BERLIN (AP) – The death of Mikhail Gorbachevthe last leader of the Soviet Union and to many the man who restored democracy to communistruled European nations, was mourned Wednesday as the loss of a strange leader who changed the world and for a time give hope for peace between the superpowers. .
But the man who died on Tuesday at the age of 91 he was also reviled by many countrymen who blamed him for the 1991 implosion of the Soviet Union and its decline as a superpower. The Russian nation that emerged from its Soviet past shrank as 15 new nations were created.
The loss of pride and power also led to the rise of Vladimir Putin, who for the past quarter century has sought to restore Russia to its former glory and beyond.
“After decades of brutal political repression, he adopted democratic reforms. He believed in glasnost and perestroika – openness and restructuring – not as mere slogans, but as the way forward for the people of the Soviet Union after so many years of isolation and deprivation,” said President Joe Biden.
He added that “these were the acts of a rare leader, one with the imagination to see that a different future was possible and the courage to risk his entire career to achieve it. The result was a safer world and more freedom for millions of people.”
Gorbachev he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for his role in ending the Cold War, but while widely celebrated abroad, he was an outcast at home.
Putin acknowledged that Gorbachev had “a profound impact on the course of world history”.
“He led the country during difficult and dramatic changes, amid largescale foreign policy, economic and social challenges,” Putin said in a short telegram sending his condolences to Gorbachev’s family.
Gorbachev “realized that reforms were necessary and tried to offer his solutions to serious problems,” Putin said.
Reactions from Russian officials and lawmakers were generally mixed. They applauded Gorbachev for his part in ending the Cold War but censured him for the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Oleg Morozov, a member of the Kremlin’s main United Russia party, said Gorbachev should have “repented” of mistakes that went against Russia’s interests.
“He was a willing or unwilling coauthor of the unjust world order that our soldiers are now fighting on the battlefield,” Morozov said, referring to the current war in Ukraine.
World leaders paid tribute to a man some described as a great and courageous leader.
Outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that “at a time of Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, his tireless commitment to opening up Soviet society remains an example to us all.”
French President Emmanuel Macron described Gorbachev as “a man of peace, whose election opened a path of freedom for Russians. His commitment to peace in Europe changed our shared history.”
German leaders praised Gorbachev for paving the way for their country’s reunification.
“We will not forget that perestroika made it possible to try to establish democracy in Russia and that democracy and freedom became possible in Europe, that Germany was able to unite and the Iron Curtain disappeared,” the chancellor told reporters Olaf Scholz.
However, Scholz also noted that Gorbachev died at a time when many of his achievements have been destroyed.
“We know that he died at a time when not only has democracy in Russia failed (there is no other way to describe the current situation there), but also Russia and Russian President Putin are drawing new trenches in Europe and have started a horrible war against a neighboring country, Ukraine,” he said.
The head of EU foreign policy, Josep Borrell, who was part of the Spanish government when the Steel Curtain fell, remembered Gorbachev as a man who “sent a wind of freedom through Russian society. He tried to change the communist system from within, which became impossible.”
Others in Europe challenged the positive memories of Gorbachev.
Gabrielius Landsbergis, the son of Vytautas Landsbergis who led Lithuania’s independence movement in the early 1990s, tweeted that “Lithuanians will not glorify Gorbachev.”
Memories are still fresh in the Baltic country of January 13, 1991, when hundreds of Lithuanians marched on the Vilnius television tower to oppose Soviet troops deployed to crush the country’s bid to restore its independence. . In the ensuing clashes, 14 civilians were killed and more than 140 were injured. Moscow recognized Lithuania’s independence in August of that year.
“We will never forget the simple fact that his army murdered civilians to prolong the occupation of our country by his regime. Their soldiers fired at our unarmed protesters and crushed them under their tanks. This is how we will remember him,” Landsbergis wrote.
UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres called Gorbachev “a unique statesman who changed the course of history” and “did more than any other individual to bring about the peaceful end of the Cold War “.
“The world has lost a towering world leader, a committed multilateralist and tireless champion of peace,” the UN chief said in a statement.
Gorbachev’s contemporaries pointed to the end of the Cold War as one of his achievements.
“Mikhail Gorbachev played a critical role in the peaceful end of the Cold War. At home, he was a figure of historical importance, but not in the way he intended,” said Robert M. Gates, who led the CIA between 1991 and 1993 and then became US Secretary of Defense.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Gorbachev “one of the most extraordinary figures of the 20th century. He was a courageous and visionary leader, who shaped our world in ways previously thought unimaginable.
In Asia, he was remembered as a leader with the courage to bring change.
The Chinese government acknowledged Gorbachev’s role in healing relations between Moscow and Beijing. Gorbachev had been an inspiration to reformist thinkers in China in the late 1980s, and his visit to Beijing in 1989 marked a turning point in relations between the sides.
“Mr. Gorbachev made positive contributions to the normalization of relations between China and the Soviet Union. We regret his death and extend our condolences to his family,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.
However, China’s Communist Party leaders also regard Gorbachev’s liberal approach as a fatal sign of weakness and his moves toward peaceful coexistence with the West as a form of surrender.
___
Quinn reported from Bangkok. AP reporters around the world contributed to this report.
___
More AP stories on Mikhail Gorbachev here: https://apnews.com/hub/mikhailgorbachev