Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet president who took down the Iron Curtain, dies

[Scott]

 

Mikhail Gorbachev 4

(CNN)Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union before its dissolution, has died in Moscow at the age of 92, according to official statements.

Gorbachev, whose tumultuous rule was associated with the terms perestroika and glasnost (reform and openness) died after a long illness, Russian state news agencies reported.

 

"Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev died this evening after a severe and prolonged illness," the Central Clinical Hospital said, according to RIA / Novosti Tuesday.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/30/europe/mikhail-gorbachev-dies-intl/index.html

[Jerno]

R.I.P.   Brave and progressive Leader and Politician, leading the way from communism. Too bad Putin has regressed Russia back into dictatorship.  Regular Russian people suffering under Putin's rule.

[2baht]

So much better than the cretin who runs the place now!

[Chomper Higgot]

RIP.

 

 

[ExpatOilWorker]

Who could be next?

[Bert got kinky]

 

Mr. Gorbachev, thank you for tearing down that wall.

 

I know that I will be reminded by the most pedantic on the board that he never actually gave the order to remove the wall but his actions led to the result, Without his hand, the wall would have stood for much longer and may even still be in place today.

His actions were very brave considering he was changing a very entrenched system, going against some very powerful men who were in danger of becoming 'very not powerful'.

He single-handedly changed the world and gave freedom and basic human rights to millions entrapped by the Soviet Union.

Thank you Mr. Gorbachev for making the world a better place.

Rest in peace.

 

[baboon]

3 hours ago, 2baht said:

So much better than the cretin who runs the place now!

I remember watching a BBC interview with the elderly Gorbachev. They asked if Putin ever consulted him.

Gorbachev snorted "He knows everything. Why would he talk to me?"

 

I am sad he has gone, but at least he will sleep next to his beloved wife in Novodevichy cemetery, which is a lovely spot.

 

Let us all raise a glass in his memory tonight. It is thanks to the likes of him we are alive to do so. 

[OneMoreFarang]

I was still young at that time. But I was old enough to understand the significance of what Gorbachev did and the fall of the Berlin wall.

At that time many of us were optimistic that the cold war was over. No two opposing powers anymore with lots of nuclear weapons pointing at each other - and all those little countries in between.

The future looked bright.

 

Yeah, that was a long time ago. And then the powerful in this world found enough reasons to continue to fight each other, wage war in some other peoples' countries, produce and sell lots of weapons, ....

 

I don't know if we were stupid at that time to be optimistic or if there was a real change for a better world at that time.

 

RIP

[KhunBENQ]

Putin expressed his condolence to the family.

Almost lowest possible level before swearing at the deceased.

[Mac Mickmanus]

7 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Putin expressed his condolence to the family.

Almost lowest possible level before swearing at the deceased.

That doesn't seem to be true .

Putin offered his "Deepest condolences" and he did NOT swear at the deceased 

[Chomper Higgot]

37 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

That doesn't seem to be true .

Putin offered his "Deepest condolences" and he did NOT swear at the deceased 

I don’t feel the need to defend Putin.

[Mac Mickmanus]

Just now, Chomper Higgot said:

I don’t feel the need to defend Putin.

Do you feel the need to defend the truth ?

[Chomper Higgot]

3 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Do you feel the need to defend the truth ?

What truth Mac?

 

Carefully worded statements from the Kremlin, truth?

[Mac Mickmanus]

3 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

What truth Mac?

 

Carefully worded statements from the Kremlin, truth?

Follow the thread , the post from KhunBENQ  from 59 minutes ago

[baboon]

Can we all show Mr. Gorbachev and his memory a bit of repect by not going at it on this thread? Just for once?

[ballpoint]

"It was man who ended the Cold War in case you didn't notice. It wasn't weaponry, or technology, or armies or campaigns. It was just man. Not even Western man either, as it happened, but our sworn enemy in the East, who went into the streets, faced the bullets and the batons and said: we've had enough. It was their emperor, not ours, who had the nerve to mount the rostrum and declare he had no clothes. And the ideologies trailed after these impossible events like condemned prisoners, as ideologies do when they've had their day".

- John le Carre

 

And that 'emperor' who had the nerve was Mikhail Gorbachev.  RIP.

[arithai12]

4 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

What truth Mac?

 

Carefully worded statements from the Kremlin, truth?

All governments' statements are carefully worded, ghost-scripted and often far from the true feelings of the person in charge. This thread is about Gorbachev, try to stick to it.

[arithai12]

5 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Putin expressed his condolence to the family.

Almost lowest possible level before swearing at the deceased.

There we go. If we want to be objective, then we should mention also what Biden expressed, from the same country behind the coup that brought the drunk puppet Eltsin to power while Gorbachev was vacationing. But I'll stop here since I want to respect Gorbachev's memory. I was often there in those years, I know they were really harsh times for the common citizens, but the alternatives were even worse and he took the right decisions, IMO.

[baboon]

33 minutes ago, arithai12 said:

All governments' statements are carefully worded, ghost-scripted and often far from the true feelings of the person in charge. This thread is about Gorbachev, try to stick to it.

Sir, ALL of us. We can fight elsewhere to our heart's content. Why not just pause, pay our respects to a Great Statesman, then take our quarrels elsewhere.

Edited August 31, 2022 by baboon

[Seppius]

Major influence of the 20th Century

 

Could never understand why he had a map of the Korean Peninsula on his forehead

[baboon]

I see Putin will not be attending the funeral. What a classy guy.

[proton]

1 minute ago, baboon said:

I see Putin will not be attending the funeral. What a classy guy.

Hopefully his will be soon!