Gravitas | Mikhail Gorbachev: Soviet Union's last leader dies 

"Always hate the leader who is more loved and adored by your enemies"...

I'm always sceptical about a state leader being bombarded with praise from the west

i think my Russian friend said it best. "the man sold his country, to buy a Nobel prize"

Breaking up a country never helps in the long run. Brits played this game with undivided India. And they still support referendums in other countries, including their own Scotland, Ireland & Wales.

Hero of Western Oligarchy, that robed Russia blind.

“Allowing people to criticize the state” was never true - you’d be imprisoned and tortured in prison if you did

He was instrumental in the division of a great country

A great man,of MANKIND.

Gorbachev was a real statesman. Few men are like him.

We needs more Goverchow in this world

Imagine if it was the other way-around if somebody disentigrated the US and ended the cold war that way

Do you blame Russia for what it stands for now?

When the Iron Curtain came down under Gorbachev , [due to a collapsing economy] there was a possibility that Russia like Sweden or any of the Nordic countries might have become a shining light to the world, and maintain its commitment to a fair economy and prosperity for all, with its vast natural resources. Instead under Putin, Russia prefers to be a rogue state , in which a handful of ex-party apparatchiks, now fully enthroned oligarchs , have stolen everything previously owned by the Soviet, and hold the Russian people hostage to bullying and war to keep the Russian people's minds off the oligarchs thievery which has resulted in again another collapsing economy, and now a potential world war.

Because he let thugs steal government resources, then a lot of oligarchs moved abroad but simple people stayed without work and money. All the factories were closed after Soviet was broken. 90-es were disaster, that was time of hunger for many people and he enjoyed his life coz he got enough for his ''deals". I blame him for my hungry childhood!

He was not good for his country, after collapse of USSR teachers became janitors, professors and scientists became homeless. New Business man were going around with a bunch of bodyguards and making mafia wars killing each other.Some of his ideas was good but it didn’t help people in every day life.

I remember young people from Russia telling me how everybody hated him .

Okay let me understand this, Gorbachev was loved in the West, but not liked at home. And Putin is hated in the West, but liked at home. Got it. So one was a puppet of the West while the other is not a puppet of the West.

This man betrayed his country for a slice of pizza 😂

Wish same future and "peace" for usa as gorbachew did to USSR.

I am the eye witness of his era, 1985 went to study in USSR and he came into power in early 1985, what ever was left from Soviet economy started vanishing, there was no food, clothes, only very big ques for every thing. His both Glasnost and prestroyka utter failure. Everything foreigners brought to the country was the only import. The biggest disaster was the collapse of USSR 1991. Everything he did was in favour of the USA and west, 1991/1999 was the most dangerous time, The mafia, Chechan war, loots on the streets were the consequences of Prestroika and Glasnost and so on. Thank God Yelsen chose, V. Putin the successor and he assembled Russia horizontally and vertically . Today Russia is again on his feet otherwise we could see more Iraq, Libya,Afghanistan and so on. that's why Garbachov is not loved in Russia and CIS countries.

Backstabbing nation is still expanding Nato, so the cold war didn't end

USSR: The Cold War is over USA: The hell you say! We got contractor quotas to meet.

For the Western World Gorbachev is the man who ended the cold war, in reality he was the man who lost the cold war.

"...the man who ended the cold war.." I think the more precise is "...the man who withdrawn from the cold war..." aka surrendered. That why the collective West love him so much.

Gorbachov could not govern USSR in a progressive manner. The man disintegrated the vast union. The version of cold war NEVER stopped. That was naive thinking. He could easily have introduced more dynamic growth with equitable opportunities with better economic reforms. Glasnost was ok upto a point and open economy was good idea but pathetic implementation. He clearly fell into the trap of the west. Hindsight however is great.

He didn't bring down the USSR peacefully Armenia and Azerbaigan war Georgia war Two chechnyan wars Transiterian war And also NATO expanded thanks to him

Nor only for Russian, but all Russia's allies including Indians. 90s was the toughest time for India's economy & defence sector bcos of USSR's collapse.

Probably due to the amount of suffering that occurred after the collapse in 1991. It was savage. Suicides, starvation and decreased living standards. Privatization and exploitation by western business interests as well.

The Soviet Union collapse at December 1991, and Mikhail Gorbachev died at age 91. They both collapse/died at 91. Coincidence?

