The winds that came from Moscow

Someone will always be remembered for doing the right thing

Living crucial moments of history in real time carries a strange mix of sensations which can be sharply distinct depending on the specific moment we are talking about. Perceptions about living this particular moment of history in a war-torn country, expecting cruise missiles at anyone, anywhere, anytime, are definitely a horrendous experience, but there were times this brave Ukraine had went into a better atmosphere.

In the end of the decade of the 80's, the winds of change were kindly blowing on our faces and were mostly involving a good dose of excitement and anxiety. We didn't exactly define the origin of the winds: if they were blowing east or west, was something beyond our ability to understand, anyway, everyone were feeling that history was adjusting itself in the direction of truth.

It was not only truth related to our national acknowledgement. Indeed, as a republic part of the Soviet Union, a multinational entity of 15 members connected by authoritarian rule, the elements of ethnic and cultural dispersion were immense. The complete absence of truth on dealing with our national demands raised the unprecedent revolts and movements of the time.

On the search for truth regarding their personal matters, people also felt they had a window of opportunity to dream high.

To dream about being free from opression, to live in their own country, to be master of their destinies as a nation, as families, and as individuals. To choose their own profession, to select the city they want to live and not simply where the authorities send them. The right to travel abroad and get to know this beautiful world, not being secluded to their national borders or depending of a rare government's goodwill.

It was a perfect storm for the falsehood and everyone related to its manteinance. Simply put, it was necessary to turn the table of justice and put the dishes of life on the right side above a clean and neat towel.

On the search for the truth and for living on our truth, we turned back to those winds of change we were feeling to get an accurate impression. It was easy to face West and discern the opportunities of the free world. A world with its own share of challenges, for sure, but we couldn't contain our excitement with the opportunities to be opened. Nevertheless, there were winds coming from the East too.

And these winds coming from Moscow, surprisingly, were not those fearsome breezes that usually comprises everything that came from that direction. That time, Moscow was proposing something that intended to build a logic based on the truth in a complementary fashion to our own truth searching. They were talking about a series of political, social, and economic reforms to modernize all the elements of the society.

On the core of all these reforms, by his personal effort and architecture, was one visionary man who oversaw that fundamental changes were required to contain economic collapse as well as to build a democratic arrangement society was increasingly demanding.

This man, the last president of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics, came with the concepts of Glasnost, related to "transparency," regarding the aspects of personal and institutional freedom such as free press and transparency, and Perestroika, "rearrangement," a so-called "revolution from within," attempting to save the economy from the stagnation caused by years of inefficient state control.

This man was always willing to work on a better way of doing things. He was not afraid to step out of his sandbox and do the best he could to protect his people, even knowing he would need to deal with the fiercest opposition a leader can have: the interests of the elites from a communist entity of more than 70 years in power.

For this, he will always be remembered for doing the right thing, almost at the expense of his own life in the summer of 1991. He was a trusted and respected leader. He played a crucial role to end the Cold War and bring down the Iron Curtain, also opening the way for a free Europe

In his last months of life, he expressed his completely aversion to the Russian invasion in Ukraine, and never refrained to criticize the current dictatorship on power.

Born in Stavropol 91 years ago, he came from the Caucasus, region in Russia much closer to Ukraine than to Moscow. Maybe that can explain something.

This man was Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev and he left us last August.

Rest in Peace, Gorby.