IN DEFENCE OF MIKHAIL GORBACHEV
I have seen many comments berating Mikhail Gorbachev and I will like to write in defence. A lot of the arguments are skewed towards Gorbachev’s decision favoring the West and ending the cold war but I ask should the cold war have continued at the detriment of the people from the Soviet states? When the communist argues against Gorbachev, I laugh because the same revolution started by Lenin and his bolsheviks, which I must add was a bloody revolution against the Russian monarchy; that was what Gorbachev did against the communist because he saw that communism was going to destroy Russia if care wasn’t taken. He saw the poverty and the impoverishment. He opined that only openness and restructuring could help Russia after the communist has set up a system that made the citizens poorer. He released strong dissents like Sakharov and brought about an open society; today Putin has closed that society. The argument is how many communist states enjoyed prosperity?
Further parallels can be seen in the economic context in which Alexander II and Mikhail Gorbachev operated. Both rulers were liberal modernizers with a key element of liberating people’s economic potential from serfdom and the command economy. While both cases saw a partial introduction of capitalist principles, liberal economic values were not given much interest and in place was a deep fear of the impact on political stability. The problem with those against Gorbachev was the fear that economic liberalization will bring about political instability, a lot of societies want freedom but fear freedom at the same time. Hence the coup against Gorbachev and the return of economic power to the state through its cronies in the name of capitalism that brought about oligarchy under Yeltsin. But if you read through Gorbachev ideas you will see that he wanted to bring about a country that was prosperous and will have its own zaibatsu like the Japanese, that would bolster all sectors of production and tap into the rich wealth of the Soviet states.
His reforms were also about tackling the identity problem that reigned in Russia since the time of the Tsars, the idea of Russianness never existed, it was more of a Moscow and Saint Petersburg empire than a Russian empire. Gorbachev allowed the satellite states formed their own identity, the communist were so afraid of the identity question. It must be said economic freedom leads to identity, hence Ukraine now fights for its identity boldly.
This economic liberalization and reforms also lead to economic liberalization of East Germany and the reunification. The communist regime had impoverished the eastern flank of Germany and the reunification in the 1990s has bolstered the economic prospects but the east is still struggling to catch up with the western part today. Gorbachev was a man of conviction and his actions were predicated on a better world and not pandering to western pressures as many thought. I dare ask, didn’t peace return to the world after the Berlin Wall fell? Isn’t it sad today that leaders like Putin have taken the world back to the Cold War with his quest for dominance? Aren’t we all suffering the scars today with wars and uncertainty in the world? Didn’t Gorbachev de- escalate tensions? I think the world owes Gorbachev a debt of gratitude for saving it and truly believing in his convictions for a better world. The sad reality today is that the Cold War has started again because of leaders like Putin, and I must add I will not exonerate the west. The west is also complicit in all the problems of the world. The challenge is how we can find a solution to the wars, climate change issues, cost of living crisis and other issues facing the world. We must remember that we are here to leave a better world to our next generation. We must heal the world and Gorbachev did. He made the world a better place.
Rufai Oseni, rufaioseni@gmail.com
