It is undeniable that the disintegration of the Soviet Union has an inescapable relationship with Gorbachev . He was the last "sword holder" of the Soviet Union and the last person at the helm of the US-Soviet struggle for hegemony .
However, he failed to save the Soviet Union in distress, and even single-handedly pushed the Soviet Union to disintegrate. And under the shadow of Gorbachev, there is the figure of Yeltsin.
As the first president of Russia, many people's impression of Yeltsin is that he supported Putin to come to power. Not to mention Putin, since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out, news about Putin has never stopped.
So what is the evaluation of the three of them in history? On this point of , perhaps only those closely related to the last leader of the Soviet Union and the two presidents of Russia can have the most objective evaluation.
Spanning nearly a hundred years of history, the last marshal of the Soviet Union, Dmitry Yazov, is definitely one of the most vocal evaluators!
Yazov
Authoritative reviewer
On February 25, 2020, Dmitry Yazov left this world. He lived for 96 years, experienced the mountains of blood and corpses in the war, and wrote his own achievements from hellish battles.
In June 1941, Germany launched an aggressive war called "Barbarossa" plan against the Soviet Union. Although before the war began, the Allied headquarters warned the Soviet Union.
However, Stalin , who maintained a non-aggression pact with Germany at the time, firmly believed that Hitler would never risk launching an invasion of the Soviet Union.
Barbarossa Plan
He ignored these reminders behind him. When the German army was approaching the Soviet border troops in the early morning of June 22, there was still no unit preparing for war.
Therefore, a disaster broke out. 3.2 million German troops, 470,000 Finnish troops and several reinforcements. As far as the eye can see, there is a sea of German troops. The rapid offensive caused a large area of the Soviet Union to fall in an instant.
In the Battle of Kiev, more than 190,000 Soviet soldiers were buried on the battlefield, and 650,000 soldiers were captured by Germany. The Soviet Union was severely weakened and began to mobilize citizens from all over the country to join the army and fight.
In such an environment, 17-year-old Dmitry Yazov lied about his age and became a Soviet Red Army soldier.
In September 1941, the battle to defend Moscow broke out. This was Azov's first time on the battlefield. In the hell of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, he struggled to survive, but soon fell into another hell - the Battle of Leningrad.
This was a long battle that lasted 872 days. It was the battle with the largest death toll, the longest siege, and the greatest damage in modern history.
More than 1 million Leningrad citizens died in this battle, and 1.33 million Soviet Red Army soldiers were killed or missing during the war, but Yazov survived.
Since joining the army, Yazov fought in the entire Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. In 1978, Yazov, who had great military exploits, was promoted to a Soviet general.
In 1987, a 19-year-old West German youth piloted a plane through the Soviet air defense network, known as the world's strictest, and landed on the Red Square in the center of Moscow.
Gorbachev was very angry about this. He dismissed the then Minister of Defense Sokolov and promoted Yazov, who had become a general at the time, to become the new Minister of Defense among many generals.
With this fame, three years later, on April 28, 1990, Yazov became the last Soviet Marshal to be appointed in the Soviet Union.
He has experienced countless battles. He has received two medals of the Order of Lenin, the highest medal of honor in the Soviet Union, and 20 international medals.
Such a founding veteran who was gradually promoted to marshal after the founding of the People's Republic of China, his qualifications and right to speak are not unimportant. Before Yazov's death, he had been interviewed in Russia's Komsomolskaya Pravda.
This is a "legacy" he left to Russia. It requires "Komsomolskaya Pravda" to publish the content of this interview-the evaluation of the three leaders to the world after Yazov's death.
Gorbachev: The Undertaker of the Soviet Union.
Although Gorbachev was very kind to Yazov for his promotion, Yazov in his later years was not polite to Gorbachev.
Gorbachev
Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yazov organized the "August 19 Coup", trying to evade Gorbachev's power and put him under house arrest, using iron fist to save the Soviet Union in danger.
However, the coup ultimately failed because of the haste and lack of clear division of responsibilities after the coup. Yazov was also imprisoned by Gorbachev and was not released from prison until 1994.
