How will Mikhail Gorbachev be remembered?

The late Soviet leader is seen as someone who changed the world in the 20th century.

The death of Mikhail Gorbachev is widely being mourned as the loss of a champion of freedom who helped end the Cold War.

But the legacy of the last leader of the Soviet Union is very different at home, where many view him as the man responsible for the USSR’s collapse.

Keep reading

‘It took me decades to realise what Gorbachev gave me’

Photos: Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union

‘One of a kind’: World reactions to death of Mikhail Gorbachev

His passing received a cool response in Russia.

Many people there regard the war in Ukraine as necessary to regain some of the power the former USSR lost when it fell.

But is that possible?

Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra

Guests:

Pavel Felgenhauer, defence and military analyst

Maria Lipman, Russian editor and political analyst

Donald Jensen, director of Russia and Strategic Stability at the US Institute of Peace and a former US diplomat in Moscow