How should Gorbachev be evaluated?

On the evening of August 30, local time in Russia, Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, died at the age of 91.

His death, like his life, has been mixed. There is even a big controversy in some areas. However, many countries and peoples in the world have deeply cherished his passing and gave a high evaluation. I believe that in another 100 years, this kind of controversy will still exist. But the assessment may gradually converge, and the following conclusion will be drawn: This is a man who brought more freedom to mankind in the 20th century.

1. Historical Contributions

In 1985, Gorbachev became general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He adopted a series of reforms, reformed as the supreme leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, not for his own rule, but for the normal and dignified life of the peoples of the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. He proposed humane democratic socialism, he announced the “open” line, abolished state censorship, legalized private enterprise in the Soviet Union, allowed open debate and multiple-candidate elections, gave people the freedom to travel, and reduced the The interference in the internal affairs of Eastern European countries, especially the intervention by force—; the key words he left to the world are openness, humanity, openness, reduction of restraints, and non-interference—.

During Gorbachev’s leadership of the Soviet Union, the world underwent a series of changes: major geopolitical events occurred including: Eastern Europe’s departure from the former Soviet bloc, the Soviet Union’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, the withdrawal of troops from Outer Mongolia, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, the Cold War Finish. And, the United States and the Soviet Union began nuclear disarmament negotiations with the goal of reducing nuclear weapons, and reached an agreement.

Some of the above series of changes may not be Ge’s original intention, but they have actually happened.

2. Evaluation of countries around the world

1. United Nations

As the only president in Soviet history, Gorbachev’s most widely recognized achievement was his involvement in ending the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. On October 15, 1990, Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

UN Secretary-General Guterres commented that Gorbachev was a unique statesman who changed the course of history. “He has done more than anyone else to bring about a peaceful end to the Cold War.” “The world has lost a A brilliant global leader, staunch multilateralist and tireless advocate for peace”.

2. Japan and South Korea

Regarding Gorbachev’s death, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, referring to his contribution to ending the Cold War and nuclear disarmament, said: “His great strategic vision and decisive action have played an important role. I remember his achievements and express our deepest condolences. condolences.”

South Korean President Yoon Seok-wyeh said that Gorbachev was the leader who led reconciliation and peace to end the Cold War era full of confrontations and contradictions. He established friendly and cooperative relations between South Korea and Russia through the historic establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and the Soviet Union in 1990. Base. Gorbachev’s determination and leadership, as well as his legacy of freedom and peace, will live on in the world.

3. The people of the three Baltic countries

Before the Soviet Union disintegrated, the three countries took the lead in becoming independent. Without Gorbachev, the Three Kingdoms would not have been able to become independent. During World War II, the Soviet Union, relying on powerful force, signed a treaty of friendship and mutual assistance with the three countries and stationed troops. “After the “reform” of the Soviet Union, in 1940, the three countries “voluntarily” joined the Soviet Union. After decades of reform, the three countries were very distressed by the Soviet Union’s tough control methods. Intimidated by the Soviet Union’s strong rule, the people of the three countries dared not speak out. Therefore, Getting rid of Soviet control has become the unremitting pursuit of the people of the three Baltic countries for generations. In Gordon’s era, they finally got rid of control and gained freedom. The Russian-Ukrainian war, the three countries’ firm support for Ukraine’s attitude, was actually the result of the seeds of hatred sprouting back then.

4. Germany and Eastern Europe

No violence, no tanks, 350,000 Soviet soldiers were withdrawn from Germany. Germans are widely believed to have ushered in the end of the Cold War, the reunification of Germany, and the impetus for democracy in Germany. In June 2005, the German Unification Council awarded him the “Alpha Checkpoint” German Unification Award.

After Go’s death, the German capital, Berlin, ordered on the 1st that during Go’s funeral, public agencies must fly their flags at half-mast. “We want to pay tribute in an appropriate way to our honorary citizen Gorbachev for his achievements in bringing about political change in East Germany,” Berlin State Interior Minister Spranger said in a statement. Spranger ordered the public service At half-mast on the 3rd, he also said that Germany is forever grateful to Gorbachev for enabling Germany to unify after the Cold War.

