Gorbys fault
The week's news at a glance.
Moscow
Most Russians think former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms were a mistake, according to a poll released this week. On the 20th anniversary of the start of perestroika, or restructuring, Russians were asked to name its main consequence. More than half picked the collapse of the Soviet Union, while less than 10 percent mentioned the end of the Cold War. For his part, Gorbachev denies that the Soviet breakup was due to his reforms. “Perestroika has won,” Gorbachev told Russian reporters this week. “It led our society to reject totalitarianism.” He said his biggest mistake was failing to decentralize the Soviet Union earlier, so that the republics wouldn’t have felt a need for independence.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Home Depots are the new epicenters of ICE raids
In the Spotlight The chain has not provided many comments on the ongoing raids
-
Why does Trump keep interfering in the NYC mayoral race?
Today's Big Question The president has seemingly taken an outsized interest in his hometown elections, but are his efforts to block Zohran Mamdani about political expediency or something deeper?
-
The pros and cons of banning cellphones in classrooms
Pros and cons The devices could be major distractions