Yeah. Gorbachev gave his people an unprecedented chance to peacefully transform their society, and they weren't mature enough to take what he offered them and achieve it. Plus, Yeltsin was hanging on the side like a jackal to pounce on the spoils, and deluding people with false promises he couldn't possibly come through on.

It was a great pity. Bombastic BS won out over calm, reasoned intelligence and imagination. The West did not help out any in the process, because the West is also mostly run by jackals.

- LH