Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #Gorbachev
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Even now, many pages in the history of the Soviet Union remain a mystery.
Documents released shortly before the dissolution of the #USSR confirmed that many of its statesmen, politicians, diplomats, as well as military and intelligence officers, had been born in #Ukraine.
Documents released shortly before the dissolution of the #USSR confirmed that many of its statesmen, politicians, diplomats, as well as military and intelligence officers, had been born in #Ukraine.
In the very first years of the Soviet Union’s existence, Ukrainian Bolsheviks played an important role in building what became the world's largest ever state.
They engaged in the ‘Ukrainization’ that aimed to replace Russian language and culture there during the #Stalin years.
They engaged in the ‘Ukrainization’ that aimed to replace Russian language and culture there during the #Stalin years.
Soviet policy allowed the Ukrainian SSR to become a fairly independent entity. Moreover, many Party officials from Ukraine held key positions in the USSR right up until its collapse.
This thread seeks to explore what influence Ukrainians had on the Soviet Union’s development.
This thread seeks to explore what influence Ukrainians had on the Soviet Union’s development.
THREAD 🧵
The late Soviet leader Mikhail #Gorbachev warned — echoing President #Eisenhower — that the “greatest danger to the world is the military industrial complex.”
The late Soviet leader Mikhail #Gorbachev warned — echoing President #Eisenhower — that the “greatest danger to the world is the military industrial complex.”
THREAD 🧵
The first concentration camp: #Thalerhof — where thousands of Russians (and those merely suspected of Russian allegiance) were tortured, starved, and murdered in #WWI.
The first concentration camp: #Thalerhof — where thousands of Russians (and those merely suspected of Russian allegiance) were tortured, starved, and murdered in #WWI.
THREAD:
My full interview with Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyanskiy @Dpol_un.
Posted in 3 parts. (See thread for links)
Part 1: End of the #ColdWar: #Reagan, #Gorbachev, Perestroika, Winds of Change, the fall of the #USSR.
lorispencer.wordpress.com/2023/03/04/in-…
My full interview with Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyanskiy @Dpol_un.
Posted in 3 parts. (See thread for links)
Part 1: End of the #ColdWar: #Reagan, #Gorbachev, Perestroika, Winds of Change, the fall of the #USSR.
lorispencer.wordpress.com/2023/03/04/in-…
[TODAY IN HISTORY] Thirty-five years ago, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which reduced the number of weapons in US and Soviet #nuclear stockpiles. Expand the graphic below for a timeline of the INF Treaty ⤵ (1/5)
🎧 Listen to a recording of Reagan and Gorbachev from the INF Treaty signing, courtesy of the Kennan Institute/@CWIHP audio archive. Reagan famously used the Russian phrase “доверяй, но проверяй” — “Trust, but verify.” wilsoncenter.org/article/reagan… (2/5)
Read “Forgotten Parties to the INF” by @mbudjeryn and Ambassador Steven Steiner for @CWIHP’s Sources and Methods blog, which includes Amb. Steiner’s firsthand account of INF Treaty negotiations. 👇 wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/forg… (3/5)
Does this include extermination of the sixtiers? Do they admit to #Holodomor? Do they condone #Gorbachev’s repression of republics’ protests in the 80s? #Chernobyl victims? If not, it’s another #Russian farce.
I’m so tired of people trying to portray Russians as being these lovely people with a grain of compassion. I can guarantee you these victims only include Russians.
What about deportations and extermination of #crimean tatars?
Welcome to Sunday's thread on #Russia's war in #Ukraine. We've reached Day 193 of the full-scale invasion.
Quite a lot happened yesterday. Tragedy in #Chernihiv and late night attacks on different regions. If you want a recap, scroll through⬇️
Quite a lot happened yesterday. Tragedy in #Chernihiv and late night attacks on different regions. If you want a recap, scroll through⬇️
Putin's bots, trolls and useful idiots are pushing hard to encourage 'Joe Public' the price of the war is too high, let's reach a day with #Russia.
