Pavel Palazhchenko, Mr. Gorbachev’s interpreter of 37 years, stated that the deteriorating relationship between Moscow and Kiev under Vladimir Putin’s rule “devastated him emotionally and psychologically.”
In the months preceding his death, Mikhail Gorbachev was “shocked and bewildered” by Russia’s war with Ukraine, according to his translator.
Pavel Palazhchenko was the former Soviet leader’s interpreter for 37 years, and he spoke with him by phone just weeks before his death on August 30.
As a vocal critic of Vladimir Putin, Mr. Palazhchenko stated that his former boss was distressed by the deteriorating relationship between the Kremlin and Kiev.
In an interview with Reuters, he stated: “Not only the operation that began on February 24 but also the entire evolution of relations between Russia and Ukraine over the past few years, dealt him a tremendous blow.
“It emotionally and psychologically destroyed him.
“In our conversations with him, it was abundantly clear that he was shocked and confused by what was occurring for a variety of reasons.
Not only did he believe in the proximity of the Russian and Ukrainian people, but he also believed that these two nations were intertwined.
The Kremlin announced on Thursday that Mr. Putin would not attend Mr. Gorbachev’s funeral due to “work schedule” conflicts.
On Thursday, he was photographed placing flowers at the deceased president’s open casket coffin.
Mr. Gorbachev’s foreign policy strategy was nearly the polar opposite of Mr. Putin’s, having reduced tensions with the United States and been credited with ending the Cold War.
Following the 2011 elections marred by fraud, the deceased leader backed a protest movement against Putin.
Mr. Gorbachev criticized Mr. Putin’s decision to seek a third term in the Kremlin in 2012.
The current president responded by accusing his predecessor of “abdicating” power.
A year later, Mr. Gorbachev said the following about Russia and Mr. Putin: “Politics is increasingly becoming an imitation of democracy. All authority rests with the authorities and the president.
“The marketplace is monopolized. Corruption has reached epic dimensions.”
Crimea viewpoints complicate Gorbachev-Ukraine relations.
Although Mr. Gorbachev appeared outraged by the violence, his relationship with Ukraine was not straightforward.
In 2016, Kyiv banned him after he told The Sunday Times that he would have illegally annexed Crimea in the same manner as Vladimir Putin.
He told the publication, “I always support the free decision of the people, and the majority of Crimeans want to rejoin Russia.”
Mr. Palazhchenko, who at age 73 maintained regular communication with Mr. Gorbachev and his daughter Irina, stated that his continued belief in the Soviet Union – after its dissolution in 1991 – made relations tough.
“Of course, his mental map, like that of the majority of his political generation, still contains the majority of the former Soviet Union in its entirety,” he explained.
However, when asked if Mr. Gorbachev would have invaded Ukraine, he responded, “Of course, I can’t image him declaring, “This is it, and I will do whatever it takes to impose it,” no.”
