What does the loss of a man like Gorbachev mean? For some, it represented the betrayal of their country for articulating the disintegration of the then Union of Soviet Socialist Republics where -from a certain perspective- it lost power not only to confront the United States but as a nation by being reduced in territorial size but also in political weight. . For others it meant a change in world history by giving an “oxygen tank” to the Soviet economy that was in intensive care, but also to the already rusty Cold War. Therefore, whether we agree or disagree with his management, what is a fact is that Gorbachev wrote a new chapter in the history of international relations.
his public life
Gorbachev joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1952 and years later was appointed the party’s first secretary in the Stavropol Komsomol Municipal Committee. Later he was head of the Department of Agriculture of said region and first secretary of his party. He would later become a Deputy of the Supreme Soviet (highest legislative body) of which he became president years later. He participated in various diplomatic efforts such as the signing of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. After he resigned as president of the USSR, he created the Gorbachev Foundation and chaired Green Cross International. He received several awards within his country and internationally. He was intermittently in the political eye, but in a television interview, he asked to be remembered fairly.
Gorbachev’s Legacy
The two pillars that support his legacy are:
- Perestroika day
- El Glasnost
Both concepts are briefly defined below.
This outlined the architecture not only of Russia as a new country, but of a new world order. Although this depends on the magnifying glass with which it is analyzed. On the one hand, from the perspective of the West, it was the best way to pave the way for the United States to live its booming momentum by no longer having its strongest rival. From a bipolar world, gave way to a unipolar world that, although it did not last long unfortunately for the United States, the USSR disappeared. Although it seemed inevitable, December 25, 1991 will never be forgotten as it was the resignation of Gorbachev from power and the opening of a new era that would bring benefits to many, but not all. On the other hand, for several generations of Russians, the economic catastrophe was experienced, and they hold a grudge against it for “letting them go”. They reproach balkanization, which is a term used to describe the process that dismembered the territory, in a manner reminiscent of the Balkan wars of the early 20th century.
Iron courtain
This term was used by the British Winston Churchill to refer to the separation -first ideological and then physical- in Europe after the end of World War II, which marked the area of Soviet influence in the East with Western countries. Below is a map with this invisible but palpable backdrop.
reflections
It is unfortunate that his funeral is not listed as a state funeral. That is, he will be buried in the Novodevichy cemetery, located in Moscow, but without the honors of a burial carried out by the Russian government. Will it be right or wrong? Hated by many and admired by many more. Gorbachev will not have these honors, but international leaders have already expressed their shock at this great loss.
Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences, but was not a Gorbachev sympathizer. There were even confrontational statements from one side to the other and vice versa long ago. So this fact could pay political capital to Putin for the establishment of a “new Iron Curtain” with his war to recover Ukrainian territory. Gorbachev’s shadow hindered him. However, he could now handle this fact to his advantage. Let us not forget that, on the day the Berlin Wall fell, Putin was only 37 years old. At that time he was an officer of the KGB (the Soviet intelligence center) and was in Dresden, as an undercover translator. Putin had made a call to Moscow for instructions, but finding no one, he decided to destroy the files he had worked with and went to Leningrad.
Today Putin continues with that nostalgia of what the Soviet Union was. However, he has forgotten that the world situation has changed and that time cannot be turned back. While it is true that I remain convinced that we are living through a Second Cold War 2.0, it is also true that Gorbachev buried the Cold War by fueling polarization within what we now know as Russia, and that point of separation is exactly what Putin has in mind. his hands like a puzzle and he wants to put it together in his own way and convenience. He wants to recover the fragmented territory that gave way to the independence of the 15 nations that emerged from Perestroika.
So the best way to honor Gorbachev’s legacy will be to bring democracy back to Russia and freedom to the Russian and Ukrainian people.
*The author is Coordinator of the Global Business Degree at the Universidad Iberoamericana and COMEXI Associate.
Twitter: @AribelContreras
Instagram: aribeldiplomatique
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