Western reactions were strong after the death of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union. A sentiment at odds with the Kremlin leader’s reaction.
By AFP
LOn Tuesday evening, Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, died at the age of 91, six months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The emotions of Western reactions contrasted with the sobriety of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who expressed “his deepest condolences” and sent a telegram of condolence to the former leader’s family and relatives this morning, a Kremlin spokesman said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin added that Mikhail Gorbachev “had a great impact on world history”. “He led our country through complex and dramatic change, and through major foreign policy, economic and social challenges,” he said in the obituary.
This lip service explains the gap between Gorbachev’s image in the West, where he is seen as a world peacemaker, and his in Russia, where the end of the Soviet Union has been a source of many shocks.
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