Mikhail Gorbachev wasn't exactly the champion of peace he's remembered as. His policies of "openness" were intended only to revitalize the Soviet economy in a narrow sense, not to foster freedom for its own sake. And he did crack down on dissent in some places. But Gorbachev *was* the best kind of leader the Soviet system could have produced. He really was committed to eradicating nuclear weapons from the earth. He really did seek improved relations with the West. He really did want to improve the fortunes of average citizens. As the USSR dissolved under his watch, he could have led a Tiananmen Square-style crackdown - but he didn't. Sadly, his idealism was impossible to reconcile within the inherently oppressive Soviet system. So, instead of reform, he got unraveling, and a Russia resentful of its loss of status - all too willing to embrace Putin's gangster state.
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