15 1990 October, the
Mikhail Gorbachev, the man who stopped the Cold War, won the Nobel Peace Prize.
He assumed the post of General Secretary in 1985, when the Soviet Union was being called an "evil empire" and the arms race was entering a new phase. The Kremlin already understood that the unbearable burden of military spending was stifling civilian industries, store shelves were empty, and the country was in deep stagnation.
We saw that society was stagnating, declining both economically and intellectually. The temptation was great to leave everything as is, to engage in cosmetic repairs. But that would have meant continuing to deceive ourselves and the people.
Under these circumstances, Gorbachev announced the course of perestroika. For the West, this word is associated with the end of the Cold War, the fall of the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, and freedom for the countries of the socialist bloc.
Among Soviet citizens, on the contrary, anxiety and disillusionment with the ideals they had strived for so many years were growing. Ethnic conflicts were erupting one after another on the outskirts of the empire. The country that had allowed Germany to reunify was itself on the brink of collapse. Due to the grave situation, the president could not leave even for a couple of days to accept the Peace Prize.
Over the course of six years, we discarded or destroyed much that stood in the way of renewal and transformation of society. But when society gained freedom, it, having lived for so long as if in a "looking glass," didn't recognize itself. Contradictions and vices spilled out, and even blood was shed.
The prize amounted to almost a million dollars, which Gorbachev donated to the construction of hospitals.
He was only able to come to Norway and deliver his Nobel Prize speech in June 1991. Six months later, the Soviet Union, of which he was president, ceased to exist.
Political, economic, and purely human ties have collapsed, with grave consequences for millions of people. The world's adaptation to the current imbalance is difficult and painful. And I fear that the full consequences of the collapse of the USSR have not yet been felt.
