Russia and German reunification: Opposing views on Mikhail Gorbachev’s legacy 31.08.2022

Deutsche Welle | Aug 31, 2022 at 2:00 AM
  • The political legacy of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet head of state, who died on Tuesday, is still fiercely discussed in present-day Russia.
  • Borders were agreed on, full sovereignty was returned to the German state, and security issues were clarified, including Germany’s NATO membership, the reduction of Germany’s armed forces from around half a million in West Germany (FRG) alone to 370,000 in united Germany, and the withdrawal of the Soviet army from then East Germany (GDR).
  • The breakthrough moment came in talks with Kohl in Moscow on February 10, 1990: “We had Gorbachev’s go-ahead for the Two Plus Four process and, above all, his green light for resolving the domestic German aspects of reunification,” Kohl put it in his diary.