Mikhail Gorbachev: The contradictory legacy of Soviet leader who attempted 'revolution from above'
- Written by Ronald Suny, Professor of History and Political Science, University of Michigan
Liberator, failed reformer or architect of Soviet demise?Bryn Colton/Getty ImagesMikhail Gorbachev was a contradictory figure; his legacy, complex. Hailed in the West as a democrat and liberator of his people – which he genuinely was – he increasingly became despised by many within Russia for destroying the Soviet Union and dismantling...




