Criticism of the pro-Gorbachev interpretation

Question 1

Why has the pro-Gorbachev interpretation been challenged?

Answer 1

It oversimplifies a complicated historical process, and exaggerates Gorbachev’s personal impact

Question 2

What was beyond one leader’s ability to control?

Answer 2

The complex and often unpredictable developments that ended the CW

Question 3

What does the pro-Gorbachev view underestimate?

Answer 3

The constructive role played by Reagan from 1984 in seeking a better US-Soviet relationship

Question 4

What can Gorbachev-centred explanations underplay?

Answer 4

The broader structural factors that helped to end the CW such as Soviet economic problems and growing social discontent in the satellite states

Question 5

What have some Soviet commentators, such as Sergei Akhromeyev and Georgi Kor, argued?

Answer 5

Gorbachev caved in the West due to pressure exerted on the SU by a US campaign of subversion