Gorbachev May Speak on Elections

Former Soviet Premier Mikhail S. Gorbachev will likely face questions about Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Russia when he speaks on nuclear proliferation at the Institute of Politics (IOP) next week.

Gorbachev’s lecture on Tuesday, entitled “Overcoming Nuclear Danger,” will come on the eve of a Harvard conference on eliminating nuclear weapons.

The elephant in the room, however, may be Gorbachev’s stance toward the increasing authoritarianism of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Despite his role in hastening the collapse of the Soviet Union and bringing democracy to Russia, Gorbachev has emerged as a sometimes-ambivalent supporter of Putin’s largely successful effort in recent years to tighten his grip over Russian politics and assert his power on the global stage. The pro-Putin United Russia party is expected to win by a wide margin on Sunday, in large part because opposition parties have been prevented from participating in the election.

High-profile arrests in the run-up to the election have spurred international criticism of Putin’s government.

Garry Kasparov, a former chess champion and prominent Putin critic, was arrested last week and sentenced to five days in jail. Boris Nemtsov, a presidential contender and former deputy prime minister, was also detained.

Kennedy School of Government professor Graham T. Allison Jr. ’62, who helped arrange Gorbachev’s appearance, said the former premier is likely to be cautiously critical of some of Putin’s policies.

“He’s been more or less supportive of Putin, and Putin’s left him more or less alone,” Allison said. “I think it’ll be very interesting to listen between the lines.”

Allison, who heads the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, spearheaded the effort to secure nuclear weapons in former Soviet satellite states during the early years of the Clinton administration.

Allison said he worked closely with Gorbachev in 1991 while trying to persuade him—and President George H.W. Bush—to accept an aid package modeled after the Marshall Plan. They eventually decided against the plan.

Lecturer on Government Dmitry P. Gorenburg, who specializes in Russian politics, speculated that Gorbachev continues to support Putin because he seems to have raised Russia’s status among nations during a time of oil-driven economic growth.

“He always thought Yeltsin was a bumbling fool in some ways,” Gorenburg said. “Putin has made Russia stronger, and that has to appeal to Gorbachev as a former leader.”

Yet he said Gorbachev, respected in the U.S. and Europe for the reforms he instituted that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, holds little sway over domestic politics in Russia.

Government and Russian Studies Professor Timothy J. Colton echoed that view, saying that Gorbachev’s political views will likely matter more to Americans than Russians.

“It’s going to be of interest to us in its own right,” Colton said, “and not because the Russian population will pay any attention to it.”

IOP Forum Director Bill H. White said next week’s event—the third forum of the year to feature a Nobel Peace Prize winner—has already created a huge demand for tickets.

As of Tuesday, White said about 1200 people had signed up for the online lottery, which closes at noon tomorrow. The forum can accommodate 800 people.

Gorbachev last appeared at the IOP in 1992.

During his visit, Gorbachev will attend a conference on the 20th anniversary of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed by Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan in 1987.

—Staff writer David K. Hausman can be reached at dhausman@fas.harvard.edu.