Posted on 08/17/2011 11:09:19 AM PDT by re_tail20
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev criticized the government on Wednesday for taking Russia backward and said that the nation needs free elections and fresh leadership.
He was speaking ahead of the 20th anniversary of Aug. 19, 1991, hardline coup that briefly ousted him and precipitated the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Gorbachev, who turned 80 in March and underwent spinal surgery in April, looked strong and spoke energetically during a news conference that lasted more than an hour.
Gorbachev criticized the United Russia party led by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, which he described as a bad copy of the Soviet Communist Party.
He said Russia needs to restore direct elections of governors and of individual seats in parliament, which were abolished during Putin's presidency.
"Honest elections are needed: single-ballot elections, elections of governors," Gorbachev said. "People must have a feeling that something depends on them."
He dismissed the Popular Front, an umbrella group of public organizations, professional associations and unions created with Putin's blessing.
"They invent some unnecessary groups, some fronts," Gorbachev said, adding that government spin doctors might just as well invent something like "10 Putin Strikes" — a sardonic reference to "10 Stalin Strikes," a term used by Soviet propaganda to describe the Red Army's offensives during World War II.
The front's creation has been seen as an attempt by Putin to strengthen his support base ahead of parliamentary elections in December and a presidential vote in March.
Putin, who shifted into the prime minister's job in 2008 because of a two-term constitutional limit, is widely expected to reclaim the presidency. Gorbachev avoided personal criticism of Putin, saying that he deserves credit for stabilizing the country after the economic meltdown and chaos of the first post-Soviet decade...
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I hope the Russian people are listening.
Mikhail Gorbachev: Russia’s Jimmy Carter
Gorby wants to make it to 81....
“This town needs an enema”
“They invent some unnecessary groups, some fronts,” Gorbachev said, adding that government spin doctors might . . . “
Sound familiar? Czars NLRB etc.
Tea Party indoctrinates another one - Gorbachev.
maybe the only person of stature in russia who can say this and survive free?
Two leaders the world sorely misses today: Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev!
It sounds like well reasoned advice, and there aren’t too many who’d have the confidence to say it as publicly. But considering that Putin has stated that the break off of constituent republics from the Soviet Union was one of the greatest geopolitical catastrophes of modern times, having him listen to the man he’d probably consider responsible for that is a big ask.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.