Ever heard of Aleksandr Yakovlev?
No, neither had I until recently – but, perhaps second only to Mikhail Gorbachev, he was the man behind perestroika and glasnost. Many people in today’s Russia revile him as the man who brought down the Soviet Empire. As Russia becomes increasingly autocratic and seeks to become a resurgent world power, perhaps we should remember Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev.
You can read about him here.