On March 2, 2006, a special birthday party was being held at the Moscow International Building. The protagonist of this banquet was none other than the 75-year-old Gorbachev, who, despite his advanced age, was still full of excitement and eloquence at the birthday banquet that day, and was interviewed by reporters after the banquet.
When asked what he thought of the current powerful China, Gorbachev did not answer immediately, but thought for a while, and after a while, he replied: "Since the reform and opening up, China has developed very well and has made achievements that have attracted worldwide attention. ”
Immediately, the reporter asked: "Do you have any suggestions for China?" Hearing this, Gorbachev fell silent, and after a while, he said slowly: "I have a piece of advice that I want to send to China..."So, what advice would Gorbachev give to China? And why did he give advice to China?
When Gorbachev became the supreme leader of the CPSU in 1985, the Soviet Union was facing a serious crisis and was in dire need of a change.
It should be noted that Gorbachev himself was also full of confidence, and in his inaugural speech, he said that he would definitely carry out an "expected reform."
At that time, the most serious problem in the Soviet Union was the problem of people's livelihood, and Gorbachev also recognized this, and he took solving people's livelihood as the beginning of reform. It's just that Gorbachev's entry point to solve the problem turned out to be the prohibition of alcohol.
According to Gorbachev's theory, the reason why the Soviet Union is currently in so much chaos is entirely caused by alcohol, which stimulates the nerves of the people and then disturbs the whole society. As a result, Gorbachev issued a strict ban on the production and sale of all types of alcohol in the territory of the Soviet Union, and alcohol was not allowed.
Gorbachev had a good idea, but it was not the same when it came to execution. The Soviets have a long history of drinking alcohol, so how can it be said that it is forbidden to ban it, so not only is the problem of alcoholism among the people becoming more and more serious, but the phenomenon of making and selling alcohol illegally has also intensified.
The failure of Prohibition did not make Gorbachev realize his mistake, on the contrary, he believed that the failure of perestroika was due to the backward political system of the Soviet Union, which constrained the pace of economic development. As a result, Gorbachev decided to give the Soviet Union a dose of medicine and solve the problem once and for all.
Gorbachev's "prescription" for the Soviet Union was simple: to promote radical democratization. Gorbachev believed that in order to achieve democratization, it should be implemented a ** system, and even capitalist parties could take power in the Soviet Union through elections. As a result, the leadership of the CPSU was completely threatened, which had a huge impact on Soviet society at that time.
Under Gorbachev's manipulation, the leadership of the CPSU was on the verge of collapse, but this was far from enough for him. As a result, Gorbachev revised the guiding ideology of the CPSU and changed Marxism-Leninism to "progressive thought", a trick that really "worked" and completely destroyed the cohesion of the CPSU and changed the ideology.
Due to the loss of the leadership of the CPSU, and at the same time, there was ideological confusion and loose organization of the Soviet Union, which led to the already chaotic Soviet society even more chaotic. The United States and other Western countries, which were already hostile to the Soviet Union, were overjoyed and immediately took advantage of this opportunity to infiltrate the Soviet Union, and all kinds of hostile forces took advantage of the situation to enter the Soviet Union, and all kinds of "leading party" also jumped from behind the scenes to the forefront.
In 1991, the Soviet Union was in internal and external difficulties and was completely on the verge of collapse. This once most powerful socialist country was not defeated by its opponents, but was brought down by its own people. The complete collapse of the Soviet Union woke Gorbachev to regret it.
In the years that followed, Gorbachev witnessed China grow from weak to strong and go further and further on the road of socialism, and he knew that the road China took was a broad road suitable for itself. For this reason, he has reflected and confessed countless times: If the so-called democratization had not been carried out in the first place, what would the Soviet Union be like today? It's a pity that history can't be assumed, and the years can't be returned.
Therefore, when a reporter asked Gorbachev what advice he had for China, he had extremely mixed feelings, and he did not want China to repeat the mistakes of the Soviet Union, so he said something from the bottom of his heart: "Remember, never have illusions about democracy, and never engage in any democratization." ”
The lessons of the failed perestroika in the Soviet Union are profound, and this tragedy teaches us that democratization is not a panacea for problems, and that only the path that suits you is the best.