Without Gorbachev, would I exist?

Mikhail Gorbachev’s legacy will forever centre around his successful, albeit far from painless, promise to open the USSR, and Russia, to the rest of the world. He brought about the end of the Cold War, allowing the West to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

However, my debt to him is more personal. For without Gorbachev, I almost certainly would not exist.

Gorbachev’s accession as eighth, and final, leader of the Soviet Union in 1985 marked a turning point in the country’s history. The politicians who chose him could hardly have predicted quite what his rule would entail. Immediately, Gorbachev set about rejuvenating the country: his policies of ‘perestroika’ and ‘glasnost’ oversaw economic, political and societal reforms that were unprecedented in the USSR’s 70 year history.

His decision to open up the Soviet Union, encouraging freedom of expression, curbing censorship, hesitantly embracing a market economy, enthralled the West. While suspicious of Gorbachev, western leaders saw the potential that bringing the then-still USSR into their fold could yield.