So many people text here he was great, but what so great about him? Dissolution of USSR for many Russians associated with internal wars, poverty , chaos.. so what peace he brought to the world? Peace in Iraq, Libia? Peace in Palestine? Oh, come on guys...

Mikhail Gobrachev was the best Russian leader America ever had.

Not just Russia, even US and West failed this peacemaker.

He who critises US is a criminal but he who destroys his own for America is a hero

Gorbachev granted all wishes to his Western "friends" just to flatter his ego and be popular, he had no own initiative and no concern for national interests. Hence the admiration abroad and the contempt at home. The drunkard Yeltsin also came to rule Russia thanks to Gorbachev. Gorbachev pretended he had nothing to do with the plot when Yeltsin and his Belarusian and the Ukrainian counterpart signed an illegal agreement to end the USSR, but Gorbachev most probably was in on it too.

This man literally led to the downfall of one of the most powerful regimes in the world

A leader who disintegrate his own country is a fool....

If Gorbachov had not split USSR there would be no Ukraine and no war of Ukraine.

Gorbachev = Zelensky's Inspiration, West's greatest Agent in the USSR.

He brought peace to the world, and war to his country.

May those who praise him only have the leaders like him. 😏

Gorbachev was an excellent double-agent for the West. My ranger trainers and I had two chats with Gorby at his luxurious mountain cabin in Canada.

What an irony! He died at the time when the West is building an iron curtain back!

My parents said he sold his country to the West. Now we can see what's happening.. Elcin (the next leader) was a traitor as well. I remember the poverty of all the people around, drags, constant shooting. Was dark times indeed

West took advantage of him

inaccurate.. he went for peace because his predecessors had bankrupt USSR's economy. He was a socialist till his death. By the time he was in power, his country could not afford to continue the cold war. Poland was among the first countries to brake away from the ussr. Pope John Paul ll had a massive role in galvanizing the Polish people against the socialists. If Poland didn't have the guts to break free from russia, neither would Ukraine or any of the other eastern European countries.

I was in Moscow in 1991 on holidays in summer when the fall of the USSR was being expressed by the daily protests against Gorbachev. We also saw George Bush car driving by the Kremlin. We also visited Kiev and Leningrad. In Kiev we heard the news that Leningrad changed back its name to Petrograd.

The cold war never ended.

What is the honor of being celebrated outside and hated in your own country?

Making powerful nation weaker .. separate many parts as indipendant and that nation become a dog of enemy(USA).. conclusion: he is clown for nation but hero for enemy 🤔

As a Chinese we thank him for making so much Soviet scientists and intellectuals come to China due to shit life after collapse（Even now in North China many University still have alot ex-Soviet professors） They were a unexpected treasures

US awarded him "Noble prize for peace" Pakistani school girl "Malala" Noble prize for peace Now Greta Thunberg ( School failure) is in queue "We are engineers never except so easily, we have to prove mathematically"

Jeez!... lots of USSR widows in the comment section.

During cold war I was a kid in Czechoslovakia. As part of our school schedule was to wear gas masks and run for the school bunkers. We learned what to do in case of nuclear war and we trained in it, wearing raincoats and plastic bags on our hands and feet, timing which class would be fit to survive. Imagine years of curriculum teaching this. Of course we were happy when we saw Regan and Gorbachev shaking hands, it was real! From there there was just a step to revolution and freedom and chance. Of course some always prefer the security of the communist regime with the control threats and punishment. It was big time to live through, not just observe.

He lost the Cold War by surrendering, which is ok but got nothing in return for Russia - was neither here nor there, neither a communist nor a capitalist. The actual loser of massive human and material resources of ww2 and its actual winner still treated like pariah by the Europe that Russia saved.

had he been more stronger influential like the previous kremlin leaders he would have stopped the disintegration of the USSR and also stopped many conflicts like the Ukraine war, Armenia Azerbaijani war, nato swallowing up eastern Europe and the Moldova civil war also the Yugoslavia bombing still RIP

He is not just a who ended the cold war but he is also the man who ended a superpower

It is simple. When your arch enemies praise you and award you prizes it can only mean one thing - you are a traitor.

That pizza commercial, and all it implies, is the most degrading "spectacle", I've ever seen. Who could respect such a man?

"Revered by the west" - Thanks for saying that WION 🤣. Apt for his epitaph.

