+5

The leaders here treated the fragility of a change brought by one person in the Soviet Union as if it were fixed deep coming from a revolution that wiped away every bad element. Clearly the biggest responsibility for failing to hold on to Gorbachev and the real change he brought goes to the root, to Bush senior and Reagan and the rest of the government during that time.

However, there is still showing for that clip of "Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall!" as if putting pressure on the man instead of helping him during that time suggests some depth of vision for the future.

The Soviet union, in its current form as Russia, did not really change as much as it took a breath of fresh air during the time of that man then things reverted back when he no longer in office.

+4

History will remember Gorbachev as the originator and the only true implementer of democracy there, but what can it remember Putin for? Being a strong leader on the outside while abusing his own people inside? There is a long list of that and now many people may like very much to pee on the graves of their dead. On the other hand Gorbachev's list still has only one member there, Gorbachev himself.    

+3

If you think that those running the government make bad decisions only locally, you could be missing the much worse part related to the international stage. There were opportunities there with huge potential and at the same time not as much costly here, at least not in terms of human lives. They required only a very little effort to be seen. For example, democracy in Egypt came to this president like a piece of cake and he kicked it away. Before this president, how many times in history have you seen somebody reaches the top position of a dictatorship and does what Gorbachev did in a place like the Soviet Union? But the small minds leading this country instead of supporting this man for the real democracy he brought, they let him get weakened and the like of Boris Yeltsin, whom I don't know what could he have done without the freedom brought by this man, jump on his neck and breathing. The later, I never felt there will be a real democratic system under him. If shelling the parliament was not enough sign, he later followed that with the KGB guy being his second man. How could somebody who is a true believer in democracy make such a choice? However, I still waited to see if time will support my view or what was suggested by the treatment of the west to Yeltsin even after that KGB guy became president until he continued to be president, directly or indirectly, and it became very clear that democracy in Russia is a joke. 

They missed an opportunity were not even in their dreams with the originator of democracy there then continued decades where one can hardly see an effort recognizing what happened and trying to deal appropriately with its result. Now they complain about the behaviour of Putin as if they were helpless against the like of him coming to power? 

+2

continuing from the preceding post

I don't know if this President realize that but what happened there feels like walking with a person until he gets attacked and you let him to his attackers despite having the power to do much better.  It even was not like the military guy took power and sought a fresh start. No, he took power and threw people in prisons continuing to hold them there and conducting his mock court trials.    

+1

continuing from the preceding post below.

The President may need to also remember those in Egypt who were in communication with and trying to walk a line acceptable to and did not refuse a call from us to change something but still where let to be thrown in prisons by the military guy just for trying democracy.

continuing from the post below

Even for questioning the decision by the elected president to prevent the judiciary from contradicting him, as outrageous as it may look, it should be remembered that, to the best of my knowledge, the judiciary there was still the one that was created by the dictatorship.That decision was reverted later anyway.   

How shameful is it for a country to claim being such an advocate for democracy then let those who probably were counting on it thrown and continue to be in the prisons just for seeking that right like what happened in Egypt despite all what they did trying to fit what it wanted them to be?