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I can offer you this, Gamer.
The situation you describe is not unique.
I have had the opportunity to speak with many Russians about many things, including the cold war.
Some were brought up post-cold war and some were brought up during the cold war.
Gorbechev is seen very differently by the Russians than he is seen by many Westerners.
He is the architect of Glasnost and Perestroika (openness and reconstruction).
His policies helped bring a greater sense of peace to the world.
To us, he opened up Russia.
To many Russians I spoke with, he oversaw the fall of the Soviet Union and life was tougher for ordinary Russians for a while after. It still is tougher for many. He is not so popular with them.
There are even groups of people who wish for a return to communism the way it was in the old days.
I have seen the protesters in Red Square, carrying the old Soviet Flags and posters of Lenin, wanting to return to the old ways while kids zoom by on their skateboards with their iPods.
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