1990 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mikhail Gorbachev does not mince his words when he speaks about the men who now lead Russia:
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said he is "ashamed" with the way Russia is run today and warned the Kremlin could face an Egypt-style uprising.
Nearly two decades after his reforms led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mr. Gorbachev denounced Russia's "ruling class" as "rich and dissolute," in an interview published Wednesday in Novaya Gazeta, the opposition newspaper of which he is part-owner. "I'm ashamed for us and for the country," he said.
He lambasted the Kremlin for eroding the free media and elections that he introduced in the 1980s, and warned that its grip on power could be threatened.
"If things continue the way they are, I think the probability of the Egyptian scenario will grow," he said in a separate radio interview released Tuesday, referring to the popular rebellion that ousted longtime President Hosni Mubarak last week. "Here it could end even more staggeringly," he said.
Read the entire Wall Street Journal article here.
Also the Daily Mail notes what Gorbachev has to say about the present leadership in Russia:
He accused the leaders of 'skimming off property and quietly sending money out of the country' while launching bogus battles against corruption.
'They are hiding everything in offshore structures,' he said.
And he said the leadership was too dominated by 'Chekists' - figures linked to the secret services.
'This is not normal. The domination of the special services, their ability to decide political matters, their active interference in the lives of citizens - this is unacceptable.'
He said the the decision on who would lead Russia after the 2012 presidential elections would be taken not by the people but two men - Putin and president Dmitry Medvedev.
'This is shameful,' he said.
Read the entire article here.
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