Gorbachev passes away aged 91

He did some good. RIP

https://news.sky.com/story/mikhail-gorbachev-former-soviet-leader-has-died-reports-12685639

Overheal

He tore down that wall alright. RIP

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119545079#Comment_119545079

It will be interesting how his death is treated in Russia in the coming days

EOQRTL

A good man with morals. The difference between him and the utter prick in charge now is immeasurable.

R.I.P.

Best acid I ever had.

Richard Hillman

He put his pride aside and allowed the dissolution of the Union without a war. A Soviet Civil War would have been catastrophic. Nuclear arms dotted all over the place would have fallen into evil hands due to the chaos.

Not respected at all in Russia but respected outside of it. I doubt he'll get much of a tribute from the Kremlin.

Cluedo Monopoly

RIP. A visionary.

RIP Mr Gorbachev.

His legacy was destroyed by the curse of alcoholism.

Yeltsin, God bless him, was barely fit to walk, never mind bring together a fractured soviet union. That was a pivotal issue that brought in the mafia state and the current dictator.

If only someone else had stepped up the entire world would be a different place now.

Gusser09

Remember the time he wouldnt get off the plane in Shannon to see Albert Reynolds. LOL. A legend.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119545304#Comment_119545304

Yeltsin couldn't get off the plane.

He was pissed out of his head.

But, yeah, a great lad for the vodka.

A pity it led to the disaster that Russia is now.

Imagine how different it could have been.

**** vodka.

For Forks Sake

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119545304#Comment_119545304

That was Yeltsin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Yeltsin_circling_over_Shannon_diplomatic_incident

Annasopra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119545304#Comment_119545304

Eh no

That was Yeltsin not Gorbachev

A huge figure in 20th Century figure. History will judge him kindly I hope. He did the best he could under difficult circumstances. RIP Mr. G

osarusan

A brave man - he had the wisdom to recognise that something his country had dedicated itself to for decades just wasn't working, and the courage to act on that knowledge.

MacDanger

One of the truly great leaders of the 20th century

Manach

RIP. Historically, the transition of power in Russia from one leader to another was fraught, especially if it entails a new system of ruling. That the USSR/successor states did not utterly implode as fallen empires are want was a credit to Mr Gorbachev.

lawred2

He was still alive?

All the Putin bots coming out of their shells tonight.

TheValeyard

There's many a person who owes there freedom to this man.

A remarkable person who left their mark on history for the better. Which I think will be kind to him.

It's a shame he got shafted and then the collapse.

RIP

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119545279#Comment_119545279

Yeltsin didnt try to keep the USSR together he took Russia out of it in a power grab

y0ssar1an22

RIP. he played a large role in the dissolution of the soviet union, the fall of the berlin wall and the end of the cold war

foxsake

did a great job with chernobyl

foxsake

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119545549#Comment_119545549

the russians of the 1990s also owe him the poverty and food shortages . It's easy to say he was a great man (tbh he had an impact) when looking at it from a singular western view with constant hype jobs in our media (who are biased)

The russians - his own people have a mixed view.

He was great for us maybe less great for them

donaghs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119545547#Comment_119545547

Can you elaborate your point?

Which Putin bots? Are the Putin bots on this thread, or on the internet in general? are they pro or anti-Gorbachev, or talking about something else?

Gorbachev was a brave man. Others saw they need to reform Soviet Communism, but weren't brave enough to admit mistakes had been made, and try and do something. it was easier to keep ploughing the same furrow,

Pussyhands

Gorbachev is only viewed as a good leader in the west because his mistakes led to what the West wanted. It would be like Irish people thinking Boris is a good leader if he fucked up and led NI to reunifying with the rest of Ireland.

Gorbachev fcuked up, he didn't want to dissolve the USSR.

Of course he's adored by the west when the west didn't suffer any losses. Adoring Gorbachev would be like adoring Joey Fritzl for releasing his child prisoners claiming he gave them freedoms.

sully123

Remember the pizza hut ad?

Last giant of the 20th century

chopperbyrne

Gorbachev gave the Russian people and other Soviet citizens in other countries what they wanted, their own independent governance.

