Word: unionized
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Dates: during 1990-1990
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European diplomats were delighted to find that grim Grom's avuncular-looking successor was pleasant, modest and easy to deal with, even on tough questions. Shevardnadze described himself as a pragmatist: "The Soviet Union is firmly in favor of a solid and honest dialogue," he said. "We are interested in results...
...shock waves quickly spread from the Palace of Congresses through the Soviet Union and the world. For Gorbachev, who shook his head in disbelief as his Foreign Minister spoke, it was the darkest hour of his leadership. Not only had he lost one of his closest allies in the Kremlin, but it seemed obvious that he could no longer continue walking a tightrope over the heads of reformist democrats, national separatists and proponents of a law-and-order crackdown; the splits had become too deep and envenomed for that. And Shevardnadze tossed in a warning of what might happen...
...figure out what had hit him. Shevardnadze, he said, had given no inkling of what he was about to do, and that was "what hurts me." Gorbachev had in fact been planning to elevate his old friend to the new post of Vice President. The turmoil in the Soviet Union made this the worst time for Shevardnadze to jump ship, Gorbachev added, and "I condemn" him for it. . Nonetheless, he pleaded for the Foreign Minister to reconsider. But Vitali Churkin, Shevardnadze's spokesman had already said that the Foreign Minister's resignation was no snap decision but had been reached...
Most fundamentally, the cold war would never have ended if Gorbachev had not moved the Soviet Union away from totalitarianism, and Moscow's progress toward full acceptance into the world community of nations would be difficult if not impossible to sustain if it reverted to strong-arm rule...
...deepest questions raised by Shevardnadze's resignation, internationally as well as internally, are: Is the Soviet Union really in danger of renewed dictatorship? And if it is, does the Foreign Minister's resignation make the peril greater or less...