Interview for CNN. June 13, 2007.

Davlat Hudonazarov comments on the role of Michael Gorbachev

You cannot just talk about Gorbachev in the simple words. If you look back at Russia of the 20^th century, you’ll see that Gorbachev is the man who stands to be a historically praised figure, who changed the face of Europe. In the all Soviet Union and in Russia despite all he has done he is looked at poorly. He did the maximum he could do, but you have to look at him in the context of what he came from. He was at the top of the government and then he started reforms from the top, he started to fight communism from the top. And for that reason he deserves his Nobel Prize. He gave freedom and even now people in Russia don’t have the same kind of freedom they had during Perestroika. He raised people’s enthusiasm. The other issue is that the strategy of Perestroika was not fully thought out, it was unpredictable. You cannot discuss what he did in black or white. When you look at Gorbachev you must also look at Lenin in the 20^th century, who started this revolution and started Soviet power and it is Gorbachev who took it apart. These are the two greatest figures that represent Russian history in the 20^th century.