Mikhail Gorbachev from the area around Chernobyl. Taubman noted that the disaster marked "a turning point for Gorbachev and the Soviet regime". Gorbachev later described the incident as one which made him appreciate the scale of incompetence and cover-ups in the Soviet Union. From April to the end of the year, Gorbachev became increasingly open in his criticism of the Soviet system, including food production, state bureaucracy, the military draft, and the large size of the prison population. Gorbachev's primary goal as general secretary was to revive the Soviet economy after the stagnant Brezhnev years. In 1985, he announced that the economy
1996 Mikhail Gorbachev presidential campaign visitors. Since leaving office, Gorbachev had become a celebrated figure in the West, receiving much credit for his role in peacefully ending the Cold War. However, Gorbachev had, at the same time, become a loathed figure in Russia, receiving blame for the collapse of the Soviet Union. Upon declaring his intent to run, Gorbachev polled at a mere 1%, and ultimately failed to subsequently build a greater level support. Opinion polling showed Gorbachev having immense unpopularity amongst the Russian people. Many communists blamed him for the collapse of the Soviet Communist Party and the Soviet Union itself. Many market reform