All of Eastern Europe thanked Gorbachev. In 1989, he allowed Eastern European countries to move out of the Soviet orbit and toward democracy. The people of Eastern Europe were finally freed from Soviet domination. These countries belonged to the Warsaw Pact in the past, and later joined NATO one after another. For the people of Eastern Europe, Soviet hegemony was based on the suffering of weak and small nations. “Because there is neither freedom nor justice in this system,” Rakovsky, leader of the Polish United Workers’ Party, said of the upheaval in Eastern Europe. Former Polish President Walesa said in an interview, “I am not against social democracy, I am against only Soviet communism, because it is a rigid and inhuman social system.”

Ge’s death has also sparked nostalgia in South Africa. He helped end apartheid. He did so directly and indirectly.

3. Evaluation of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Russia

Whether Gorbachev’s reforms are a disaster or a blessing for the people of the former Soviet Union is still controversial. The reality is that Gorbachev’s reforms have given the people more choices. He freed the CIS countries from Soviet control, allowed the people to make choices about the future of the country, and gave the people more choices in economic and political life, which actually increased the freedom of these countries and their people.

The Soviet Union’s abuse of human life and dignity began in the mid-1920s and continued for decades. Hundreds of thousands of people were brutally tortured physically and mentally, many of them wiped out. The lives of their families and loved ones turned into a dark chain of humiliation and suffering. Party leaders and those around them seized unrestricted power and deprived the people of the Soviet Union of their freedom, which is considered innate and inalienable in a democratic society. If Ge is the gravedigger of the former Soviet Union, then the brutality and corruption of this Ubangto Empire is the culprit of its demise. Ge is simply returning freedom to the people.

Yavlinsky, the founder of the Russian “Bolu” Party and a senior politician: “Gorbachev gave us freedom. He gave freedom to Russia and its surroundings, as well as tens of millions of people in half of Europe. It is our duty to use the freedom he has bestowed upon us, and how to apply this enormous possibility.”

On May 3, 2012, Go was awarded the Order of St. Andrew, Russia’s highest honor. After Ge’s death, Russia gave him a near-state funeral arrangement, including an honor guard. The Kremlin’s official website issued a statement on August 31, “Please accept our deepest condolences for the death of Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev.” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a statement, Gore Bachev was a statesman and national leader who had a major impact on the course of world history, “He led our country during a period of complexity, dramatic change, massive foreign policy, economic and social challenges.

4. China’s attitude

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on his death on August 31 that Mr. Gorbachev had made positive contributions to the normalization of Sino-Soviet relations. We express our condolences on his passing and our condolences to his family.

Chinese society has mixed evaluations of him. But a fact that cannot be ignored is that Sino-Soviet relations deteriorated in the late 1950s, and China had to increase its troops by more than 5 million. By 1974 it had reached an unprecedented 6.7 million. More than half of these troops were for defense against the Soviet Union.

On July 28, 1986, Ge’s speech in Vladivostok led to the normalization of relations with China and the elimination of the “three major obstacles” between China and the Soviet Union, especially on the issue of prompting Vietnam to stop aggression against Cambodia and withdraw its troops from Cambodia. , take solid steps. On May 14, 1989, Ge flew to Beijing to meet with Deng Xiaoping, the two communist parties of China and the Soviet Union and the relations between the two countries were normalized.

Ge buried a country that has always been eyeing China, successively created the Vladivostok massacre in 1938, directed the independence of Outer Mongolia, and even tried to repair China with an atomic bomb. He put an end to the frontier troubles in northern China. China not only saved a lot of military expenditure, but also invested a lot of manpower into economic construction, and China’s economy took off. Is this a bad thing for the Chinese people?

The Chinese Communist Party’s evaluation of him has always been a huge controversy. But it is also an undeniable fact that Ge disbanded the CPSU, which greatly shocked the CCP. Why is it so shocking? This is a party that is seriously divorced from the people and completely betrayed by the people and eventually abandoned by the people. The true meaning of the CCP’s lessons learned from the failure of the CPSU is that it can never be separated from the people, and the party must always be placed under the supervision of the people. There must be zero tolerance for corruption and privileges, reform efforts must be intensified, the temperature and institutional advantages of socialism must be demonstrated, and the party must always be with the people so that the party can maintain its own youthful vitality. It was the lessons learned from the failure of the CPSU that the Chinese Communist Party was able to take root in China and stand tall. Because of this, in this sense, the Chinese Communist Party should thank Gorbachev.

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