One of the most interesting moments of the seminar came today when we were discussing the end of the Cold War.
The subject was Gorbachev, Reagan, and the breakup of the Soviet Union. After acknowledging that no one believed Gorbachev would turn out to be the reformer that he was and then discussing his policies …talk turned to whether he was a good leader. Olesva said definitively, “No.” She went on to discuss his inability to lead the country after the breakup. Debra—“Would you rather Gorbachev not been in power and these reforms not taken place? Olesva (after a long pause)—“they would have happened anyway….the people wanted it. We were ready.”
I’ve got chills just writing this after the fact. (not that this matters, but I like Gorbachev and most believe he was fundamentally instrumental in the collapse of communism in the soviet union—and how much longer would it have been had HE not been in power, who knows?….but it is interesting to see another point of view of him in the era after Dec. 1991.
The subject was Gorbachev, Reagan, and the breakup of the Soviet Union. After acknowledging that no one believed Gorbachev would turn out to be the reformer that he was and then discussing his policies …talk turned to whether he was a good leader. Olesva said definitively, “No.” She went on to discuss his inability to lead the country after the breakup. Debra—“Would you rather Gorbachev not been in power and these reforms not taken place? Olesva (after a long pause)—“they would have happened anyway….the people wanted it. We were ready.”
I’ve got chills just writing this after the fact. (not that this matters, but I like Gorbachev and most believe he was fundamentally instrumental in the collapse of communism in the soviet union—and how much longer would it have been had HE not been in power, who knows?….but it is interesting to see another point of view of him in the era after Dec. 1991.
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