Preface to the Archival Interview

Decades have passed, yet certain encounters remain in one’s memory with such clarity that they seem to have taken place only yesterday. One such event was my meeting with Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, the first and last President of the Soviet Union, held in Moscow on March 23, 2000.

For me, this meeting was by no means accidental. It represented a continuation of a professional acquaintance that had begun during the final years of the Soviet Union, when Mikhail Sergeyevich headed the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

During that historic period, I had the opportunity to work within the structures of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and to participate in the activities of the Parliamentary Commission for Combating Corruption, which included representatives of the Union republics. It was during those years that I first had the opportunity to observe Mikhail Sergeyevich not only as the leader of the state, but also as a man who was required to make decisions of immense historical significance on a daily basis.

It was a time of rapid and profound change. The Soviet Union was passing through one of the most difficult periods in its history. Political reforms, economic hardship, and growing internal contradictions were gradually transforming the familiar way of life of millions of people.

At the center of these events stood Mikhail Gorbachev — a man whose name has been permanently inscribed in the history of the twentieth century.

Opinions regarding his political legacy may differ. His decisions continue to provoke intense discussion among historians, political scientists, public figures, and statesmen in many countries.

Yet one fact cannot be denied: during Mikhail Gorbachev’s leadership, the Cold War came to an end, the political map of Europe was transformed, and the prolonged era of global confrontation between two opposing world systems drew to a close.

Throughout my journalistic career, I had numerous opportunities to meet heads of state, government ministers, diplomats, and prominent political figures. Nevertheless, every conversation with a person who has exercised such a profound influence upon world history possesses a unique and enduring value.

For this reason, I regard the interview recorded on March 23, 2000, not merely as a piece of journalistic work, but also as an important historical document of its time.

By then, many years had already passed since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Numerous participants in those events had passed away, while many archival records had been lost, destroyed, or rendered inaccessible to researchers.

That is precisely why every surviving video recording from that era acquires exceptional historical importance.

The rare archival video fragment presented here forms part of my personal professional archive, which I have preserved over the course of many years.

This recording offers viewers an opportunity to see Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev as he appeared after the conclusion of his official state service, at a time when the dramatic events of the late twentieth century were gradually becoming the subject of serious historical reflection.

For a journalist, the preservation of such testimonies of an era is a matter of particular importance.

Every interview is more than a conversation conducted before a camera. It is an opportunity to preserve the voice and atmosphere of an age, the prevailing mood of society, and the thoughts of a person who participated directly in decisions that affected the destinies of nations.

History is shaped not only by official state documents, resolutions, and political decisions.

It is also composed of living human conversations, personal recollections, eyewitness testimony, and voices that allow future generations to understand not only what occurred, but also how that time was experienced by those who lived through it.

For this reason, archival materials of this kind often acquire, with the passage of time, a value far greater than the original television purpose for which they were recorded.

Today, this video is being published as part of my historical archive and documentary collection devoted to the most significant events of the closing decades of the twentieth century.

I hope that this rare material will be of interest to historians, journalists, researchers of political history, and all those who seek a deeper understanding of one of the most complex and decisive periods in modern civilization.

The past cannot be changed. But it can be preserved honestly, studied carefully, and passed on to future generations. In my view, this is one of the highest responsibilities of documentary journalism and historical memory.