Good morning. News broke last night of the death of Mikhail Gorbachev, one of the crucial figures of the late 20th century. The last president of the Soviet Union passed away in Moscow after what was described as a “difficult and protracted illness” at the age of 91.
Remembered above all in the west for his decision to allow the fall of the Berlin Wall without violence and with it the end of the cold war, his passing appears all the more resonant for coinciding with Vladimir Putin’s brutal reassertion of Russian power in Ukraine. But while, as many of the tributes last night suggested, he was feted in the west for his role in the break-up of the Soviet Union, that is a legacy he did not seek – and he is a far more contested figure in his own country.
There’s an array of great journalism about Gorbachev on the Guardian this morning; today’s newsletter will take you through it. Here are the headlines.
Five big stories
Food banks | Food banks across Britain have warned of a “completely unsustainable” surge in demand that will prevent them feeding the hungriest families this winter.
Energy | The wholesale price of gas has dropped sharply in a rare respite from recent highs on signs that Europe is preparing to intervene directly in energy markets.
Ukraine | Ukrainian troops had broken through Russian defences in several areas of the frontline near the city of Kherson, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy claimed. Oleksiy Arestovych told his fellow citizens not to expect rapid gains.
Strikes | Andy Burnham has voiced criticism of Keir Starmer’s policy of stopping Labour frontbenchers from joining picket lines. The Manchester mayor said he would not see picketing with unions as “controverisal” during a crisis over the cost of living.
Brexit | Eurostar is stopping direct services from London to Disneyland Paris from next summer, citing the fallout from Brexit and Covid. Eurostar said that it needed to focus on “core routes” to maintain service levels.
In depth: ‘He gave Russians room to breathe’
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The life: ‘The man who consigned the one-party system to oblivion’
Gorbachev was “the most important world figure of the last quarter of the 20th century”, writes Jonathan Steele, in an obituary that captures the significance of his life and argues that his story is “a fine example of the occasional importance of the personal factor in human history”. He had no intention of bringing about the end of the Soviet Union when he took office in 1985, but “he started a process of reform and did not try to reverse it once it threatened to spin out of control”.
Steele also notes that while the end of communism is now widely presented as an inevitability, “there was no overriding urgency for the process of perestroika (“restructuring” or “transformation”) that he set in train”. But he took unilateral steps towards nuclear disarmament and introduced a new parliament, and with it the rights to freedom of assembly and speech. That was the point at which “Gorbachev’s ‘revolution from above’ turned into a ‘revolution from below’, as thousands took to the streets”, and he lost control.
Ultimately, Steele writes, Gorbachev “will be remembered as the man who consigned the one-party system to oblivion and gave Russians room to breathe.” Do read the whole thing if you have time.
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The tributes: Praise in the west – and a much cooler response in Russia
World leaders paying tribute to Gorbachev, compiled here by Martin Farrer, were led by Joe Biden, who said that he was “a rare leader – one with the imagination to see that a different future was possible and the courage to risk his entire career to achieve it.” António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, said Gorbachev was a “one-of-a kind statesman who changed the course of history”.
But in Russia, the reaction was much less effusive. Vladimir Putin expressed his “deepest condolences” and said he would send a telegram to Gorbachev’s family and friends. A report on the official Tass news agency was missing the superlatives of western responses and simply said he “promoted glasnost … and perestroika, a policy of political and economic reforms.” And Vitaly Milonov, a Russian MP, claimed he had “a legacy “worse than Hitler for our country”.
Pjotr Sauer’s analysis piece gets at this “dual reality – loved and celebrated in Washington, Paris and London, but reviled by large numbers of Russians who never forgave him for the turbulence that his reforms unleashed”. He notes a 2021 poll saying that 70% of Russians said their country had moved in a negative direction during his rule – but adds that he will be “mourned among Russia’s increasingly suppressed liberal circles”.
The most striking line in Pjotr’s piece is a tribute from Gorbachev’s friend Alexei Venediktov, former head of a radio station forced off air over its coverage of the war in Ukraine: “We have all become orphans. But not everyone has understood it yet.”
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The legacy: Gorbachev on Putin and the war in Ukraine
World affairs editor Julian Borger highlights the inescapable contrast of Gorbachev’s reconciliation with the west and Vladimir Putin’s embrace of a new era of instability and violence. He notes that Gorbachev was dismayed by the war in Ukraine, and in the days after Russia’s invasion, called for “an early cessation of hostilities and immediate start of peace negotiations”.
“The last days of the Soviet Union under Gorbachev … were more conducive to freedom of expression than Putin’s Russia, where any hint of criticism can bring a jail term,” Borger writes. And he quotes Gorbachev’s warning in 2011, before he became more careful in his public views: “Where you have leaders that rule for 20 years or more … the only thing that is important in such situations for those leaders and people around them is holding on to power,” he said. “I believe that this is something that is happening now in our country.”
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The Pizza Hut ad: ‘A man who once commanded a superpower hawking pizza’
For a fascinating look at Gorbachev’s life after power through the most surreal prism imaginable, do read this superb 2019 piece by Paul Musgrave in Foreign Policy (it’s a subscription site, but you get one free piece per month) about the making of the infamous Pizza Hut commercial that became an inescapable symbol of capitalism’s complicated position within the new Russia.
“There’s an undeniable voyeuristic frisson of seeing a man who once commanded a superpower hawking pizza,” Musgrave writes, before recounting the extraordinary story behind the ad, in which a Russian father and son argue about Gorbachev’s legacy in his presence and conclude: “Because of him, we have many things … like Pizza Hut!”
Gorbachev did the ad because he needed the money – but it also reflects the melancholic edge to his achievements. “Sixty-six percent of Russians … regretted the collapse of the Soviet Union,” Musgrave writes. “So, of course, does Gorbachev. His ambition was to perfect the country, not to end it.”
What else we’ve been reading
In this revealing piece, Amelia Gentlemen examines Kwasi Kwarteng’s 2010 book, Ghosts of Empire to find out more about the worldview of the next potential chancellor of the exchequer. Nimo
Owen Jones interviews Bernie Sanders ahead of his appearance at an Enough is Enough rally today. Sanders is a big fan of Mick Lynch: “People are tired of being ignored while the rich get richer.” Archie
Janet Farrell, a lawyer who represents asylum seekers, sets out, in unrelenting detail, the human cost of the government’s “tough on immigration” policies. Nimo
Vittles co-editor Rebecca May Johnson has a beautifully written piece about the pleasures of culinary rows on social media, and the reasons to make and break whatever recipe rules you like. A bonus: several excellent tomato sandwich recipes along the way. Archie
With the mounting costs of owning a vehicle and the danger they pose to the planet and to people, the age of the car is over, John Vidal has declared. What’s next? Nimo
Sport
US Open tennis | Emma Raducanu’s US Open defence has come to an early end, losing to world No 40 Alizé Cornet 6-3, 6-3. Poland’s Iga Swiatek moved past Jasmine Paolini of Italy 6-3, 6-0 to reach the second round of the US Open.
Football | Chelsea fell to a 2-1 defeat against Southampton, who came back from 1-0 down with a “near-flawless performance”. Fulham beat Brighton 2-1, Crystal Palace and Brentford drew 1-1, and Leeds and Everton also drew 1-1.
Football | Scott Parker has been sacked as manager of Bournemouth, three days after the team suffered a 9-0 defeat at Liverpool. Parker indicated after the game at Anfield that he felt the newly promoted club had not spent enough this summer.
The front pages
The Guardian splashes with “Hunger fears as food banks warn stock may run out” and pays tribute to Mikhail Gorbachev on its front page. The Times also pictures the former Soviet leader while its lead story reads “App will let patients avoid long NHS waits”. The Telegraph says “Get back to basics, ‘woke’ police told” and the Mail leads with “Have police given up on burglary?”.
The Daily Express says “Farewell… I’m proud of the things we did” alongside a picture of a waving Boris Johnson. The FT has “Sunak warns over risk of markets losing faith in British economy” and the Mirror “Now Britain demands bill freeze”. The Sun’s lead is “Duchess of delusion”.
For a full round-up of media reaction to the death of Mikhail Gorbachev, click here.
Today in Focus
How to cope with rising energy bills
Rupert Jones reports on the energy price cap and what options we have as energy bills go up.
Cartoon of the day | Steve Bell
The Upside
A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad
For the first time in 30 years journalists in Sudan have formed a union, in defiance of military rule. The last independent journalists’ union was terminated in 1989. In the following decades, under the leadership of former president Omar al-Bashir, Sudanese journalists faced high levels of repression including torture and unjust imprisonment. The new union, which has 1,000 members, will seek to protect the rights of journalists to report freely and access public information, as well as ensuring a minimum wage for their members, health and social insurance and paid maternity leave.
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Bored at work?
And finally, the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until tomorrow.
