Mikail Gorbachev, the final leader of the Soviet Union who oversaw its collapse, has died at the age of 91.
Mikhail Gorbachev, who ended the Cold War without bloodshed but failed to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union, died on Tuesday at the age of 91, Russian news agencies cited hospital officials as saying.
Gorbachev, the last Soviet president, forged arms reduction deals with the United States and partnerships with Western powers to remove the Iron Curtain that had divided Europe since World War Two and bring about the reunification of Germany.
Reuters
Of course, the western media, certainly a beneficiary of the Soviet Union’s collapse, will continue to control the narrative with regard to the end of the Cold Ward, even more than thirty years later.
Yes, the end of the Cold War prevented the deaths of westerners, however, like in any instance today when talking about a socialist government or the global south, the focus never lies on those groups immediately impacted. Instead, the socialist government or any country in the global south is derided as some authoritarian wasteland yearning for some neoliberal economic structure. And when it comes to the collapse of the Soviet Union, we saw the region descend into economic and civil chaos resulting in the deaths of countless numbers of people through war and/or starvation. This included the war in Yugoslavia as well as NATO’s expansion in the region after Germany’s reunification.
In 2017, an independent survey conducted by the Levada Center revealed that 46 percent of Russians have a negative view of Gorbachev with 30 percent having no opinion and 15 percent having a positive opinion.
But he brought Russia Pizza Hut
Of course one of the more cringe-worthy effects of growing neoliberalism is when the free-market economy is seen as some basken of liberty for any one particular group of people. Take this Pizza Hut commercial from 1997, several years after the Soviet Union’s collapse.
Serioulsy we see this bullshit all the time with capitalism controlling the narrative. “You’re not totally free unless you can purchase shitty pizza or have access to thirty different brands of cereal” which ironically here in the United States are owned by what, three different conglomerates?