One bright spot is the quite dramatic fall in gas prices (this graph for futures market) in the last week.
#StandWithUkraine
One bright spot is the quite dramatic fall in gas prices (this graph for futures market) in the last week.
#StandWithUkraine
#Russia's decision y'day to send gas through the Nord-Stream pipeline after all, eases things a little more.
The Kremlin needs the cash to finance the war, so has to sell, but knows it can cut off western supplies at any point with winter approaching.
#StopRussia
The Kremlin needs the cash to finance the war, so has to sell, but knows it can cut off western supplies at any point with winter approaching.
#StopRussia
Latest @DefenceHQ update: #Ukraine's "offensive operations" around #Russian-occupied Kherson advance "on a broad front". The operation has "limited immediate objectives", but exploits Russia's weaknesses, and forces Moscow into a choice over deployment of its stretched forces.
Essentially an "Honest Trailers" version of a Russian recruitment video.
I saw Mikhail #Gorbachev personally in mid-1990s in Washington DC bookstore during his book signing, when I worked as research assistant at nearby US Institute of Peace & circa 2000 during his speech at Woodrow Wilson Center when I worked there as Lipset’s research assistant 1/
I didn't talk to #Gorbachev during these events since I prefer to keep distance from politicians. But his glasnost policy saved me from expulsion from #Kyiv National Economic University in Soviet #Ukraine for my undergraduate thesis that was deemed politically dangerous. 2/
Department chair told me that I would be expelled from university in Kyiv in 1990 because I proposed to write my final thesis based on theories of Western economists & Max Weber. It was OK to write in Ukrainian 3/
You've found the start of daily thread number 192 covering #Russia's illegal war in #Ukraine
Last night some stories on the thread included the tale of a kindergarten head sacked in Russia and another chapter in #RussiaOnFire. Catch what you missed:
Last night some stories on the thread included the tale of a kindergarten head sacked in Russia and another chapter in #RussiaOnFire. Catch what you missed:
1/2
#Kharkiv came under heavy fire again this morning.
It happens almost every night. This time a volley of missiles being fired was caught on drone footage. #Russia fired from Belgorod
These are S-300s not designed for this purpose, lacking accuracy
#RussiaIsATerroristState
#Kharkiv came under heavy fire again this morning.
It happens almost every night. This time a volley of missiles being fired was caught on drone footage. #Russia fired from Belgorod
These are S-300s not designed for this purpose, lacking accuracy
#RussiaIsATerroristState
2/2
Mayor of #Kharkiv Terekhov says air defences took down some missiles. But there was a hit by a school in the Novobavarsky district.
Air raid warning was active, no casualties reported.
#Kharkov #Ukraine #StopRussia
Mayor of #Kharkiv Terekhov says air defences took down some missiles. But there was a hit by a school in the Novobavarsky district.
Air raid warning was active, no casualties reported.
#Kharkov #Ukraine #StopRussia
Former Soviet President #Gorbachev died recently. Since the death of the first and last president of the USSR, there has been much debate about the assessment of his personality and his deeds.
1/15
1/15
Many, quite rightly, compare #Putin and #Gorbachev and conclude that these are two absolute antipodes. Given that Putin is Gorbachev's antagonist, the key event in Gorbachev's fate is the State Emergency Committee.
2/15
2/15
The State Emergency Committee, which was actually the final point in #Gorbachev's rule of the country, is almost inevitable for #Putin. Already today, part of the power elite considers Putin a weakling and slobber who, with his indecisiveness, "dumps" the country.
3/15
3/15
Dopo #Stalin, #Gorbachev (#Gorbaciov) è il politico sovietico più polarizzante e divisivo. Santo per alcuni, diavolo per altri. Il giudizio su #Gorby non conosce sfumature o scale di grigi, ma solo bianco o nero. Proviamo a trovarle insieme le sfumature. ⬇️
Premessa: ritengo che un appropriato giudizio storico su #Gorbachev (#gorbaciov) sia molto difficile e prematuro. Il collasso sovietico è un evento troppo vicino nel tempo e la storiografia su quel periodo forse è ancora insufficiente.
