How you view Gorbachev will largely depend upon where you're from. Our image of him in the West is a mainly positive one, a reflection of the hope we had at the time that things were really changing. You'll get a very different view of him in Eastern Europe though, where many will tell you he was a criminal, who tried to prolong the existence of the Soviet Union and sent tanks into Riga, Vilnius, Tbilisi, Alma-Ata, and other cities resulting in many innocent deaths.
