Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Gorbachev: Russia Is Reverting to Bad Old Days

He writes critical op-ed on 25th anniversary of perestroika

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 13, 2010 5:22 PM CST

(Newser) – Mikhail Gorbachev warns that Russia is in danger of backsliding into the dark days of the Soviet Union in a critical op-ed piece that seems aimed directly at Vladimir Putin. The country's parliament is no better than a rubber stamp, its courts lack independence, and there's still no real party system. "There is a growing feeling that the government is afraid of civil society and would like to control everything," Gorbachev writes on the 25th anniversary of his perestroika reforms.

"I sense alarm in the words of President Dmitri Medvedev," who warned of a "primitive economy" and a society grown complacent because the government runs everything. "I agree with the president," Gorbachev writes in the New York Times. "I agree with his goal of modernization. But it will not happen if people are sidelined, if they are just pawns. If the people are to feel and act like citizens, there is only one prescription: democracy, including the rule of law and an open and honest dialogue between the government and the people."

A 2006 file photo of Mikhail Gorbachev and Vladimir Putin.
A 2006 file photo of Mikhail Gorbachev and Vladimir Putin.   (Getty Images)
Former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev delivers a speech in Germany in February.
Former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev delivers a speech in Germany in February.   (AP Photo/dapd/Matthias Rietschel)
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in 2009.
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in 2009.   (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
My TakeCLICK BELOW TO VOTE
3%
6%
3%
75%
10%
3%
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 50 comments
Count-Spatula
Mar 15, 2010 2:02 AM CDT
Gorbachev and Abe Vigoda are still alive?
Knock me over with a feather.
Derni
Mar 15, 2010 1:46 AM CDT
and there was light..and did we see it?
scrappy2
Mar 14, 2010 5:30 PM CDT
Washington, are you listening?

More Newser Stories

Russians March on Kremlin to Protest Putin

Russian Cops Pitch Tantrum Over 'Toy Protest'

Putin: Why I'm Running Again

Secret Cold War Project Revealed After 45 Years

All Signs Point to Runaway Election Fraud in Russia


NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne