Mixed reactions from world leaders over Mikhail Gorbachev's death

As tributes pour in for the late Mikhail Gorbachev, the death of the Soviet Union's last leader is spurring mixed reactions among world powers.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Gorbachev a courageous man who helped reunite Germany and brought democracy and freedom, albeit somewhat unintentionally, to Eastern Europe.

But Scholz says those freedoms have been since been wiped away inside Russia itself.

Redmond Shannon looks at the differing perceptions and what they illustrate about his legacy.

#GlobalNews #gorbachev #russia

[gordonc]

Glad he lived long enough to see how "not one inch eastward" was nothing but a lie.

[SweetPea]

Personally I think Mr Gorbachev did the best he could with the hand he was delt. Yes, he did some great things, but he also did some not so great things. To say he was a hero is to be naive, but to say he was a villain is to be a fool. Gorbachev was neither hero nor villain, he was a politician, he was human, and as such was just as prone to making mistakes as the rest of us. Being a world leader, especially of what was at the time a world super power, doesn’t change that.

May He Rest In Peace.

[LithaMoonSong]

I wish Canadian media would portray Mulroney as the crook that he is.

[Alex-bmnb]

Had good intentions but didn’t quite know how to execute them properly and fked it all up in the end.

[axelzilm]

Thank you mr Gorbachev for tearing down that wall and freeing my family from 28 yrs of incarceration you were the only one with BDE ...RIP

[georgevprochazka]

Justin Trudeau should make a great eulogy like he did for Fidel Castro. BUT wait, Gorbachev, unlike Fidel, is NOT his father ! lol

[thegamingcoon]

I would rather have Gorbachev as my leader than any of todays current leaders

[donmiester]

Many citizens of rural Russia think things were better under the Soviet Union.

[slangyung]

One of the few leaders to be included in Street Fighter 2.

[johnnyq]

It's hard to move a mountain, when the road before you has soo many potholes!
How do you reshape and redirect a country in the portion of a lifetime that a politician gets?
Maybe start with humility and the realization that we are all made of the same materials.
Then realize that we can do more together than separately.
Now understand that we are friends and not enemies!
People of all countries have their strengths and their weaknesses, just as friends have their good times and not so good times.
But at the end of the day, your friend will always be there to help you out when you fall...
What a wonderful world this would be if we could be like this!!!!

[pinpat]

Gorbachev was the man who moved the Doomsday Clock backward. Salute!

[Liendoelcm]

In my mind Gorbachev was an iconic figure to be marveled at in generations to come. He tried hard to bring east and west together at his initiative, and nearly succeeded but it was one step too far. Had he been successful in his efforts God only knows how much the world would have been different, rather than the horrific morass it sees itself in today. Well done Mr. Gorbachev for what you did to help for world unity.

[卢军宏台长心灵法-ud]

We should do good deeds that touch people s
hearts throughout our lives.
Only by setting a good example for others
will we become strong.

[Kane]

he fell on a knife the accidently shot himself while falling out of a window lol

[sergeikhripun]

Gorbachev probably had a heart attack after his beloved PizzaHut pulled out of Russia. His PizzaHut legacy got destroyed.

[clearvision]

Gorbachev's presence on the world scene brought about changes in the lives of many and one of them is Angela Merkel.

[HuplesCat]

Trudeau, Not going to the funeral is disgraceful

[junevandermark]

The word communism stemmed from the word commune, which means to share the wealth equally among each other. There has never been a government that shares the same amount of wealth with the people, as occurs with the rulers of governments. That is hyperbole.

The best we can hope for is to avoid dictatorship, which is where one person, such as Vladimir Putin, or Adolf Hitler, rules over their whole country, and would like to rule over the whole world.

[heberpelagio]

Taking this opportunity, I compare the process of radical opening led by M. Gorbachev with the timid and moderate opening led by N. Khrushchev. That is why, while Khrushchev's opening is historically defined as a de-Stalinization, Gorbachev's would have implied - for me - a kind of "de-Leninization" of the Soviet state, to the point where the U.S.S.R (created by Lenin) ceased to exist.
Unfortunately, the rapprochement between Moscow and Washington that began in the time of Reagan and Gorbachev suffered a gradual setback after the Clinton administration.

[adamsimon]

What's so special about communists? what's so great about Gorbachev?