She's bemoaning the collapse of the Soviet Union -- NOT the collapse of communism -- and says it was not good for Russia.
Here's how the story is told:
Gorbachev was born in the shadow of the Russian caucasus. He was very bright as a child and entered the prestigious Moscow State University. He always wanted to be involved with the Communist Party because he knew that was the way to get ahead.
By 1980 he had received full membership in the Politboro. He became the youngest man ever chosen to lead the Soviet Union in 1985. He made himself out to be a very human, loving, ordinary person.
Before long he ushered in Perestroika and Glasnost. Peretroika involved a "restructuring" of the economy. Glasnost called for a new openness and greater freedoms. While Gorbachev never set out to end communism, he soon realized that Communist leaders would never permit the economic restructuring that he was aiming for.
Russians still blame Gorbachev for the government's crackdown on alcohol consumption during his regime (which resulted in a tremendous loss to the state treasury) as well as the secrecy following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. If Glasnost meant openness, why did Gorbachev impose such secrecy following Chernobyl. Soon, an animosity developed between Gorbachev and Yeltsin and Yeltsin set out to lead the New Democrats. To thwart the threat, Gorbachev had Yeltsin removed from his position as First Secretary for Moscow.
Russians believe that much of the democracy and openness that occurred during Gorbachev happened not because of him -- not because that's what he wanted -- but because he had no control over the situation and he simply allowed these things to happen. They also believe that Russia was not fully ready for a free economy -- that the rush to such a change without a well-planned transition period caused chaos. They also missed collective farms which they felt provided them with the goods and necessities of life that they needed. After having such a regulating society, you can imagine how jarring these changes were.
Gorbachev also closed down thousands of state-run or state-supported heavy industry enterprises and these "companies" were simply not ready to transfer to consumer goods. The government encountered severe deficits and Russians could not get the food and necessities they needed for everyday life. Severe rationing had to be introduced.
Gorbachev was reportedly forced to sell off 90% of Russia's gold reserves to raise funds. And the government printed money at an alarming rate. The deficit went from 0 rubles in 1985 to 109 rubles in 1991.
Russians believe that Gorbachev and Glasnost unleashed the force that would ultimately destroy the Soviet Union. Turmoil resulted in the satellite nations.
Famine. Debt. Disintegration. Bloodshed. Humiliation. Russians blame all of this on Gorbachev.
In 1991, a "Gang of Eight" conspired to isolate and depose Gorbachev and he was placed under house arrest for eight days.
Gorbachev eventually left the country and Boris Yeltsin emerged as the new leader, even after Gorbachev returned from his exile. It was simply too late for Gorbachev to put things back together again.
In 1991 in the first free democratic election ever held Russia, Yeltsin was elected as the new leader of Russia as the Communist Party was officially disbanded.
On January 1, 1992 the Soviet Union officially ceased to exist.
If all this may seem complicated to you, imagine how you would feel if this happened in the United States: If the system of governance we knew and felt reasonably secure with fell apart; if food and vital life necessities became scarce; if heavy industry seized to exist; if parts of the union that we knew rose up and challenged other parts and the nation as we knew it began to fragment; if chaos became the norm. Russians do give Gorbachev credit for rapprochement with the West, particularly with the United States.
But that seems to be all the credit they're willing to grant him. Today, 56% of Russians say Gorbachev did more harm than good and many regard him as a traitor. Only 14% say he did more good than harm.
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