According to Yazov, Gorbachev was very young when he became the leader of the Soviet Union. When he first took office, many people were optimistic about Gorbachev.
He was a genius of economic reform and a national talent in the embarrassing life of Soviet people at that time "queuing up to buy bread". However, he is too weak. He was a genius, but he did not have the ability to lead the Soviet Union.
Gorbachev
On March 10, 1985, Gorbachev became the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and Chairman of the National Defense Conference of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. People expected this newly elected leader to change the status quo, but what they expected was met with disappointment.
In the later years of Gorbachev's administration, he began to lean toward the United States at many moments when international events were decided. His "new thinking" diplomacy abandoned the long-standing bipolar opposition and sought improved relations with Western capitalist countries.
His approach of "seeking improvement" did not result in the kindness of the United States. In order to avoid war with the United States, all Gorbachev did was give in.
In order to show his sincerity, Gorbachev, as the "sword bearer" of nuclear weapons , took the initiative to reduce the stockpile of nuclear weapons and announced plans to disarmament.
Gorbachev
You must know that the most powerful deterrent and force in the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union is the military strength and nuclear weapons confrontation between the two countries. However, Gorbachev was willing to show weakness in order to seek peace with the United States.
The most direct result of this approach is that the United States has made a lot of money in the entire Middle East . He withdrew the troops stationed in Cuba , tolerated the Gulf War of the United States, and allowed the United States to use force against Iraq .
Originally, the Soviet Union had a strong influence in the Middle East, but Gorbachev's accommodation allowed the United States to continue to expand its power in the Middle East.
As for domestic political reform, Gorbachev did an even worse job. He made hasty decisions one after another, gradually pushing the Soviet Union into the abyss in terms of economy and politics.
Gorbachev
He opposed Soviet communism and tried to transform the once planned economy into a market economy without a long-term vision.
When the United States devoted its efforts to the development of information technology, Gorbachev proposed to vigorously develop machinery manufacturing industry , which in turn led to an oversupply of machinery manufacturing products.
Some companies inflated their profits to cater for their performance, causing the people of the Soviet Union to waste their money to buy backward products. What's more, people's lives were already very tight at that time.
Light industry and agriculture, which are closely related to people's livelihood, are even more in tight supply under the pressure of heavy industry. He wanted to stop people from drinking, but he made the black market in underground bars flourish.
Erbachev
's excessive wages caused residents' income to skyrocket in 1988, but the purchasing power of the ruble dropped significantly. The entire Soviet market fell into chaos.
His reforms not only lost the benefits of the planned economy, but also brought about the negative side of the market economy. When China abandoned its food stamp policy, Gorbachev reintroduced it in 1990.
In 2004, when Gorbachev was with Li Zhaoxing on a diplomatic occasion, Li Zhaoxing asked Gorbachev the real reason for the disintegration of the Soviet Union . Gorbachev said lonely:
"The one I admire most, That is Mr. Deng Xiaoping. But in the Soviet Union, there is no such talent. "
Gorbachev
On August 30, 2022, Gorbachev's life came to an end at the age of 91. Politically, he may have failed, but when it comes to age, he is a real winner.
Neither Mrs. Thatcher nor Honecker lived as long as Gorbachev. Yeltsin once criticized Gorbachev with great disdain: his all-encompassing reform plan was met with his incompetence in reform practice.
But what did Yazov think of Yeltsin’s actions?
Yeltsin
Yeltsin: There is no Soviet Union in his heart
"If Yeltsin had thought about retaining the Soviet Union, he would not have done that." This is Yazov's evaluation of Yeltsin: "He and his men created paradise for themselves, but they did not consider it. Live the life of the Russian people.”
The collapse of the Soviet Union, Yeltsin was also involved. In December 1991, Yeltsin signed an agreement with the leaders of Belarus and Ukraine without Gorbachev's knowledge, announcing that the Soviet Union would terminate.
