Mikhail Gorbachev’s Reformist Course in the Assessment of the Ukrainian Diaspora in the United States (Based on Materials from the «Svoboda» Newspaper)

Abstract

The article examines the specific features of the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States’ perception and assessment of Mikhail Gorbachev’s reformist course during 1985–1991. It analyzes publications in the «Svoboda» newspaper devoted to political, economic, and social transformations in the Soviet Union during the periods of perestroika, glasnost, and democratization. It is established that Gorbachev’s reform initiatives were viewed by the diaspora press through the prism of the systemic crisis of the Soviet political and economic model. The study demonstrates that «Svoboda»critically analyzed the contradictions between the declared objectives of the reforms and the practical results of their implementation. It is established that the economic transformations initiated by the Soviet leadership were generally regarded as insufficient to overcome the structural problems of the command-administrative system.

The position of the editorial board of «Svoboda» regarding the preservation of the centralized nature of state administration and its impact on the effectiveness of the reforms is examined. The newspaper’s interpretation of glasnost as an important factor in weakening the Soviet authorities’ information monopoly is analyzed. It is established that the expansion of the public sphere contributed to intensifying public discussion of the past and present state of the Soviet system. The relationship between the reform processes, the growth of socio-political activity, and the weakening of the Union center is identified. It is demonstrated that the Ukrainian diaspora press did not view perestroika exclusively as an attempt to modernize the Soviet system. Instead, its publications increasingly interpreted the reforms as evidence of internal instability and the inability of the Soviet leadership to ensure the effective functioning of the state apparatus. The gradual transformation of assessments of Gorbachev’s policies-from cautious observation of the reform initiatives to an explicitly critical perception of their results-is traced. It is substantiated that the materials of «Svoboda» reflected not only the political position of the Ukrainian émigré community but also a broader process of reassessing the prospects for the continued existence of the Soviet Union. The study concludes that, according to «Svoboda», Gorbachev’s reformist course was one of the factors that accelerated the transformation of the Soviet system and created the preconditions for its disintegration.