After his death, a number of people and politicians around the world pay their respects to Gorbachev – just not in his home country. The Kremlin is showing itself to be cold, and newspapers in Moscow are calling it the “gravedigger of the Soviet Union.” But the ambivalence of his legacy should also be discussed more in Germany, says the historian Wehowski ntv.de.
ntv.de: Gorbachev is seen as paving the way for the end of the Soviet Union. How do the people and the press in Russia react to his death?
Matthäus Wehowski: Big Russian newspapers, for example the “Komsomolskaya Pravda”, one of the really big tabloids, speaks of Gorbachev as one of “the gravediggers of the Soviet Union”. In one article they compare him to the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten, who used his absolute power to introduce new gods to Egypt. According to the newspaper, Gorbachev did that in a certain way when he tried to implement a new faith and democratization against the will of the population. Other newspapers, such as Nezavisimaya Gazeta, write more respectfully about Gorbachev and praise his humanity.
Does that also reflect the perception of the population?
As far as the Russian public is concerned, polls show that a clear majority of citizens have a negative image of Gorbachev – 55 percent believe that he has done the country more harm than good. His person is strongly associated with the collapse of the Soviet Union. This ignores the fact that there were structural economic reasons why the Soviet Union collapsed. But the Russians refuse to deal with the economic and political deficits of the Soviet Union and instead attach this very strongly to the person of Gorbachev. They blame him for everything negative that happened after 1989 and therefore see him as a gravedigger.
What role did Gorbachev last play in Russia?
In politics he was rather on the sidelines. You can’t compare that to politicians like Helmut Schmidt, who acted as “Elder Statesman” and enjoyed a lot of respect. Gorbachev did not enjoy that in Russia. Rather abroad, above all in Germany and in the west, but not in the post-socialist neighboring states of Russia either. People there have a very negative image of Gorbachev, especially in Lithuania, where he was blamed for the massacre of demonstrators during his rule. He himself has been seen in public in Russia from time to time and has tried to improve his reputation a bit. In recent years, however, he has no longer been a person of real respect.
What was Putin’s view of Gorbachev?
It’s difficult to assess because it’s impossible to know what Putin is really thinking. If you quote from his current telegram, which he published just a few hours ago, you see a cool distance from Gorbachev. He writes that Gorbachev was a man who “changed the course of history enormously”. He would also have “shown a great awareness of the need for reforms”. That’s very ambivalent. You can read it either way. On the one hand, it is very respectful towards him and, for example, also praises his humanitarian work in recent years. But it can also be read differently, namely that Gorbachev’s awareness of many reforms and the change in history are not perceived as positive. That is why this is a very distanced letter. That’s probably how Putin’s view of Gorbachev can be summed up. Putin himself experienced this period of upheaval, during which his own career also underwent a radical change. The world he knew has collapsed, and his generation is among those who hold Gorbachev personally responsible. Many of Putin’s generation refused to delve into the Soviet Union’s deficits.
How would one describe the relationship between Putin and Gorbachev?
During my studies in Moscow I was in contact with many people from the Gorbachev Foundation and this question never really came up – at least between us. Gorbachev has recently cautiously condemned Putin, his authoritarian reforms and his autocratic leadership style, which has meanwhile really become a kind of neo-Stalinism, but he was not in any real opposition to him either.
It sounds as if Gorbachev has been avoiding Putin and his politics very much in recent years.
Rather yes. There was no support or real condemnation from Gorbachev, but every now and then he poked a little westward. For example, he once suggested that the annexation of Crimea in 2014 was not the fault of the West. Things like that kept coming up, but he tried not to get involved in current political debates.
Gorbachev is to be buried next to his wife in Moscow’s famously prominent cemetery at the Maiden Convent. Will there be a state funeral for him?
In all likelihood, there won’t be a big, pompous state funeral. The Kremlin currently says that there is no decision on this yet. That’s why there probably won’t be any. It will be interesting to compare Gorbachev’s funeral to other prominent politicians who have died in recent months. Especially with Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who was a neo-fascist politician and was temporarily integrated into the Putin system. An ultra-nationalist agitator who died in April this year. Zhirinovsky really got a very big funeral with many prominent representatives of state and church. Putin and Moscow Patriarch Kirill were also present. I can’t imagine that with Gorbachev. I’d rather have a quiet, small funeral in the immediate family circle.
What will remain of Gorbachev?
The example of Gorbachev shows that it is quite possible for a man to emerge from the system and become a reformer and a beacon of hope. That was Gorbachev, despite all the problems and difficulties. He was someone who always remained authoritarian, who always tried to consolidate his own position of power and who wanted to push through democratization from the top down, which ultimately didn’t work out either. Maybe there could also be such a person in Putin’s system, who knows. On the other hand, you can also see the ambivalence of historical personalities in him. In Germany, too, one should deal with Gorbachev a little differently and focus more on the perspective of East Central Europe. Because Gorbachev is not seen as positively as in Germany, neither in Russia nor in the neighboring countries. Partly right, but also wrong. And these ambivalences should be perceived more in public when it comes to Central Europe and Russia.
Vivian Micks spoke to Matthäus Wehwoski.
