When he receives the Liberty Medal tonight at the National Constitution Center, former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev ought to sprinkle plenty of
glasnosts
and
perestroikas
among his pearls of wisdom. Of late, many Americans - and certainly Russia's current leaders - seem to have forgotten the meaning and importance of those two terms.
Here's a brief review:
Glasnost
(openness) and
perestroika
(restructuring) were the keys to Gorbachev's program to rid the Soviet Union of its repressive nature and reach its economic potential. The Soviet Union's death is widely hailed in this country as a result of U.S. foreign policy in the Reagan years. But Gorbachev's reforms helped foment the internal changes that led to the breakup of the communist confederation.
Openness seems to be the last thing on the mind of current Russian leader Vladimir Putin, a former KGB agent. Putin is all for restructuring, but only if it results in solidifying his czar-like power. He engineered this year's election of protégé Dmitri A. Medvedev to succeed him as president. But then Putin had himself made prime minister, which suddenly became a more important post than president.
Gorbachev criticized Putin's engineered elections. He has also denounced Putin's crackdowns on Russia's independent press.
But Gorbachev has mostly supported Putin's policies, including the Russian invasion of Georgia. That's why some question Gorbachev's receiving the Liberty Medal. While the Nobel Peace Prize winner is wrong on the Georgia conflict, the medal is deserving for his effort to build a free and democratic Russia.