undermine strategic stability.

Politicians and military leaders sound increasingly belligerent and defense doctrines more dangerous. Commentators and TV personalities are joining the bellicose chorus. It all looks as if the world is preparing for war. » | Mikhail Gorbachev | Thursday, January 26, 2017

Gorbachev Warns Ukraine Could Ignite World War III

GLOBAL RESEARCH: Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union, accused the United States Thursday of initiating a new Cold War with Russia and expressed fears that the conflict could escalate into a nuclear Third World War.

Gorbachev made his comments as fighting escalated in Ukraine between forces directed by the US- and European Union-backed government in Kiev and pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Donbass region.

“Plainly speaking, the US has already dragged us into a new Cold War, trying to openly implement its idea of triumphalism,” the former Soviet leader told Interfax. “What’s next? Unfortunately, I cannot be sure that the Cold War will not bring about a ‘hot’ one. I’m afraid [the United States] might take the risk.”

He criticized the US and the EU for continuing to press for more economic sanctions against Russia. “All we hear from the US and the EU now is sanctions against Russia,” he continued. “Are they completely out of their minds? The US has been totally ‘lost in the jungle’ and is dragging us there as well.” » | Niles Williamson | Saturday, January 31, 2015

Crisis in Ukraine Could Trigger Nuclear War, Warns Gorbachev

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The former Russian leader warns that Moscow does not trust the West, and the West does not trust Moscow

Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader, has warned that the world is at risk of a “nuclear war” because of the tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine.

In an interview with the German magazine Spiegel, Mr Gorbachev said that if either side lost its nerve in the current stand-off, it could lead to nuclear war, and spoke of his fears that the world “will not survive the next few years”.

“I actually see all the signs of a new Cold War,” Mr Gorbachev said. “It could all blow up at any moment if we don’t take action. The loss of confidence is catastrophic. Moscow does not believe the West, and the West does not believe Moscow.” » | Justin Huggler, Berlin | Sunday, January 11, 2015

Mikhail Gorbachev: World On Brink of New Cold War over Ukraine

THE GUARDIAN: Former Soviet Union leader says tensions between US and Russia should be kept under control

Mikhail Gorbachev has warned that tensions between the US and Russia over Ukraine have put the world on the brink of a new cold war.

The former leader of the Soviet Union said: “We must make sure that we get the tensions that have arisen recently under control.”

The call comes amid a warning from the Dutch foreign minister that the last victims of the Malaysia Airlines plane shot down over Ukraine might never be recovered.

Gorbachev was speaking on Saturday at an event marking the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, close to the Brandenburg Gate.

His perestroika and glasnost reforms helped spell the end of communism in eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He kept Soviet troops stationed in East Germany in their barracks the night of 9 November 1989, as the border was opened.

The 83-year-old former leader has accused the west – particularly the US – of “triumphalism” after the collapse of the communist bloc. » | Chris Johnston and agencies | Saturday, November 08, 2014

Gorbachev: 'Obama and Putin Must Meet'

BBC: Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev told the BBC's Newsnight programme that Mr Obama and Mr Putin must meet.

"They must strike up a conversation that will lead to the improvement of relations and stop the things which are happening now". Watch BBC video » | Thursday, September 05, 2013

Syrie: Gorbatchev: «La France sera obligée de changer de position»

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: De passage à Genève, l’ancien dirigeant soviétique a accordé un entretien à la «Tribune de Genève» au sujet de la situation en Syrie.

Mikhaïl Gorbatchev, présent à Genève dans le cadre de l'assemblée générale de la Fondation Green Cross, avait rappelé son attachement à une solution pacifiste en Syrie, lundi. Mercredi, l'ancien dirigeant soviétique juge la position russe «constructive» et s’étonne de l’attitude de la France, dénonçant sans les nommer les pays arabes qui jettent de l’huile sur le feu.

Que pensez-vous de la position prise par le Kremlin ces dernières heures?

Je crois que la Russie a une attitude constructive et positive. Le président Poutine vient de donner une longue interview à la télévision russe. Il a consacré beaucoup de temps à expliquer sa position. Je crois que c’est possible de trouver une issue à cette crise. Il faut d’abord essayer de comprendre ce qui s’est réellement passé et après prendre une décision concertée sur ce qui doit être fait. » | mercredi 04 septembre 2013

URSS: les regrets de Gorbatchev
LE FIGARO: Le père de la Perestroïka et dernier dirigeant soviétique, Mikhaïl Gorbatchev, 81 ans, avoue regretter encore de ne pas avoir mené le bateau URSS "à bon port", dans un dernier livre publié à Moscou, où il confesse des erreurs mais critique aussi le rôle des Occidentaux. "Je regrette toujours de ne pas avoir réussi à mener le bateau, à la barre duquel j'avais été placé, à bon port", écrit M. Gorbatchev dans ce livre de souvenirs de 600 pages intitulé "En tête-à-tête avec soi-même". » | AFP | mardi 13 novembre 2012