[nickik]

Gorbachev saw an totally undemocratic nation that had long flattened out in terms growth and innovation and wanted to make it democratic, he didn't realize that all these rich people in the society had more interest in keeping the system in their control and they had no interest in his vision.

> They are depicted as complete morons by the western propaganda - it's true. But propaganda and reality are two completely different things.

They were not idiots, but their intensives didn't align with the goals of the engineers.