When asked about any specific positives of Gorbachev’s tenure, 47 percent of respondents said there were none, while 34 percent had nothing at all to say. Only 6 percent praised him for ending the Cold War and 5 percent for advocating democratic freedoms.
Twenty-four percent described the first Soviet president, who was in power when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, as a "criminal who intentionally destroyed a great power," while 12 percent called him a "brave man" for doing what was right.
Among other negatives mentioned by respondents were his campaign against alcohol, the Perestroika (Reformation) and the ensuing rise in corruption and criminality.
Gorbachev held the highest rank in the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991, becoming its first president in March 1990. He stepped down in December 1991 and unsuccessfully ran for president of Russia in 1996. In 1990, Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his leading role in the process that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