#Gorbachev (#Gorbaciov) era un figlio dell'URSS, impregnato dell'ideologia sovietica e parte integrante del sistema. Espressione dei riformisti moderati tecnocrati cresciuti all'ombra di Breznev e Andropov.
Ich weiß nicht ob die unreflektierte Verehrung von #Gorbatchev nur westliche Ignoranz oder schon Geschichtsrevisionismus ist, aber "unblutig" war die "Glasnost Ära" ganz und gar nicht.
Litauer, Georgier, aber auch Ukrainer können ein Lied davon singen🧵
Litauer, Georgier, aber auch Ukrainer können ein Lied davon singen🧵
Chernobyl, Ukraine Ende April 1986: die sowjetische Führung war für das Disaster verantwortlich. Danach versuchte man zu vertuschen, Berichte über schwere Schäden wurden als "westliche Propaganda" bezeichnet und Moskau verordnete, dass die 1. Mai Parade in Kyiv stattfinden muss
Georgien 1989: Demonstrantinnen und Demonstranten demonstrieren für die Wiederherstellung der Unabhängigkeit. Moskau schickt Sondereinheiten der sowjetischen Armee, sie setzen CN und CS Gas ein, über 21 Menschen sterben, darunter eine Schwangere.
"But in #China, #Gorbachev's legacy is seen in a different light, as it raises the specter of a historical event that has long been cited as a cautionary tale for the ruling Communist Party: the fall of the Soviet Union."edition.cnn.com/2022/08/31/chi…
"For an entire generation of Chinese leaders, however, Gorbachev has come to represent the perils of embracing democratic reforms, with officials long suggesting Communist-ruled China ...
... could face a similar fate to former ideological cousin the USSR if internal politics are left unchecked."
Gorbachev's death gives us an opportunity to imagine how the world would have been if the promises of James Baker had been kept.
#Gorbatchev
#Gorbachev
#Gorbatchev
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Gorbachev was an honest man, a rare kind among political predators. He harboured a hope for sustainable peace between East and West. Alas, the West persisted in confrontation.
#Gorbatchev
#Gorbachev
#Gorbatchev
#Gorbachev
I met and spoke with Gorbachev at a week-long conference in Bosco Marengo, Italy in 2009. He sat a few seats away. An approachable man of quiet dignity and integrity.
#Gorbatchev
#Gorbachev
#Gorbatchev
#Gorbachev
Gorbachev was a criminal. The destruction (by him, Yeltsin and others) of a system that ensured hardly anybody went hungry was a crime against humanity. In post-Soviet Russia, mortality rates rose sharply; there were at least 3 million excess deaths - a veritable genocide.
Rampant inflation following the lifting of price controls and destruction of USSR led to millions of people losing their life savings. A third of the Russian population fell below the poverty line. Industrial production contracted by 60% in 1990-99; GDP fell by 54%. #Gorbachev
"Adult female mortality rates rose from 116 per 1000 in 1990 to 178 in 1994; adult male mortality rates increased from 316 to 486. Mortality rates in Russia started declining significantly only after 2005, but even in 2014, mortality rates were higher than in 1990." #Gorbachev
The last day of August, the last day of summer.
Sadly, not the last day of #Russia's monstrous and illegal war on #Ukraine.
We've reached Day 189
If you want to scroll through yesterday's news, including a late story about more war crimes, click⬇️
Sadly, not the last day of #Russia's monstrous and illegal war on #Ukraine.
We've reached Day 189
If you want to scroll through yesterday's news, including a late story about more war crimes, click⬇️
1/2
The day started in bad, but predictable fashion for the people of #Kharkiv
Virtually on the stroke of midnight the new round of shelling began. This was just hours after the murderous attack on the city yesterday which killed five.
