I find it difficult to say whether the leadership's 'second echelon' could have preserved the German Democratic Republic. Helmut Kohl later told me h… - Mikhail Gorbachev

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I find it difficult to say whether the leadership's 'second echelon' could have preserved the German Democratic Republic. Helmut Kohl later told me he had never believed that Egon Krenz was capable of getting the situation under control. I do not know — we are all wiser after the event, as the saying goes. For my part, I must admit I briefly had a faint hope that the new leaders would be able to change the course of events by establishing a new type of relations between the two German states — based on radical domestic reforms in East Germany.

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About Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (Russian: Михаи́л Серге́евич Горбачёв, IPA: [gərbəˈtɕof], commonly anglicized as Gorbachev; 2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was General Secretary of the Communist Party and served as leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991. His attempts at reform helped to end the Cold War, but also ended the political supremacy of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and dissolved the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.

Biography information from Wikiquote

Also Known As

Native Name: Михаил Сергеевич Горбачёв
Also Known As: Gorby
Alternative Names: Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov Mikhail Gorbachyov Mikhail Gorbachov Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev M. Gorbachev M.S. Gorbachev Gorbachev
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