This made Gorbachev very angry, but at this time Gorbachev was already helpless. Some people call Yeltsin "the sinner of the Soviet Union and the hero of Russia."
Yeltsin
However, during Yeltsin's reign, Russia only became worse and worse. With the lowering of the Soviet red flag, Yeltsin adopted the so-called "shock therapy" when the country's economy suffered heavy losses.
Suddenly, prices doubled. If we say that in the Soviet Union during Gorbachev's time, people's life was like queuing up to buy bread. Then during the Yeltsin period, you could not buy bread even if you queued up.
He privatized state-owned assets wantonly, but privately allowed his family and cronies to get the biggest piece of the privatization pie. During his time in power, several major economic oligarchs emerged throughout Russia.
For their own rights and status, these oligarchs did not hesitate to use a lot of financial and material resources and even technological means to get Yeltsin re-elected. In exchange, Yeltsin would protect the economic interests of these oligarchs.
Yeltsin
Although Yazov was released by Yeltsin, he did not have half a good impression of this Soviet leader. Under Yeltsin's leadership, he even attempted to return the Southern Kuril Islands to Japan in exchange for benefits.
His family members and close confidants were intoxicated by Yeltsin's policies. But the whole of Russia became a hot potato in Yeltsin's hands. Not to mention that Russia at that time had to face the crisis of , Chechnya and .
At this moment, Putin appeared.
Putin
Putin: A born leader
Although Yeltsin became a disaster for Russia, it is undeniable that without Yeltsin, it is very likely that there would be no Putin later.
When Yeltsin selected his successor, he had three indicators he wanted to see. First, it is the recognition of the conservatives in the Yeltsin era. Putin had worked as an agent in the KGB and was a close confidant of Yeltsin, so he met the conditions.
Secondly, in addition to the powerful conservatives, they also need to be recognized by the equally powerful reformers. And it just so happens that one of Putin's "boss" is Sobchak, a representative of the reformists.
Putin
He is known as Putin's teacher, and Putin even voluntarily quit politics because of Sobchak's experience. Therefore, in the eyes of reformists, Putin is also a qualified candidate.
And the last point is that I hope to be grateful. In other words, we hope that we will not have to settle accounts with Yeltsin for his actions.
In fact, in Yeltsin's view, Putin's ability to help Sobchak when he was an assistant to the president's office was a reflection of Putin's "gratitude." And Putin did not specifically seek trouble for Yeltsin.
In Yazov’s view, Putin will grow into a great strategist step by step in practice.
Putin and Yazov
From pacifying Chechnya to saving Russia in danger, Putin has used his actual actions to win the recognition of countless Russians.
If Yeltsin brought Russia into the cold winter, then Putin's taking office is to shine the light on the land of Russia again.
He did not show mercy to the Russian oligarchs. Compared with Yeltsin and the oligarchs' complicity, what Putin did was to suppress them vigorously and vigorously.
As people say, Putin is as warm as spring to his comrades and as cruel and ruthless to his enemies as harsh winter.
Putin
Russian people have lived in suffering for too long. Putin's emergence has extremely profound significance for the Russian people.
He no longer believed in the sweet talk of European and American countries, and even dared to compete with , the European Union, and the United States . This has rarely happened since Gorbachev came to power.
In Yazov’s view, Putin can maintain his original aspirations when he has strong power and ability, and can even put national interests first and do his best for the country. This is why Yazov is extremely optimistic about Putin.
And Putin also gave Yazov, the old marshal, enough respect. On Yazov's 80th and 90th birthdays, Putin made a special trip to award Azov a medal to show his respect.
Yazov
From 1985 when Gorbachev came to power to 2022 when Putin continues to serve, 37 years have passed in the blink of an eye. From the death of Yazov to the death of Gorbachev on August 30, 2022, Russia has undergone earth-shaking changes.
From the dissolution of the Soviet Union to Russia’s suffering to its current prosperity, it is undeniable that the era of Gorbachev and Yeltsin has ended, and now it is Putin’s era.
As for how far Putin can lead Russia, this needs to be left to history and future generations to record and comment.
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