A traitor

Weak politician who lead to the disbalance of the current situation, who was not able to rule my powerful country. No regrets about him, who canceled all efforts and victims of my people 🇷🇺♥️

His alleged reforms basically was the main catalyst for the USSR demise. He seemed like a nice person but a mediocre leader.

"In 1989 the Berlin Wall came down this signified the end of the Industrial age and the beginning of the Information age. Work hard, study hard, government and company take care of me was now a thing of the past". Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad 1997.

I just remember Russian's queuing for bread 🍞 and other essentials. The Russian shops were empty. Seems like Mikhal was trying to make peace with the West but his country was falling apart... The West took advantage of his good nature while his people starved. The same old story. The Rich against the Poor. The Haves and Have Not. Sad 😔 Sad 😔 Sad 😔 😭

Thats the man who made America to think its God of whole world... I remember watching documentary of poverty plundered Russia after collapse of USSR it was painful. He indeed hero of West but failed at home

It should be noted that Gorbachev made it PERFECTLY CLEAR that any attempt by NATO to include Ukraine would not end well. He was right on that one!

Either he was compromised or was fooled into believing perestroika is good for ussr. In my view he was singularly responsible for the fall and split of ussr thus making Russia a pale shadow of its former self and made usa much stronger power.

Misleading title! Russian don’t hate him . Only communists hate him. He gave Russian opportunity to live as true human without fears and poverty by its totalitarian . Russian will be much better if its people can live with the government as westerners, that’s opportunity mr. Gorbachev opened for his people. Russian is worth to live better live without USSR . That’s day will come after Putin . 105 years suffering is enough. We love you Russian. May that day will come to your people and your great country! RIP Mr Gorbachev, your legacy will be done 💐

Putin, stands on the shoulders of Great Men like, Mikhail Gorbachev. I do know, a lot of romantic Russian people blame, Mikhail Gorbachev for the collapse of the Soviet Union, but as far back as the 1960, Soviet intellectuals were aware that the Soviet Union had serious structural and economic problems, which if not corrected would lead to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Mikhail Gorbachev brought in those reforms, but it was, too late to save the Soviet Union.

Two words to describe Gorbachev: Too naïve.

Why would Russians hate him? Putin literally wished condolences for him. It's always non-Russian people that says what Russian people believes. Stop speaking for them.

He is loved by the west though. As he was the one who handed over the keys from Russia to them

😳😲..Talks about "great legacy" of former president falling from Grace's started out as the Presidential Leader of a strong 💪 Nation to advertise for 🍕..🤔?🤔..Could he be representing some other Ad's more prestigious and proudly representing Russia 🇷🇺 than Domino's 🍕?😑?..I can see Y Mr. Vladimir V. Putin had no times to attend his funeral services for what?🤔?..Free pizza's that Mr. Gorbachev representing for..🥴🤐😵‍💫..

Why would you call your video like this? Why would you lie saying that Russians hate him?!!! I am Russian and I've always admired him ever since I was a child, all my family and friends in Russia regard him very highly. Why do you make this thumbnail which is not true?! Russians don't hate Gorbachev? He was a breath of fresh air!

when Gorbachev came into power, the USSR waa already collapsing.

To his credit, he also ended the Soviet Police State. Unfortunately, the new freedoms found were suppressed by Putin in a few short years. For reference, read Alexander Sholzhenitsyn's Archipelago Gulag.

The "last leader" of the USSR is his only legacy. The rest is bull.. t.

I too hete this man. He was acting at the behest of CIA. As Soviet Union was invincible for the US has worked up from within the Soviet establishment. Gorbachev for the reasons known to him fell for the US and the west. Following the disintegration of Soviet Union, India lost a strong friend who stood behind us in our every step and the enemies to India were unable to look at us eye to eye. The disintegration of Soviet Union has not only led to bankruptcy of the economies of the constituent States but caused every household to fend for themselves even to earn their daily needs especially food. To meet their basic needs people resorted to unethical professions. Some of the girls resorted to prostitution to pay their college fees where the education was free for every youth for PG or Research. Boris Yeltsin has proved a Mafia leader and Russia, the biggest constituent of the Soviet Union, has seen worst ever economic bankruptcy during his regime. After the death of Yeltsin, Putin has took over the reigns and fighting back to restore the pride of Russia and proovong to be a reliable friend of India. But for the destructive rule of Gorbachev , the world's politico - economic environment would not have been at its lowest ebb as seen today. Fortunately, the Chinese have learnt lessons from the Russian experiences and turned their country and their economy so strong that the US and west have to think twice before talking against China. Except making silly and baseless allegations against China during the Covid pandemic, they do not dare to go head-on with China. These dirty powers have caused Ukraine war and do not like it to end because the people dying their are not their citizens. When a American Marines were killed in Afghanistan, the US ended it's engagement in Afghanistan. Now these dirty powers are provoking China to wage a decisive war to integrate Taiwan consequently making China to kill it's own Citizens. Hope their dirty game fails them. The above narration can be linke to the betrayal of Gorbachev and disintegration of Soviet Union.

