ABSTRACT
Gorbachevian perestroika was a source of tremendous hope in its early days. Whatever Mikhail Gorbachev's ultimate fate may be, his name will forever be linked to the initiation of this process of reunification of world history, which had proceeded along separate paths since 1917. The Commonwealth of Independent States, created behind Gorbachev's back and founded solely on the common desire to abolish the center that he symbolized, confirms that his plan for the democratic reconfiguration of the Soviet empire within the framework of a unified state was only a romantic dream, twice interrupted by reality. Gorbachev's decision to undertake perestroika required great personal courage. Gorbachev's foreign policy was also one of the reasons for the breakup of the monolith that was the Soviet Union. The lessons of the Gorbachev era hold true for all present and future politicians, and thus for Gorbachev himself.