#RussiaIsATerroristState #Kharkov #Ukraine
The day started in bad, but predictable fashion for the people of #Kharkiv
Virtually on the stroke of midnight the new round of shelling began. This was just hours after the murderous attack on the city yesterday which killed five.
#RussiaIsATerroristState #Kharkov #Ukraine
2/2
At least two people have been injured in the night-time attack on #Kharkiv (RU: #Kharkov)
Exact details have not been released, but the Governor Oleh Sinehubov confirmed a residential building in the centre has been hit.
#StandWithUkraine #StopRussia
At least two people have been injured in the night-time attack on #Kharkiv (RU: #Kharkov)
Exact details have not been released, but the Governor Oleh Sinehubov confirmed a residential building in the centre has been hit.
#StandWithUkraine #StopRussia
It's perhaps hard for those who don't remember the 80s to understand the constant nuclear dread. It often felt like total annihilation was days away.
#Gorbachev was a beacon of hope and light. Imperfect? Certainly. But he took the world away from the brink.
#Gorbachev was a beacon of hope and light. Imperfect? Certainly. But he took the world away from the brink.
My childhood (70s and 80s) was wall-to-wall existential dread. Cartoons telling you how to survive a nuclear blast (ha!). Leaflets explaining what to do with your family's corpses. Lessons in how to construct a fallout shelter from your school desk. Terrifying news and TV drama.
All of that evaporated when Gorbachev arrived. He wasn't like the previous Soviet leaders - he seemed warm, cuddly, human (and humane). And he had the courage to stare down his own generals, and reach out to the West. The terror subsided, and proliferation ended.
Di #Gorbachev sono purtroppo rimasti solo i fallimenti - e molto del mondo attuale è purtroppo figlio di quegli anni. Gorbachev aveva intuito - ma era sotto gli occhi di tutti - che il sistema sovietico fosse ormai marcio. I vari tentativi, tra cui quello di Kosygin di riformare
la struttura economica erano stati sconfitti dall'opposizione interna della nomenklatura, diventata una "classe" assai particolare - che godeva del controllo ma non della proprietà dei mezzi di produzione. Ed in un sistema a cui era stato tolto prima il terrore e poi la capacità
di mobilitazione, risultava quasi impossibile un controllo centralizzato. La #perestroika altro non fu che un altro tentativo di ridurre il peso della nomenklatura per riaffermare la leadership politica di Mosca. Fallita quella, la #glasnost, o ancora meglio il tentativo di
Mikhail #Gorbachev était le poulain choisi et désigné par Iouri Andropov, ancien patron du KGB, pour tenter de sauver l'Union Soviétique de la faillite... ce n'était pas possible... celui qui a véritablement mis fin à ce scénario est Boris Eltsine, il faut quand même le dire.
Les médias français et occidentaux ont l'air d'être encore en admiration de #Gorbachev... c'est vraiment hallucinant... la complaisance avec l'Histoire monstrueuse de l'Union Soviétique n'a pas fini de faire des ravages...
Le dissident Vladimir Boukovski, en 2009, expliquait comment l'occident a maintenu en état de survie l'Union Soviétique en soutenant #Gorbachev.
- #Gorbachev
- Mikhail Gorbachev death – latest: Transformative Soviet leader dies aged 91
LATEST UPDATES
independent.co.uk/world/mikhail-…
- Mikhail Gorbachev death – latest: Transformative Soviet leader dies aged 91
LATEST UPDATES
independent.co.uk/world/mikhail-…
- #Gorbachev
- Mikhail Gorbachev helped end the Cold War but could not prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union
LATEST UPDATES
independent.co.uk/world/mikhail-…
- Mikhail Gorbachev helped end the Cold War but could not prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union
LATEST UPDATES
independent.co.uk/world/mikhail-…
- #Gorbachev
- Gorbachev will be buried next to wife Raisa in Moscow: reports
LATEST UPDATES
independent.co.uk/world/mikhail-…
- Gorbachev will be buried next to wife Raisa in Moscow: reports
LATEST UPDATES
independent.co.uk/world/mikhail-…
🇷🇺🚩 Il traditore della patria #Russia, Mikhail #Gorbaciov, è morto all'età di 92 anni. Premio #Nobel per la #Pace, consegnò l'#Urss all'#Occidente delle #GuerreUmanitarie, del #caos internazionale, della disgregazione del #Diritto Internazionale, della demolizione del mondo.
