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Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev's Critique

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The AP's story regarding former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's critique of the current Russian government exposed the secretive and often revisionist type of analysis that is prevalent when discussing global politics. History is often written by the winners and is subjective in nature, forcing the student of such events to utilize critical thinking when exposed to this type of information. Ultimately, history is a compilation of varying opinions that, when brought together in a coherent argument, sometimes conflicts with other facts that may have dervied a different conclusion. Such is the case with Gorbachev. Moran (2012) suggested that Gorbachev and his supposed attitudes towards democracy and freedom that was outlawed during Soviet rule may not be as liberating as once thought. He suggested that " Gorbachev himself was not as much of a liberal democrat as he is often portrayed in the West. He used force to try to suppress the independence movement in the Baltics, and otherwise sought to preserve the Soviet regime, not end it. He was certainly much less ruthless and repressive than his predecessors. But that is judging him by a very low standard of comparison." Often is the case where the "old guard" is critical of the new blood in any circumstance. Gorbachev most likely, seeing his influence diminished by time and current events, feels rather dismissed as anyone might expect. His attitudes expressed in the AP article sounds like most people who have left the prime

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