Panorama - A Revolution Without Shots - Soviet Union (1988)

AIRED May 23, 1988 8:30 PM on BBC One
Mikhail Gorbachev has called his attempt to reform the Soviet Union 'a revolution without shots'. But he is facing stiff resistance from bureaucrats and officials. The battle is largely being fought in code, through differing attitudes toward the former dictator Stalin. Panorama has been to the Ukraine, Soviet Central Asia and the Russian Republic to examine how the reforms are working, where the opposition comes from and what the limits to the new freedom are.

[@merseydave1]

Here is a programme commenting on the U.S.S.R. in 1988 and the lagacy of Starlin, some thirty five years after his death. Here we are today (2023) looking back some thirty five years after the transmittion of this programme in 1988 ... Now they have a New Starlin called Putin!.

[@chrisd7287]

lol

[@merseydave1]

@@chrisd7287 Please explain to me how you can "Laugh Out Loud" to what I have typed as it is NOT funny?

[@aregularperson7573]

While the Revolution would not be without bullets for long

[@nicholaskelly1958]

When the political history of the late 20th Century comes to be written objectively two politicians will stand Head & Shoulders above everybody else.
They are Mikhail S. Gorbachev of the USSR and Fredrik W. De Klerk of South Africa.
In both cases they had risen through the ranks starting out as "True Belivers" of the political systems of their respective countries. As they rose through the ranks both of them came to understand that both of their countries political systems were completely unsustainable and had to be reformed because both of them realised that without major and far reaching reforms only choas and disaster awaited.
Thankfully utter disaster was avoided. OK in both cases what came later has proved to be controversial and in the case of Russia under Putin catastrophic.
But as Mr De Klerk once pointed out that without the reforms in both South Africa and the USSR things would be been very much worse.
I suspect that history will be kind to both Mr Gorbachev and Mr De Klerk.

[@cuber5003]

South Africa has fallen as well, the ANC has gotten consumed by corruption and tolerates open racists in its ranks. It is partially due to the fact it was formed with a specific purpose in mind a purpose that has long run its course.

[@dave1474]

Then came little putin