Kremlin offers mixed view on Gorbachev’s role
Late leader criticized for vision of the West
MOSCOW — The Kremlin treaded carefully Wednesday reacting to Mikhail Gorbachev’s death, praising his prominent role in reshaping 20th-century history but noting his “romantic” view of the West.
The hesitant stance was mirrored by state television broadcasts, which paid tribute to Gorbachev as a historic figure but described his reforms as poorly planned and held him responsible for failing to safeguard the country’s interests in dialogue with the West.
The criticism echoed earlier assessments by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has famously lamented the collapse of the Soviet Union as the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.”
In a telegram of condolences released by the Kremlin, Putin praised Gorbachev as a man who left “an enormous impact on the course of world history.”
“He led the country during difficult and dramatic changes, amid large-scale foreign policy, economic and society challenges,” Putin said. “He deeply realized that reforms were necessary and tried to offer his solutions for the acute problems.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Gorbachev as an “extraordinary” statesman who will “always remain in the country’s history” but noted what he described as his idealistic view of the West.
“Gorbachev gave an impulse for ending the Cold War and he sincerely wanted to believe that it would be over and an eternal romance would start between the renewed Soviet Union and the collective West,” Peskov said. “This romanticism failed to materialize. The bloodthirsty nature of our opponents has come to light, and it’s good that we realized that in time.”
Members of the Kremlin-controlled parliament hailed Gorbachev’s historic role but lamented the Soviet collapse in 1991.
Leonid Slutsky, the head of the foreign affairs committee in the lower house, the State Duma, hailed Gorbachev as “the most remarkable politician of his time” but noted that his reforms “played into the hands of those who were trying to wipe the USSR off the world’s map.”
Oleg Morozov, a member of the main Kremlin party, the United Russia, said that Gorbachev should have “repented” for the errors that hurt Russia’s interests.
Gorbachev’s aides were devastated by the loss.
“His fearlessness in the initiatives, the changes that he started in this country, our country, in the Soviet Union, in Russia, predetermined the irreversibility of many of these changes,” said Pavel Palazhchenko, who worked as Gorbachev’s official interpreter during his tenure as the Soviet leader and then worked for Gorbachev’s foundation.