Mikhail Gorbachev, general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991, died in Moscow on August 30 after a long illness. He was 91. Gorbachev not only tried to introduce reforms and change in the erstwhile Soviet Union, he presided over its demise in 1991. 

Loved by the West, Gorbachev made two Russian words – glasnost or openness and perestroika or restructuring – popular in the rest of the world. Multiple obituaries have been written on him – evaluating his position as a leader central to ending the Cold War between the West and the Soviet Union. 

So, what was Gorbachev? A reformer who didn’t know how to wield power? A leader who lost control of his own party? A man who was ahead of his times? A statesman who ended up altering the balance of forces in the world to the advantage of the West? 

To discuss Gorbachev’s legacy, I am joined by P.S. Raghavan, who was India’s Ambassador to Russia. He is currently Chairman of the National Security Advisory Board.

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