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email: Gorbachev- Leader or Failure? Gorbachev was a good leader who might have become a great leader under different circumstances. However, he was in an impossible situation. He had to please the hard-lined Communist faction on one hand and the group who wanted Democracy immediately on the other hand. He tried to take the middle road, phasing out Communism and gradually introducing Democracy. He started out well by increasing the authority of the Soviet presidency, transferring power from the Communist party to popularly elected legislatures in the union republics, and withdrawing Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
Gorbachev increased the Soviet President s power to enable him to gradually dissolve the Soviet Union. He wanted each state to eventually become an independent republic. Gorbachev knew that this had to be done over a period of several years to give the people and the economy time to adjust. The Communists were mad because they were losing power.
The Pro-Democracy group was mad because the change wasn t happening fast enough. Gorbachev began slowly removing power from the Communist party and transferring it to popularly elected officials. The Communists were furious because they were again losing power. The Pro-Democracy group was upset because things weren t happening fast enough. Gorbachev began withdrawing Soviet troops from Afghanistan. He knew the war was draining the Soviet economy and the spirit of the Soviet people.
The Soviet Union was no longer in the position to carry out long-range plans in the Middle East. The Communists were again furious over losing face and more power. The Pro-Democracy group was again upset because things weren t happening fast enough. By increasing the power of the Soviet presidency, transferring power from the Communist party, and withdrawing Soviet troops from Afghanistan, Gorbachev proved to be the first Soviet leader to break from traditional Communist party policies. He showed the world he was trying to lead the Soviet Union down a different path. Gorbachev was a good leader with good intentions, but he faced constant opposition from the Communist party and from the Pro-Democracy groups.
It s ironic that most of Gorbachev s support came from outside the Soviet Union. Most of his own people disliked him for either trying to change things or for not changing things fast enough. Recent history has proven that Gorbachev was right in trying to introduce independence and democracy slowly. When the republics received their independence, many of them began fighting each other. When the people were freed from Communist rule, many did not know what to do now that the Communist party no longer supported them. Independence and democracy were new toys that the people were not ready to play with.
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