But the #Neocons in the #USA & #UK had by that time already bought off Yeltsin, who had his own grudge against the #USSR because of his family's fortunes suffering under #Stalin. Yeltsin was bent on undermining Gorbachev at every turn.

Many on the pseudo-left falsely blame the late #MikhailGorbachev for the #USSR's demise, but he was trying to prevent it through reforms intended to scale back the arms race, which was bankrupting the #SovietUnion.