'Gorbachev changed the world'

Mikhail Gorbachev helped thaw relations between the United States and Russia at the end of the Cold War, but his passing comes at a time of heightened tension between Russia and the West.

Northwestern University experts with academic and diplomatic experience in Russian affairs weigh in on Gorbachev’s legacy. All are available today for further comment upon request.

Ian Hurd is professor of political science and director of the Weinberg College Center for International and Area Studies at Northwestern. His research on international law and politics combines contemporary global affairs with attention to the conceptual frames that serve to make sense of the world. He can be reached at ianhurd@northwestern.edu or by contacting Stephanie Kulke at 847-491-4819. 

Quote from Professor Hurd
“One thing he offered was proof that it is possible to break out of entrenched ways of thinking about one’s place in the world. He brought the Cold War to an end by refusing to see the world as a zero-sum status contest with the U.S. He came to leadership in a world where it was taken for granted that the U.S. and the USSR were in competition with each other. 

“This competition was seen as natural, inevitable and zero-sum. Both governments chose their policies on the assumption that the most important thing was to keep up appearances of being stronger than the other. Gorbachev seemed to know that there was nothing inevitable about fighting for scraps of status around the world, and that the costs of doing so were unacceptable. And so he stepped out of the competitive paradigm and sought to invest in improving domestic conditions instead. He scrambled American foreign policy by refusing to act like the enemy Reagan’s hardliners wanted.” 

Olga Kamenchuk is an associate professor of research and instruction with the Institute for Policy Research and the School of Communication at Northwestern. She has 15 years of professional polling and public opinion research experience in the former Soviet Union and is a leading expert on Russian public opinion. Her scholarship focuses on international public opinion and strategic public diplomacy. She can be reached by emailing max.witynski@northwestern.edu.

Quote from Professor Kamenchuk
“Before Mikhail Gorbachev left his post as President of the USSR and soon after that — the perception among Russians of the United States was very positive. In 1990 and in 1993, 73% of Russians were saying they had a good attitude toward the U.S. Nowadays, the same amount say their attitude toward the U.S. is bad. Mikhail Gorbachev played a key role in the last détente between the U.S. and Russia, in taking down the Berlin Wall and in ending the Cold War. Right now, the world is standing at the door of a new Cold War — the question is who will be taking down new walls and building new bridges. Yet, not all of Gorbachev’s legacy is destroyed — there are new democracies on the territory of the former Soviet Union, and there are many people who fight for democracies, liberties and freedom.” 

Ian Kelly is the ambassador in residence at Northwestern University. Previously, he was U.S. ambassador to Georgia, ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, State Department spokesperson, and director of the Office of Russian Affairs in Washington, D.C. He can be reached by emailing max.witynski@northwestern.edu.

Quote from Ambassador Kelly
“Gorbachev changed the world. By not using force in Eastern Europe in 1989, he unleashed freedom there. And by agreeing with the U.S. to radical cuts in nuclear arms, he ended decades of fearful confrontation. He's seen differently in the former Soviet republics, where his security forces did use force against independence movements, and of course, in Russia, where his policy of cooperation with the U.S. was, and continues to be, interpreted as weakness.”