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Mikhail Gorbachev has died

(www.reuters.com)
970 points homarp | 4 comments | 30 Aug 22 20:37 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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lapcat ◴[30 Aug 22 21:07 UTC] No.32655071[source]▶
The United States didn't do enough to help Russia transition to democracy in the 1990s. There was no "Marshall Plan" after the Cold War like there was after World War II. This was a huge mistake, and we see the consequences now, with Russia having turned back toward totalitarianism and imperialism. Sadly, it seems that Gorbachev's efforts were mostly for naught. But it was courageous at the time to open up the Soviet Union to glasnost and perestroika.

Of course Yeltsin was a big part of the problem too.

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avmich ◴[30 Aug 22 21:12 UTC] No.32655130[source]▶
Was the absence of Marshall plan happened because of the West or because of Russia's decision?

> Sadly, it seems that Gorbachev's efforts were mostly for naught.

Russia today is a faint ghost of the former USSR. The events in Eastern Europe show that to an extent.

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1. nxm ◴[30 Aug 22 21:53 UTC] No.32655652[source]▶
Who would pay for Marshall Plan?
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2. 2OEH8eoCRo0 ◴[30 Aug 22 21:59 UTC] No.32655718[source]▶
Somebody pays eventually. We are all paying for it right now, plus interest.
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3. avmich ◴[30 Aug 22 22:01 UTC] No.32655740[source]▶
How much? E.g. in early 1992 monthly stipend of a student - something which he could somehow survive for a month (not quite, too low, but somewhat close) was about 60 roubles. And the USD-RUR course was 100 roubles for a dollar. So a person was barely - very barely - surviving on 7 dollars 20 cents a year.

Do you know how much Russian economy costed at the time?

4. avmich ◴[30 Aug 22 22:02 UTC] No.32655752[source]▶
Absolutely. And we will likely pay for similar situations with Hungary, Turkey, China...