Tuesday 30 August 2022
Day 188 of the war - #Russia's illegal war in #Ukraine
The start of the daily thread with all the news and analysis that matters
Coming up, more big losses for Russia as many see the counter-attack in the South as being underway...
#StandWithUkraine
Day 188 of the war - #Russia's illegal war in #Ukraine
The start of the daily thread with all the news and analysis that matters
Coming up, more big losses for Russia as many see the counter-attack in the South as being underway...
#StandWithUkraine
Despite a slight problem yesterday evening with Twitter being unavailable via web, there was still a lot of news covered. In case you missed anything, here's the link to yesterday's thread:
Let's start with the remarkable numbers this morning just released by #Ukraine.
It's estimated 450 more Russian soldiers have died in the invasion, while APVs destroyed also well above the daily mean.
#StandWithUkraine #StopRussia
It's estimated 450 more Russian soldiers have died in the invasion, while APVs destroyed also well above the daily mean.
#StandWithUkraine #StopRussia
#MonroeDoctrine is a United States foreign policy position that opposed European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere, treating any intervention in the political affairs of US by foreign powers as a potentially hostile act. #RussiaUkraine #DigitalIndia #Russia #Ukraine #NATO
#Russia has similar concerns that is why US and NATO agreed that NATO would not expand even an inch towards East (Russia). But that promised was breached on numerous occasion in the past by US and NATO. Russia has been betrayed continuously and systematically. #DigitalIndia
#Russia has been betrayed by US, #NATO and EU. This would have serious consequence in future and US must stop its global hegemonical agenda now. #RussiaUkraine #Ukraine
#Russia has invaded Sovereign #Ukraine.
Russia along with the big 5 gave Ukraine, #Belarus and #Kazakhstan explicit guarantee to respect their Sovereignty and territories as part of #Budapest memorandum in return for giving up their #nukes.
Russia along with the big 5 gave Ukraine, #Belarus and #Kazakhstan explicit guarantee to respect their Sovereignty and territories as part of #Budapest memorandum in return for giving up their #nukes.
#Putin claimed that "promises" were made and broken regarding #NATO expansion?
Yet #Gorbachev has said many times that no such promise was given
Who should we believe?
The Ethno-nationalist?
Or the Nobel prize winner?
Russia breached this accord with its original 2014 invasion.
Yet #Gorbachev has said many times that no such promise was given
Who should we believe?
The Ethno-nationalist?
Or the Nobel prize winner?
Russia breached this accord with its original 2014 invasion.
The actions of Russia in its pursuit of Crimea and making #Azov a russian lake have led to creating and supporting continued insurgency in eastern Ukraine.
The claim of Putin to be entering Ukraine as a #peacekeeper?
As a guardian of Russian speakers?
The claim of Putin to be entering Ukraine as a #peacekeeper?
As a guardian of Russian speakers?
Polls are hardly valid measure of behavior. During coup attempt against #gorbachev, there were not even demonstrations in #Ukraine against coup, including in West Ukraine. #Ukrainian Communist turned overnight into supporters of independence after coup defeat.
Almost entire ruling Party of Regions & Communists & #Ukrainian military & security & police forces did not resist with arms after violent overthrow of #Ukraine government by means of Maidan massacre with Maidan leadership & far right involvement. academia.edu/8776021/The_Sn…
Almost all Maidan government supporters & #Ukrainian military & security & police forces in #Crimea also did not resist with arms during #Russian annexation. Most military & security service & police there switched allegiance from #Ukraine to #Russia researchgate.net/publication/27…
