Why Russians love to hate Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet Union President died at the age of 91 owing to illness at a hospital in Moscow. However, the death of the former Soviet Union leader hasn't seemed to have disturbed a usual day in Russia. No official mourning or holiday has been announced neither is the Russian national flag flying at half mast to commemorate the death of the leader who tried to give the erstwhile USSR a humane face.

The Russian media's coverage of the demise seems it was least interested in making it noteworthy. The general mood is more that of anger than a feeling of loss as a majority still hold the last Soviet Union leader responsible for the disintegration of erstwhile Soviet Union. Social media posts accused the former leader of the fall of the USSR.

I reached Soviet Union in 1988, during the height of the transition period under Gorbachev regime to study post-graduation in journalism. As someone from Kerala, I had a keen interest in Communist politics back at home and in the Soviet Union. The then Soviet Union President, through his 'Glasnost' and 'Perestroika' reforms was attempting to democratize USSR and the Communist party, and open up the Russian economy. Gorbachev wanted to reform USSR but everything was not in his control. Gorbachev was a paradigm shift from rough Russian leaders who governed Soviet Union until then.

Gorbachev conducted elections and brought to the forefront young blood like Boris Yeltsin who later led the coup against Gorbachev. Though the Soviet Union leader was hailed for his policies by the West, it was greeted with dissent in his homeland. The economy was on the downside.

Gorbachev was the kind of leader who could convince then US President Ronald Regan who once called the Soviet Union an 'Evil Empire' to bring the cold war to an end. Until Gorbachev pulled out forces from Afghanistan, those at home weren't aware of the scores of soviet soldiers who were dying on the front line. Gorbachev was a strong advocate of democracy, within a party which was used only to accepting orders from the top. He gave the cadre the power to criticize. Though Gorbachev wanted to reform the Soviet Union, he failed to realise it wouldn't be an easy task to implement such reforms in a vast nation with multiple time zones on the go.

Soon after the coup, Gorbachev resigned, USSR disintegrated. Boris Yeltsin assumed power as president and it was nothing less than chaotic. Yeltsin governed through oligarchs and the period was nothing less than chaotic. I remember, private companies then would sell tickets to visit the KGB and President's office. There were long queues to get basics like bread as the economy further spiralled down.

Gorbachev contested the 1996 elections and lost by gaining less than 1% votes to Yeltsin. It was the last nail on his political career. Gorbachev was very much forgotten after that and not much was spoken about him either at home or by the international community. He lost his wife, his right hand, Raiza in 1999 and he was less active after that.

Gorbachev and Yeltsin are the only two Russian Kremlins who resigned from their post, unlike others who died in office.

Gorbachev was a supporter of Putin's foreign policies including Russia annexing Crimea as he always felt that the US went back on their word on NATO's expansion on Russia's eastern front. Even in a recent television interview, Gorbachev said he felt cheated that the West did not keep its promise.

I doubt whether Russian history would remember the Soviet Union leader on a positive note as the population stills holds him responsible for the fall of the Soviet Union. Russians believe, the erstwhile USSR was mightier, which would have discouraged the US from expanding NATO on the Russian side. Gorbachev was anything but authoritarian, someone who wished to give Russians the taste of democracy.

(As told to Vignesh Vijayakumar, THE WEEK. Devadathan Nair is media professional in Russia.)