LOADING ERROR LOADING MOSCOW — Russians who came for a last look at former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Saturday mourned both the man and his policies that gave them hope. But he also precipitated the breakup of the Soviet Union, which Putin had called the 20th century’s “greatest geopolitical catastrophe.” The farewell viewing of his body in an ostentatious …
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 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 …
Twenty-nine years ago, at 7 pm on December 25, as the rest of the world celebrated Christmas, Mikhail Gorbachev announced to the world that he was resigning as President of the Soviet Union and formally pronounced the end of the continental state forged by Vladimir Lenin. At the same time Marshal Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, the defence chief, arrived at Gorbachev’s office …
