Alone with Myself promises to become a world bestseller
Why Mikhail Gorbachev doesn’t have any political heirs in Russia![](/sites/default/files/main/openpublish_article/20121115/470-1-4.jpg)
On Tuesday the radio station Echo of Moscow had a program Razbor poleta (Progress Review) dedicated to the newly-published book by Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev’s advisor, head of the Center of Ukrainian Studies at the Institute of Europe of Russian Academy of Sciences, candidate of history, chief editor of the magazine Modern Europe Viktor MIRONENKO, told about the book Alone with Myself at a roundtable at The Day.
There is no doubt that Gorbachev’s memoirs stand every chance to become a world bestseller. Another question is whether this book will be as popular in Russia as in the West, where the last president of the USSR is highly appreciated.
Incidentally, during the program Razbor poleta on the radio Echo of Moscow one of the hosts, the chief editor of Novaya gazeta Dmitry Muratov said that before the interview 50 percent of the audience of Echo of Moscow really regretted and demanded to bring the USSR back, whereas another 50 percent said they had been given freedom, opportunity to develop, educate themselves, and discover the world.
The survey of the radio station is one thing, but how should one consider the fact that the listeners of quite liberal Echo of Moscow nearly stooped to offensive language towards Gorbachev. What can be said about the rest of the audience who get the news from Russian central TV and radio channels? However, Gorbachev admits his mistake, which has been discussed in the abovementioned roundtable at Den/The Day.
During the roundtable Viktor Mironenko said “Gorbachev believes it was his mistake. He thinks he made two major mistakes. The first was that he did not send Yeltsin to Ghana and the second that he was elected president at a congress rather than by nationwide vote. The result would have been entirely different, but he would not have been Gorbachev. He was just unable to do so.”
Gorbachev is the only Russian politician who has remained a full-fledged member of the informal club of the world leaders after leaving the power. The Nobel Prize winner’s assessments are still taken into consideration, and he still has things to tell. Apparently, it was not by chance that before the launch of the book in Russia, Gorbachev gave it to his former counterpart and partner in the “big turn” of the world politics, ex-president of the United States George Bush Sr., as a present.
The book contains only Gorbachev’s recollections about his family and friends, but also contemplations on destiny, politics, and career. Gorbachev does not conceal that there is pain from losing his dear person Raisa Maksimovna behind his work. He dedicated the book to his wife and writes about her on many pages, reportedly by ITAR-TASS. Mr. Gorbachev says that politics, he cannot leave behind, is present in his book with a more personal touch. He writes about his meetings and conversations with Brezhnev, Suslov, Kosygin, Andropov, and Ustinov, outlines quite distinct portraits of these people and unintentionally creates the image of the system that formed them. He again and again comes back to perestroika and in a candid way ponders on his difficulties and mistakes. There are chapters dedicated to foreign policy, too. The book ends with Gorbachev’s leaving the office of USSR president. Meanwhile, ex-president says he plans to write a second part.
By Mykola SIRUK, The Day
COMMENTARY
“The attitude to Gorbachev is a way to measure the ability of Russian politicians to adequately assess the flow of historical process”
Semen NOVOPRUDSKY, independent journalist, Moscow:
“At the moment this book can hardly become a bestseller in Russia, although Gorbachev takes a very decent position in big politics.
“The attitude to Gorbachev will remain bad for a long while. The reason is that a considerable part of older adults accuses him of destroying the Soviet Union, which is not completely true. On the other hand, the Russian authorities have done everything possible to give a negative connotation to Gorbachev’s name in the conscience of the masses. However, it by no way belittles his virtues and scale of politician.
“Gorbachev, when he was ruling alone, said that Russia has minimum chances to become a democratic state. Besides, his policy opened the way for the historical chance, which has nourished it in the early 1990s. Speaking about the democratic process in Russia, of course, it is connected with Gorbachev. In the West he is known as a person who opened a new page for Germany and who has done very much to move the world from the Cold War. His political merits at home are very high as well.
“As for the reaction to Gorbachev on the Echo of Moscow, its audience is politicized and takes extremely leftist views. Many people do not accuse Putin, even support his statement that the collapse of the USSR was the ‘greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century.’ In Russia the perception of the collapse of the USSR greatly differs from that in the neighboring states. A common belief is that it was destroyed from inside: most likely, the USSR was destroyed as a result of non-efficient economic policy. And Gorbachev yielded fruit of the totally inefficient system of management, created specially for him. Another thing is that he simply was not able to reform the economy. The cliche that Gorbachev destroyed the union is very strong in the minds of people and it was reflected in the commentaries of people who called into the radio show.
“However, really decent Russian politicians have a good attitude to Gorbachev and understand that he is a politician of a great scale. The attitude to Gorbachev is a way to measure the ability of Russian politicians to adequately assess the flow of historical process. At the beginning Gorbachev treated Putin quite well, but later their political stands started increasingly to diverge.
“There are attempts to draw parallels between the present time with Stalin’s and partially Brezhnev’s times. But it is absolutely clear that as soon as the turning events will start in Russia, which require a change of the course, Gorbachev’s experience will be topical again. Formally, Gorbachev is a reformer who failed. On the other hand, he gave Russia a unique historical chance and tried to foster a different political culture in the country, People who know the history of elections are aware that the fairest elections in the history of Russia took place during Gorbachev’s rule.”
Prepared by Ihor SAMOKYSH, The Day