I've been revisiting the Chernobyl miniseries and this question popped into my head. What is his legacy and are we kinder to him because he was the last of that twisted empire? We all know him as the last of the General Secretaries of the Soviet empire. The leader that finally saw the end to one of the most brutal and oppressive governments in modern history. How do you think "history" sees and will that view change as we gain more and more distance from the cold war? Was he a "good man" who finally saw the light and started the reformation process? Was he, like all the others before him, somewhat ruthless and completely a political animal who fought his way to the top?
My completely uneducated view is that I have a slightly soft spot for him because of the end of the cold war. His birthmark and images of Reagan and him in news conferences cloud my thoughts. I don't know anything about him outside of the nightly news from when I was a child.
What are your thoughts on the man? Was he a good man trapped in an evil system? Thought it might make for good discussion.

IWesterners view him quite favorably and think him a moral and forward-thinking man. His own people not so much. Russia suffered great economic hardship under his reign and superpower status ended on his watch. Both views seem correct, so it depends on your perspective.

I think he's viewed generally positively in the West for not sending in the tanks to stop the toppling of the Communist governments in the other countries in the Warsaw Pact, or to hold onto the non-Russian portions of the Soviet Union aka the former Russian empire. The West views this as wisely and morally avoiding multiple bloodbaths in trying to forestall the inevitable.

In the former Soviet states that were part of the former Russian empire and former Warsaw Pact countries who weren't given a choice in being Soviet satellite states, I don't know, but he's probably viewed more positively than negatively for similar reasons.

I think as time goes on, as Russia becomes weaker and less able to exert its will on other countries, especially neighbors (and former parts of the Russian empire) like Ukraine, Gorbachev's image in Russia suffers accordingly.

Agree with what others have posted. The one thing I'd add is I've read several recent US political histories that treat him as an earnest reformer who believed in communism and thought he could "fix it" to make it work for people. It wasn't his goal to end communism, it just ended up happening on his watch when he refused to use force to preserve it.