Though Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms were praised in the West, the collapse of the Soviet Union schooled a generation of authoritarian rulers in the dangers of tolerating any signs of dissent or democratic yearnings.
Mr. Gorbachev was charming and presented himself as a modernizer, but neither Ronald Reagan nor George Bush was convinced he was for real. They would both be proved wrong.
As the Soviet Union’s final leader, Mikhail Gorbachev dreamed of a “common European home,” but three decades later that tantalizing idea remains out of reach.
As the Soviet Union’s final leader, Mikhail Gorbachev dreamed of a “common European home,” but three decades later that tantalizing idea remains out of reach.