Former Kremlin leader Gorbachev on the war in Ukraine
“Putin never picks up the phone”
Former Kremlin leader Mikhail Gorbachev, 91, has lived in seclusion for years. Now for the first time he has commented on the war in Ukraine.
Mikhail Gorbachev (91) has been living alone for years. A former high-ranking politician and the last leader of the Soviet Union, he is gravely ill – and it remains to be seen how Russia conducts its war against Ukraine.
“I often talk to Michael. He condemned Russia’s war against Ukraine in the strongest terms from the beginning,” says Hungarian TV producer János Zolzer, one of Gorbachev’s closest friends. zu “sight”.
“He thinks it’s all a war between brothers. His father is Russian and his mother is Ukrainian. Besides him, there are thousands of people with a similar family constellation. If he had it, the war would stop immediately,” says Solzer.
Mourning Gorbachev
Over the past few years, Gorbachev has made several attempts to contact current President Vladimir Putin, 69, by phone. “But he never called him back. Never picked up the phone. They met once a year and otherwise had no contact.
Solzer says Gorbachev is upset that Russia has decided to go to war. “He himself worked for seven years to end the Cold War and build a relationship, but all that is being destroyed by the current fighting,” he said.
In the hospital for months
But in his homeland, Gorbachev was shunned by many. Many Russians blame him for the collapse of the Soviet Union 30 years ago. “In Russian propaganda, Michael is repeatedly portrayed as the destroyer of the Soviet Union. Now Putin has to rebuild. When the Soviet Union is restored, no one will be confused with a great power anymore,” Solzer says.
It was not always easy to portray Gorbachev as an adversary. But, in the meantime, he has reconciled and lives alone. “He’s not well, he’s been in the hospital for months,” the filmmaker says of his friend. “He is very pessimistic. He has not left Moscow for ten years and his relationship with his family is not good. Recently he has repeatedly insisted that he cannot wait to see his wife Raisa († 67), who died 20 years ago. (BLH/zis)
“Wannabe pop culture fanatic. Zombie advocate. Entrepreneur. Internet evangelist. Alcohol fanatic. Typical travel buff.”
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