Mikhail Gorbachev's exclusive interview to the Times of London

Tony Halpin, Moscow

Vladimir Putin will be swept from power by Russia’s new “glasnost generation” unless he meets their demands for democratic reform, Mikhail Gorbachev predicted yesterday. In an interview with The Times, he compared Mr Putin to Margaret Thatcher in her final days in Downing Street, saying that the former KGB spy had already stayed too long in power.
Mr Putin is likely to return to his former position as President in next month’s election for up to 12 more years. But Mr Gorbachev said that he had to respond to the hunger for democracy led by Russia’s newly vocal middle class and would be overthrown if he resorted to force to suppress opposition.

The last leader of the Soviet Union looked fit and in good spirits during an exclusive interview at the imposing five-storey headquarters of his Gorbachev Foundation in Moscow. Clearly energised by the resurgence of political activism in Russia, he spoke of the need for far-reaching reforms and of his own willingness to play a role in the democratic revolution.
Mr Putin, the Prime Minister, is facing the largest anti-government demonstrations since the collapse of Communism 20 years ago, with up to 100,000 on the streets of Moscow in the latest protest. Mr Gorbachev nodded when asked whether the protesters were from the “glasnost generation”, who grew with expectations of freedom as a result of the policies of “openness” that he had pursued as Soviet leader.

“Yes, they are the ‘glasnost generation’. I thought when I left office that it would take a generation,” he said. “This is the right moment to start creating as part of this new situation a strong democratic party. I will be helping but I will not assume any kind of responsibilities or position in this party.”

Mr Gorbachev, the Nobel Peace Laureate, is popular abroad for ending the Cold War, but most Russians reviled him for years as the destroyer of their superpower. Now his legacy at home is undergoing a revision as the “Moscow Spring” takes hold.

Would he feel vindicated finally as the father of Russian democracy? “I was interviewed on a radio station by young journalists and they told me that attitudes towards me have changed significantly over the past few months,” he replied. “They said now it’s about 50-50. I said, ‘I am not troubled. I still have a lot of time while I am alive, and even afterwards’.”

Mr Gorbachev, 81 next month, said that Mr Putin should not be seeking an unprecedented third term of six years after a pact to swap jobs with President Medvedev, who will become his Prime Minister. “The difficulty facing Putin is that so many problems have piled up in the country. Many people, including some who are close to him, feel that we are in a kind of a dead end,” Mr Gorbachev said. “The time has come for a renewal and a change of the entire team.”

Mr Gorbachev recalled Mrs Thatcher, Prime Minister at the time, telling him that she was leaving a summit in Paris early to deal with the challenge to her leadership from within the Conservative Party. He said: “I felt that she was confident she would go back and put her house in order. But she failed and she had to leave Downing Street. People asked me later why it had happened and I gave a very short answer — she stayed too long and society was tired.

“Putin is in a somewhat similar situation. He did quite a few positive things, but there are also flaws and sins that have accumulated. Putin is a religious believer, I think he prays. But I also think that he understands in his heart that there needs to be a change in the situation.

 “The times have changed, a new generation has arrived and we need a rejuvenation. The time has come to change the system, the political model has exhausted its potential.

“I proposed a way out, that he should leave and not run. Now the situation will be very difficult. What we are facing today, and what concerns us, is not something that is related just to the shortcomings of one person.”

Mr Gorbachev issued a warning to those in the regime who believed that society would “go back to sleep” once Mr Putin had been re-elected, despite his recent pledges to make the authorities more accountable. “They can come to some kind of reconciliation, but only if Putin really undertakes dramatic changes after the elections. People are disappointed that Putin and the ruling elite are too far away from society’s needs. They have lost touch.”

The protest movement would continue to grow and, if Mr Putin responded with repression, Mr Gorbachev said, “then society will respond appropriately”. He added: “If he tries to address problems by means of ‘special measures’, this will be a grave mistake. He may be forced to leave before the end of his term if he tries those methods.”

He acknowledged doubts about Mr Putin’s commitment to reform. One absolute requirement would be the dissolution of the “illegitimate” Duma, Russia’s parliament, and new elections after public protests over ballot-rigging in December’s poll, which was won by Mr Putin’s United Russia Party.

Did he consider Mr Putin a democrat? Mr Gorbachev said: “Yes. He is committed to democracy, but I would not call him a true believer in democracy because we still have a long way to go in Russia.

“We are a transition country that is moving from a totalitarian regime and society through a transformation toward democracy. We are about halfway down this road. So ignoring this fact and assuming that we already have democratic institutions is wrong.”

Was Mr Putin afraid to leave power as he had when he resigned in 1991? Mr Gorbachev said: “I also sometimes think that Putin is afraid but he shouldn’t be. There is nothing terrible about leaving power.”

The Times, 16 February 2012