The death of former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev comes at a precarious time amid Vladimir Putin's imperialistic expansion in Ukraine, former Ambassador Ric Grenell said on Newsmax.
"He's certainly no Putin, and Putin is no Gorbachev, and that's a big problem," Grenell told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren."
"I think Mikhail Gorbachev really understood the changes that were happening in Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union and really trying to manage, if you will, the changed that were inevitable when he was confronted with capitalism, the rule of law, and human rights."
Gorbachev was the Soviet Union leader when the USSR crumbled under the pressure of states seeking to become democracies and turn away from failing socialistic governance, but Grenell lamented the resulting Russia wound up under Putin's thumb.
"I think he will go down in history as somebody who tried and maybe for a time period succeeded," Grenell told host Greta Van Susteren. "but, ultimately, when we look at what's happening with Putin, sadly, he has not won the battle or the war.
"He tried, and I hope there is going to be some other Gorbachevs that come behind him."
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Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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