The last president of the USSR died on Tuesday at the age of 91. His former diplomatic adviser believes that Mikhail Gorbachev was “a modern man who sought a balance of interests”.
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“It is a symbol of the momentum towards freedom and the balanced world”greeted Tuesday August 30 on franceinfo the writer Vladimir Fedorovski, former diplomatic adviser to Mikhail Gorbachev during the period of Glasnost, after the death at 91 of the former president of the USSR. “Mikhail Gorbachev sought the balance of interests, tried to distance us from the world based on forceemphasizes Vladimir Fedorovski. It was sad to see the world placed so close to the abyss.”
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What does Mikhail Gorbachev’s death represent today in Vladimir Putin’s Russia?
Vladimir Fedorovsky: It’s the end of an era. It’s a great era that is coming to an end. It is a symbol of the momentum towards freedom and the balanced world. Today, we are in the world of all dangers and of the definitive break between the West and Russia. Recently, Gorbachev said that we have never been so close to world war. I share his opinion. He will certainly remain a symbol of great intellectual lucidity.
How was he different from all the other former leaders of the Soviet Union and then of Russia?
He is a modern man who sought a balance of interests, who tried to distance us from the world based on force. The one who is the real gravedigger of the cold war. I think he will be a giant of 20th century politics, even though he is hated today in Russia.
“He was revered by Westerners in the past, and Russians never forgive the fact that he believed in the sincerity of the West in the past. All of this led to the terrible crises and this is the origin of the current crisis. “
Vladimir Fedorovski, former diplomatic adviser to Mikhail Gorbachevat franceinfo
What did he think of the evolution of the current situation with Vladimir Putin?
Gorbachev was sad to see the world placed so close to the abyss. Think again, in his world today, everyone bears their responsibilities. He was looking for mutual interests. He wanted to get out of the crises. Who speaks today of taking reciprocal interests into account? People are stubborn. Gorbachev distinguished propaganda from actual politics. Today, we are witnessing on all sides a mixture of genres between real politics and propaganda. It gave hope in all areas, and it gave tremendous momentum for change in the world, and change for Russia.