Revealing Truth Behind Soviet Collapse

Two decades ago, the Soviet Union broke apart. "The world can sigh in relief. The idol of communism ... has collapsed," Russian leader Boris Yeltsin said of the unfolding event. He had just chased Mikhail Gorbachev , the first and last Soviet president, out of office. Gorbachev, who just before the final whistle had also been the leader of the Communist Party, had attempted to reform the country for six years until he was finally ousted in a putsch by his own party. Why did he fail? Explanations can be found in documents that Gorbachev took with him after leaving the Kremlin that he now holds in his own archive. SPIEGEL obtained a larger part of these documents from a Russian historian and has reprinted excerpts. In a series, SPIEGEL reports on the rise of the reformer and the myths surrounding the 80 year old, his relationship to former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and issues relating to the collapse of the Soviet Union. SPIEGEL also interviewed Gorbachev.