September: Gorbachev's legacy
Sunday 4 September 2022
‘The most significant political leader globally of the second half of the 20th century and one of the greatest reformers in Russian history’
Archie Brown
“We see the best side of Gorbachev. The Soviets see the other side, and hold him to blame.”
Peter Reddaway
The death of Mikhail Gorbachev last week has led to a flood of news articles analysing Gorbachev's perestroika and glasnost reforms within the Soviet Union after 1985, and the arms control treaties he signed with the West which effectively led to the end of the Cold War. These actions on the part of Gorbachev have meant that he is revered in the West but seen by Putin as responsible for ‘the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] Century' due to the break up of the Soviet Union.
So this is a great time for reviewing the late 1980s both inside the USSR and in terms of the Cold War; this is useful for Cold War Topic 12 in Paper 2, the Soviet Union Section 16 for Paper 3, Europe and also The People’s Republic of China, Section 14 for Paper 3, Asia.
A good starting point for a discussion of Gorbachev's legacy are the following two articles. The first is by Archie Brown, emeritus professor of politics at Oxford University and author of ‘The Human Factor: Gorbachev, Reagan, and Thatcher and the End of the Cold War’ , and the second (longer) article is an obituary from the New York Times. Both articles give clear overviews of Gorbachev’s actions within the Soviet Union, his aims and resulting successes and failures – plenty for students to discuss (also see questions for discussion at the bottom of the page):
A peaceful yet radical social transformer: Mikhail Gorbachev leaves a blazing legacy | Archie Brown (the Guardian)
No western leader could have predicted his progressive reforms. But war between his country and Ukraine was a devastating blow, says Archie Brown, an emeritus professor of politics at Oxford University
NYT Obituary: Mikhail S. Gorbachev, Reformist Soviet Leader, Is Dead at 91
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.
The following article from the BBC also examines Gorbachev's legacy. There are two useful short videos within this article – one with an interview with Gorbachev in 2019 on the current dangers in the relationship between Russia and the West, and another with Kissinger on the benefits he bought ‘mankind and the Russian people’.
Mikhail Gorbachev: Last Soviet leader dies aged 91 (BBC News)
The former president opened up the Soviet Union but failed to prevent its collapse in 1991.
All of the above could lead to some good discussion in class; however a good activity could be to get students to find their own contrasting articles on Gorbachev’s legacy to bring into class to discuss.
Also interesting to look at before discussing the question below on why there are different perspectives today on Gorbachev is this report from Tass in Russia announcing Gorbachev's death and this article from the Washington Post reporting how Gorbachev's death was reported in China. Very different to in tone and content to reports in the West.
Questions for students to consider in their analysis of Gorbachev:
- Could Gorbachev have executed his economic and political reforms in the USSR without leading to its collapse?
- What was the problem of carrying out political reforms at the same time as economic reforms?
- How did Gorbachev's aims change during his time as President of the USSR?
- How far do Gorbachev's actions during his time in office help support the 'great man theory of history'?
- Can Gorbachev be held responsible for the accession of Putin and the resulting conflict with the West over NATO?
- Why are there such different perspectives today on Gorbachev's legacy?