Osho had precisely explained what Gorbachev had done. During 70s and 80s Osho was in America living in Oregon fighting US political hypocrisy. In his talk about Gorbachev, Osho had given an advance statement that Gorbachev will be given Nobel Prize and his statement became true after two years of his statement.

He destroyed his own country for own recognition.

Because he was responsible break of Soviet union. Like lot Indian hate Mr. Gandhi that he was responsible of break of India. But wion don't understand simple things. Lol 😄😅😁😄😅😁👌👌👌

He "single-handedly" broke his country in to dozen of pieces and set his people back 30 years or so. Then he was/is praised by his country's enemies as legend. He must be loved by his people !

ukraine was his mistake

In the Philippines it’s same. History skewed and Marcoses are deemed as saviors. SMH. AmBobo talaga ng 31m

When your enemies love you, you are probably doing something wrong.

Gorbachev was a weak leader who fell for the Western deceit that brought down a once great USSR. Putin as a student of history has seen through this deceit and will not fall for them again and hence took the bull by the horn when he saw his country been encircle by the West in the name of Nato. China equally learnt a lesson from this experience by cruching the Chenamen square student uprising instigated by the West which should have lead to China disintegration. Today China is a strong nation while Russia is fighting for its survival from the West or American bent on world dominance.

Gorbachev's policies were great, but they must be brought 10-15 years earlier. When the happy population gets a gun they point it at the state's enemies, when angry people get a gun they points it at the state. I was not born at that time but anyway, rest in peace Legend! Om Shanti! 🙏

Good bye Gorbi and thanks for all. No prophet is accepted in his own country, as the Bible says. But millions of Germans,Poles, Czechs and other east europeans will forever be greatful.

Gorbachev mato a los sufridos rusos , confío en su peor enemigo, en mundo donde donde no se debe confiar ni en tu propia sombra por gue aun tu propia sombra miente.. .

He smashed what should have been kept intact

It’s not true that ´Russians’ hate Gorbachev. Dear WION you reflect many things in a diligent way, thus it’s sad to see such click bait screen shot and message from you. :(

In all fairness, it was the Soviets themselves who crashed USSR. i worked with some Russians in 1990s. One told me they worked as AC repairmen, sat around and answered 3 calls a day and went home. A guy from Chinese communist factory told me, they came to work, signed in, went to market to buy fish, brought it to factory, cleaned it, cooked it and ate it, then timed out and went home. China switched to capitalism instead of collapsing.

He was a traitor, and he is the course of all what's going on now in Ukraine

Bet they celebrate Yeltsin probably. What an upside down world.

Western curs telling Russians to love him is like Soviets telling Westerners to love Stalin .

dude disolved Soviet union. nato betrayed him he must feel pain poor man he have my sempty !!

He failed the USSR. Yeltsin redeemed himself by appointing Putin his successor. Gorbachev's reforms basically doomed the USSR from ever recovering. The state had the fighting chance to recover had he not enacted policies that heavily favoured the west.

He was a great man but not a great politician. But in the first place the Soviet Union was simply not viable, with an economic system which slowed innovation while the Soviet Union was an empire which was dominated by ethnic Russians at the expense of the people from the periphery. Current-day Russia still has similar issues, even seeking to expand its empire with more periphery, instead of treating its existing periphery well. I wouldn't be surprised if Russia would collapse too. Possibly this breakup would lead to more peace and harmony in the region in the long run, but the breakup itself could be very very chaotic...

He was a passionate leader renowned for the terms perestroika & glasnost ie . Restructuring & openness. Brought about a friendly approach to a rather communist Russia..unlike Putin. Russia should respect this great gentleman. May his soul rest in peace I pray. 🙏

He was not the last. The next leader of the Soviet Union (Reformed) walks among us now, unknown to us all.