Gorbachev sought capitulation, not peace – political scientist

23.10.2019, Moscow.

The German Democratic Republic (GDR) did not reunite with the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG); it was rather annexed without any respect for its rights, political scientist and Moscow State University professor Sergey Chernyakhovsky said in his comment to a Rossa Primavera News Agency correspondent on October 22. The political scientist commented on a statement by former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, who said that the cold war ended with a common victory of the opposing sides.

“The speculation that he [Mikhail Gorbachev ― Rossa Primavera News Agency] wanted to ensure that Germany’s reunion process went smoothly and peacefully is the same thing as if in a situation when conflict is imminent one of the sides suggests that no one shoots, withdraws its army, and surrenders,” Chernyakhovsky said.

The political scientist added that the people of the GDR did not strongly wish to unite with the FRG. He believes that this was a historical drive of a certain group of the urban population, but no one asked the people, and no referendum took place.

Referring to historic experience, Chernyakhovsky also noted that when one of the conflicting sides suddenly begins to cede without any reason, the other side starts an offensive. This is what happened in the cold war.

“To say that the end of the cold war was our country’s victory is the same thing as to say that capitulation is victory. A system of unilateral concessions was forced upon us,” the political scientist said.

The FRG and GDR officially reunited on October 3, 1990. Mikhail Gorbachev’s role in this process remains highly disputable. According to some experts, the decision emerged deep inside the USSR KGB in late 1970s. It was promoted by then KGB chairman Yuri Andropov, who later became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. This decision was part of a larger plan of abandoning the communist path of development for the sake of capitalism and joining the Western World.

Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency

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