The Russian people chose Yeltsin to lead them, and he did so, very poorly.

For Forks Sake

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119546512#Comment_119546512

One of the strangest things I've ever watched (at the time)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgm14D1jHUw

gameoverdude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119547565#Comment_119547565

I have never seen that! Bizarre.

Girl Geraldine

I wonder was this ad the inspiration for Bertie Ahern drinking tea in the hot press in the Newes-a-de-Wordelt advert a few years back?

(I'm sure he was searching frantically for that sock with all his dodgy money in between sips)

techman1

I think Gorbachev death has come at a very bad time for putin because Gorbachev recognised that the Soviets could not win against the West and could not hold onto an unwilling eastern Europe. Therefore they had to open up and allow self determination.

This contrast is being illuminated at the worst possible time for putin just as his war is grinding into the dirt and ukraine is mounting a counter attack with advanced western weapons.

Gorbachev will have the last laugh as putin tough man legacy evaporates into thin air and putin will be overthrown. Gorbachev will now rightly be seen as enlightened while putin will be seen as a kgb thug

8mv

We in the west rightly see him as a reformer and history maker. It's true that in Russia (or Moscow at least) there were many who disliked him because he made the SU look weak, others disliked him because they saw the pace of reform as being too slow and most others were ambivalent. Personally I owe him a debt of gratitude as Perestroika and Glasnost reforms allowed me to live and work in Moscow where I met my wife (also Irish) and we had three kids, all now great young women. It's such a shame that the potential he initiated (albeit, perhaps, unintentionally) has been destroyed in a few short months. Thirty years ago I worked with some fantastic young men and women in Russia. In more recent years we have hosted some young Russian people (amongst other nationalities) who studied English here in Ireland. It breaks my heart to think that those kids or the children of the people in worked with in the nineties might be dying or committing atrocities now in Ukraine. I imagine it would be quite a different world if the August '91 coup attempt had not happened and Mikhail Sergeyevich had been given the opportunity to introduce reform at a more controlled pace.

donaghs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119546458#Comment_119546458

So, what should Gorbachev have done In power? “Business as usual” like Brezhnev?

What we’re his mistakes?

Russian in the 90s was a traumatic experience for so many, but this occurred after he had to resign when all the republics dissolved the USSR. His actions certainly helped lead to this , but everything wasn’t inevitable?

One way he could have acted differently was using more force and repression to keep the USSR together , and preventing reforms and freedoms which didn’t match his own vision of “glasnost”. But clearly that would be “problematic” too!

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119548047#Comment_119548047

Emerging nationalism particularly but not just in the Baltics would have done for the Soviet Union sooner or later. Things could have turned out a lot worse, but events were pretty much out of Gorby's control well before the USSR finally dissolved.

Let's not forget that dozens, if not hundreds, of unarmed civilians were killed under Gorby's watch when peaceful protests in the Baltics were put down.

It is said that the most dangerous time for any despotic regime is when they start to offer a little bit of freedom - because once people get a taste for it and become brave enough to stand up to the regime they won't be satisfied and want more and more. And why shouldn't they.

Gatling

putin decided he was too busy to attend Gorbys funeral,then blocks him from having a state funeral.

Once a cnut always a cnut

8mv

I read that Gorbachev will be laid to rest in Novodevichy Cemetery, the second Soviet leader to be buried there, Khruschev being the first. All the others are buried behind Lenin's tomb on Red Square.

Hotblack Desiato

Vlad is still scared to hell of covid...

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119561663#Comment_119561663

Hmm two men who put saving the world from nuclear destruction ahead of national pride get buried in semi-disgrace, tells you all you need to know about that country really.

8mv

On reflection, I think he may have requested that anyway as his wife is buried there. I'm sure he would prefer that instead of going in beside Andropov and Chernenko. Novodevichy is a very nice cemetary and interesting place to see if any of us ever visit Moscow again - unlikely at the moment it seems.

Gatling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119562061#Comment_119562061

I think it's more about he can't stage manage the show ,and or he's afraid of slipping and falling out of a window