JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian politicians offer mixed view of Gorbachev’s legacy” – AP
“Russian officials and lawmakers treaded carefully … reacting to Mikhail Gorbachev’s death, praising … his role in ending the Cold War but deploring his failure to avert the collapse of the Soviet Union. … [S]tate television broadcasts … paid tributes to Gorbachev as a historic figure but described his reforms as poorly planned and held him responsible for failing to safeguard the country’s interests in dialogue with the West. The criticism echoed earlier assessments by … Putin, who … lamented the collapse of the Soviet Union as the ‘greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century.’ In a [Kremlin] telegram of condolences … Putin praised Gorbachev as a man who left ‘an enormous impact on the course of world history.’ …”