Russian politicians offer mixed view of Gorbachev’s legacy

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian officials and lawmakers are treading carefully while reacting to Mikhail Gorbachev’s death. They are praising him for his role in ending the Cold War but deploring his failure to avert the Soviet Union’s collapse. The stance on Wednesday was reflected by state television broadcasts that paid tribute to Gorbachev as a historic figure. But the reports described his reforms as poorly planned and they held him responsible for failing to safeguard the country’s interests in dialogue with the West. The criticism echoed earlier assessments by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has famously lamented the collapse of the Soviet Union as the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century.”