"Lived as a Free Man": Mikhail Gorbachev turns 90!

Today the former president of the USSR, the man who for the second time in the history of our country abolished slavery, and, no less important, the military confrontation with the West, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mikhail Gorbachev is 90 years old. Social networks could not help but respond to this event.

Journalist Kirill Shulika considers Gorbachev to be the only European of all the country's leaders:

“Do you know what was the main thing in Gorbachev?

He is the only head of the USSR who considered Russians to be a European people. And he was actually the only European, so he was not understood by this vile bone system that gave birth to Kryuchkov, Pavlov, Pugo and other Yanaevs. And only Raisa Maksimovna understood him. In the West, Gorbachev was considered one of their own. Even in style...

Network analyst Oleg Myasnikov agrees with him, recalling Gorbachev's popularity in Europe:

Today I recall my impressions of 1994, when I first saw Gorbachev's bas-relief on Gorbachev Platz in Denkendorf in Bavaria... Pride and gratitude. The feelings that I share with many, not only Bavarians, but also with compatriots.

Will we ever find squares in Europe named after the current president of the country and monuments erected in his honor?

By the way, the author of the monument to friendly and partner relations with Germany is a very famous front-line sculptor Dmitry Borisovich Ryabichev, who created monuments-portraits to Botkin, Pavlov, Korolev, Tsiolkovsky, Gagarin, Gandhi and Nehru.

Publicist Marina Shapovalova recalls the incredible rarity of the love of Mikhail Sergeyevich and Raisa Maksimovna Gorbachev:

I am grateful to Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev for the best years of my youth. For the feeling of freedom, conquering everything inert, obsolete, hated - gradually, through our efforts, entering our life. Sometimes it seemed that it was too slow, that the doses of freedom allowed to us were too small, they were not enough for full breathing - then, at times, I almost hated the talkative general secretary, suspecting him of wanting to slow down the process. Not realizing in its reckless age-related ease of being that the pace of change set by Gorbachev may turn out to be overwhelming for the country. That, probably, he felt then, not knowing what the breaking of the foundations of the Bolshevik power might turn out to be, but he did not save himself and did not fight for his power.

Today I will not write down any failures of his Perestroika, any mistakes at Gorbachev's account. I will not blame him for taking on more than he could pull out: not only he lacked an understanding of the processes unfolding in the country at that time - no one understood them. It is humanly important that he cannot be blamed for the lack of honor and honesty.

It is humanly great that the only president of the USSR and his wife showed everyone the image of happy love. Not protocol-formal, but alive and real - everyone's envy. The memory that remains of this is dear, no vulgarity and dirt sticks to it.

We didn't succeed, Mikhail Sergeyevich. We have. You were not obliged to expect the worst in people, citizens of a large country, who were considered worthy of freedom and independent responsibility. You have the right to judge yourself, but you have nothing to be ashamed of. Your name is forever inscribed in history with a plus sign, whoever spits after you with their personal anger today.

Happy birthday, mister president!

Philologist Nikolay Podosokorsky recalls that Gorbachev became the second citizen of the USSR after Sakharov, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate:

It's wonderful that such an unusually bloodthirsty ruler could appear in the Kremlin at all (compared to his predecessors), and the fact that he was not eventually killed in 1991, and that he is still alive, breaking even the record Kerensky, who died at the age of 89. I was born on the very eve of Gorbachev's coming to power, in Orwell's 1984, about the hopeless darkness of which Balabanov shot one of his best allegorical films, "Cargo 200". From childhood, I remember that everyone around was unhappy with Gorbachev because of the shortage of food. When I was a child, I stood in queues for many hours for bread, sugar or herring, then there, too, some aunts periodically scolded Gorbachev - they say that he is to blame for everything. I never had any hatred for him, and even in 1996, when he took part in the presidential elections (received 0.51% of the vote), it seemed cool and interesting to me.

Yes, there can and should be many complaints against Gorbachev as the head of state. It is not worth idealizing that time - there were many different things in terms of the crimes of the disintegrating state. And yet, it was under Gorbachev that the long-awaited new Thaw, called Perestroika, began in the country, and, fortunately, not all of its achievements and conquests have yet been destroyed or perverted. I am convinced that the factor of the ruler's personality in the process of restructuring the once totalitarian state towards a more democratic one has played a colossal role. Gorbachev was not a sadist, he could become, but he did not become a dictator, and after leaving the post of President of the USSR he did not break down and became a free man. Against the background of traditional cannibals in power, he may seem weak and indecisive, but now we again see what the excessive toughness of rulers who are ready to do anything to preserve their personal power turns out to be.

It is no coincidence that it was Gorbachev who became the second Nobel Peace Prize laureate from our country after Academician Andrei Sakharov, whom he freed from captivity in Gorky. I hope the third laureate will be Alexei Navalny, who will complete the work begun by Gorbachev. I would like Gorbachev himself to have time to catch this time. Today I don’t want to express anything but gratitude and wishes of health to Gorbachev, and as an illustration for the post I will post a photo in which Mikhail Sergeyevich, together with Raisa Maksimovna, plant a magnolia in the Indian memorial of New Delhi (this is 1986, when the tragedy in Chernobyl). In the song of the group "Ariel", popular in the 80s, "In the Land of Magnolias", which sounds in the above-mentioned Balabanov picture, there are the following lines:

How fashionable, how fashionable

Couples dance to chords, chords

And you can speak freely, freely

About life and about love.

It became possible to speak freely under Gorbachev, but now great efforts have to be made to protect and preserve this possibility. I would like to believe that we will have enough strength and perseverance until the onset of a new Thaw.

Thank you and happy birthday, dear Mikhail Sergeyevich!