Mikhail Gorbachev: How he changed our lives

On August 30, 2022, President Mikhail Gorbachev passed away. Two days later, Bettina Schaefer begins work on the German edition of this book. The goal of the prize-winning editor and journalist is to publish 21 narrated memories on the first anniversary of Gorbachev's death as a dignified commemoration of the man who made world history. Now, on the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Bettina Schaefer is publishing the English edition. 21 colleagues from his inner circle, companions, colleagues and friends from Russia and Germany, the USA, Switzerland and Sweden tell about their encounters with Mikhail Gorbachev between 1985 and 2022, revealing a multitude of previously unknown aspects of his personality. Who was he as a person? What remains from our encounters with him? How did Gorbachev change the lives of each individual? We learn how far ahead of his time Gorbachev was and how much his humanity shaped his political thought and action. The traces left by the “human in the true sense of the word” are profound. Gorbachev represented an opportunity and hope for a better world. The contributions in this book to commemorate Gorbachev help us recognize, even in dark times, how he changed all our lives for the better.

Bettina Schaefer is a journalist. She is considered a pioneer of narrative historical non-fiction books, biography category, using narratively recorded interviews with contemporary witnesses. Her work has received several international awards in the US and Canada in the "Biography" category (International Book Awards USA 2015/ IPPY Awards NYC 2017)