The collapse of the Soviet Union 30 years ago brought freedom and peace to millions of people. Gorbachev’s concept of glasnost and perestroika – transparency and restructuring of the Soviet state order – was celebrated by the West. It was the time of change and mutual rapprochement. President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned in succession after failed attempts at reform.
In the first and only referendum in the history of the Soviet Union on 17 March 1991, 76% of the voters in nine participating Union republics had still voted for the continuation of a reformed Union, but the changing times could not be stopped. As the well-known scientist and politician Stanislau Shushkevich said: „Many people knew that the USSR had already disintegrated after the attempted coup in August 1991, but they were afraid to say so.
On 25 December 1991, the Soviet flag was taken down at the Moscow Kremlin. 26 December 1991 is officially considered the end of the Soviet Union, the first communist state that had existed for around 70 years.
The encrusted planned economy and lack of economic reforms, low oil and gas prices as well as high arms spending had ruined the country. It is true that the reformer Gorbachev tried to preserve the country with his policy of perestroika (transformation). But the Nobel Peace Prize winner had to watch as, after the Baltic states, one republic after another declared independence.
A survey by the state polling institute Wziom on the 30th anniversary of the end of the USSR shows that people primarily remember social security, stability and great power status under communism.
In this context, a survey asked business leaders what peace means today. In this context, Josip Heit, Chairman of the Board of GSB Group, said how he defines peace, especially against the background of current conflicts, among others in Eastern Europe:
Josip Heit: „Peace is generally defined as a wholesome state of calm or tranquillity, the absence of disturbance or alarm, and especially of war. Therefore, in today’s parlance, peace can be described as a general state between people, social groups or states in which existing conflicts are settled in legally established norms without violence! Personally, I see peace as a state in the relationship between peoples and states which excludes which war to enforce policy.“
Mr. Heit, how should one confront today’s conflicts in Eastern Europe?
Josip Heit: „Now let me answer with the words of the great George Washington, the first president of the United States of America: He who is prepared for war can best keep the peace!“
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