Raisa Gorbachev
Raisa Gorbachev, the Soviet Union’s last first lady, died on September 20th, aged 67
FOR six and a half years, Raisa Gorbachev was one of the most influential—and mythologised—women in the world. Did she use her influence well? On balance, yes, but certainly not in the way that she intended. She meant to help her husband Mikhail to modernise and humanise the Communist superpower. Instead, she helped destroy it. Glamorous as she seemed, mainly to people outside Russia, in the end she was one of the final tragic figures of the disastrous 74-year-long experiment.
This article appeared in the Obituary section of the print edition under the headline “Raisa Gorbachev”
Obituary
September 25th 1999
From the September 25th 1999 edition
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