The coverage of Mikhail Gorbachev’s death in Russia, from what it was possible to follow in the first hours, was contained in the criticism of the “first and last president of the Soviet Union” — until him, the position did not exist; then it was the USSR that ceased to exist.
At Kommersant, one of the most respected in the country, the balance was even positive: “Some people see this [seu governo] as the greatest tragedy or even catastrophe, blaming Gorbachev for every imaginable mistake and even crime. Others are aware that without Gorbachev, modern Russia would hardly have been possible.”
The home of the Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda avoided questioning: “Some will say: he brought us freedom. Others: he took our country. Mikhail Gorbachev, one of the most controversial politicians in Russian history, has died.”
The Russian-language website of the RT news channel followed the same line: “The years of Gorbachev’s rule were remembered for socio-economic reforms, which contemporaries assess ambiguously.”
The website of the weekly newspaper Argumenty i Fakty highlighted a more critical video, about “Who destroyed the USSR?”, whether Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin or “both at the same time”.
The popular news aggregator Yandex has gathered various news links under the simple statement “Mikhail Gorbachev has died”. And he opened a flap just for a statement by deputy Alexander Yushchenko, that “we have an ancient Orthodox tradition in Russia – not to speak ill of the dead.”
