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Mikhail Gorbachev has died

(www.reuters.com)
970 points homarp | 3 comments | 30 Aug 22 20:37 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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bediger4000 ◴[30 Aug 22 20:56 UTC] No.32654941[source]▶
I was taught that Ronald Reagan ended the cold war and gave us the longest lasting economic boom.
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INTPenis ◴[30 Aug 22 21:00 UTC] No.32654994[source]▶
I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle, in the sense that it never ended. It only took a back seat in the media while Russia was disorganized.
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flavius29663 ◴[30 Aug 22 21:01 UTC] No.32655008[source]▶
it ended for 150 or so million people in Eastern Europe, that were freed from Russia.
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1. jjtheblunt ◴[30 Aug 22 21:13 UTC] No.32655143{3}[source]▶
Aren't their countries still filled with Soviet era (or even more recent?) environmental hazards, like ubiquitous asbestos and who knows what else?

When i took Russian, we watched a Soviet propaganda film : it bragged about asbestos exports as a sign of Soviet strength, and i think the teachers (one native Russian speaker) perhaps showed it to emphasize what a disaster had already been created (this was shortly pre 2000).

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2. jeromegv ◴[30 Aug 22 21:19 UTC] No.32655229[source]▶
Quebec was also bragging about their asbestos export not too long ago either. This isn’t really something unique to Soviet Union.
3. kenned3 ◴[30 Aug 22 21:36 UTC] No.32655458[source]▶
Many countries are still stranded with "cold war" environmental problems.

The US has many "superfunds" dedicated to cleaning up "cold war radioactivity" issues.

A bit more info on the Quebec asbestos issues. Canada didnt stop exporting it until 2012.

" Canada led world production of asbestos before the country’s two largest mines (both in Quebec) halted operations in 2012. The closure marked the suspension of the country’s asbestos production for the first time in 130 years. "

Exporting this wasn't unique to the Soviets.