A number of years ago I was proud to celebrate Glentree international’s 40th birthday and I wanted an iconic, political titan, who better than the late President Gorbachev?
The event was attended by all manner of glitterati of the ‘great and the good’, staged in the 100-foot-wide ballroom of a super mansion in The Bishops Avenue, befitting the status of the exotic invited guests such as Simon Cowell, the X-Factor judges, and a host of stars from stage and screen.
The venue was awash in first growth wines and people shovelled the Beluga caviar onto their golden platters. It was a feast extraordinaire.
President Gorbachev flew into London for the occasion, on his friends’ private jet – Alexander Lebedev and Evgeny Lebedev (now Lord Lebedev).
He made a prophetic speech, principally that the western world only understands one type of democracy, and his in his view, there were many.
Ending of the Cold War
In the few stolen moments that I was privileged to speak with him, on a one-to-one basis, I mentioned ‘that perceived wisdom is that the Cold War ended in the 80s, when Ronald Reagan announced his strategic defensive initiative (SDI Star Wars initiative).’ It was claimed to be a quantum leap in nuclear defence and light years ahead of Soviet weapons, and I suppose akin to the modern, hypersonic missile system.
The impact was such that it forced the Soviet Union to reconsider their strategic defence and the rest is history when they ‘threw in the towel’ and the Cold War ended.
President Gorbachev quickly dismissed this fairy tale by emphatically correcting me that the judicious and sycophantic relationship, strategic alliance if you will, between Saudi Arabia and the USA to keep oil prices low, was the real reason for the acquiescence of the Soviet Union’s foreign policy.
His evident modesty prevented him from claiming visionary status, when he presided over the reforms of the Soviet Union, from a totalitarian communist state into a socialist federation of democratic countries, which was his aspiration.
Unfortunately, he never completed this task when the drunken and disorderly dipsomaniac, President Yeltsin, hijacked his plan and allowed the disintegration of the former Soviet satellite countries, which President Putin is trying to reverse in his barbaric brutal fashion.
There is no question that had Khrushchev/Brezhnev been in charge, they would have driven the Soviet Union into the ground before they conceded defeat.
Unmistakable Parallels
The parallels of today’s Russo/Ukrainian conflict are unmistakable.
The Soviet Union and now Russia, is arguably one of the largest energy producers in the world and is exerting unbridled aggression, whilst trying to take full advantage of its powerful world position.
Gorbachev will be seen as one of the greatest politicians of the world. Unlike other Soviet/Russian leaders, both current and historic, he did not ‘gorge himself from the trough of avarice.’ He remained a wonderful husband to his beloved Raisa who, like his brother, died prematurely from leukemia, and having lost a number of my family to this disease, this gave us a commonality of purpose.
In fact, his considerable fee for attending was not sent to an obscure bank account in Europe but instead, to a leukemia charity.
Remarkable Man
As Turkeys do not vote for Christmas, President de Klerk and Gorbachev were political individuals whose place in history should remain remembered. With Mandela, they all allowed the transition of an oppressive regime into a democratic free-market version.
Reagan and Thatcher adored Gorbachev, and with good reason. He was a remarkable man, and I was privileged to spend some stolen moments with this iconic, political giant.