In News:

• Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader who brought the Cold War to a peaceful end, has died aged 91.

What’s in today’s article:

• Mikhail Gorbachev – key decisions taken by him, Gorbachev & India

Mikhail Gorbachev

• Ended the Cold War
  • Mikhail Gorbachev ended the Cold War without bloodshed but failed to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union.
  • Often termed as the last Soviet President, he forged arms reduction deals with the United States and partnerships with Western powers.
  • This led to the removal of the Iron Curtain that had divided Europe since World War Two and bring about the reunification of Germany.
    • The Iron Curtain specifically refers to the imaginary line dividing Europe between Soviet influence and Western influence.
    • In other words, Iron Curtain was the political, military, and ideological barrier erected by the Soviet Union after World War II.
    • It was done to seal off Russia and its dependent eastern and central European allies from open contact with the West and other non-communist areas.
  • For ending the cold war without any bloodshed, Gorbachev won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
• Initiated political and economic reforms
  • He launched ‘perestroika’ and ‘glasnost’ movements to jolt the country out of political and economic stagnation.
    • Glasnost—meaning “openness,” particularly openness of information.
    • Perestroika - meaning a “restructuring,” specifically of the Communist economy and political system.
    • These terms went hand-in-hand because, together, the reforms initiated were aimed at making the Soviet Union more democratic and incorporate some features of capitalism to revitalize the economy.
  • However, many analysts felt that the political and economic reforms were initiated simultaneously and on too ambitious a scale, unleashing forces he could not control.
  • As per them, this was one of the main reasons for the collapse of Soviet Union.
• Responsible for disintegration of Soviet Russia
  • Analysts held him responsible for the disintegration of Soviet Russia.
  • When pro-democracy protests swept across the Soviet bloc nations of communist Eastern Europe in 1989, he refrained from using force.
    • Previous Kremlin leaders had sent tanks to crush uprisings in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968.
  • But the protests fuelled aspirations for autonomy in the 15 republics of the Soviet Union, which disintegrated over the next two years in chaotic fashion.

Gorbachev and India

• Mikhail Gorbachev came to the helm in the Soviet Union just a few months after a forced leadership change in India.
  • Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984 led to Rajiv Gandhi assuming the mantle.
• Between 1985 and 1989, Rajiv Gandhi and Gorbachev found enough common ground to mark a high point in India-Soviet relations.
  • This was despite their differences over the Russia’s idea of an all-Asia forum along the lines of the common European home.
  • The then Indian PM had conveyed that India was against countries interfering, intervening in areas outside their own.
• Gorbachev visited India twice, in 1986 and 1988.
  • 1986 visit was Gorbachev’s first visit to a non-Warsaw Pact country after taking over as leader of the Soviet Union.
  • He also addressed Indian Parliament during the visit.
• This period also saw lavish cultural exchanges between the two countries, with the Festival of India in the Soviet Union in July 1987 the centrepiece.