European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 27, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday december 27, 1991 the stars and strip Send of an Eriex Leader gets Liberal pension other privileges Moscow apr Mikhail s. Gorbachev Isnit leaving the Kremlin empty handed. Leaders of the 11 former soviet republics that formed the new Commonwealth of Independent states have agreed to pay Gorbachev a monthly pension of 4,000 rubles news reports said. He also will receive a 20-Man guard service two limousines an apartment a country Home or Dacha and free medical care at the Modem clinics used by the former soviet ruling elite. Although 4,000 rubles is Only about $40 at the official Exchange rate for tourists it is about 10 times the average soviet monthly wage. Russian president Boris n. Yeltsin speaking to parliament said it was time to end the practice in the old soviet Union of disgracing former leaders. A it was important to break the ruinous tradition which has existed Here for a Long time a the Leader of the country quit his Post left politics and social activity went into oblivion and then was either reburied when he died or at least was stamped into the mud a Yeltsin said. A decisions were taken that will allow Mikhail Serg Yevich Gorbachev to carry on Active social work even after leaving the Post of president of the Union a he said. The russian information Agency said Gorbachev plans to head the 4-month-old fund for sociopolitical research a foundation he created after the failed August coup that accelerated the Kremlin a collapse. A i will use All my influence and opportunities so that the Commonwealth of Independent states will live and work a the inter fax news Agency quoted Gorbachev As saying. Gorbachev s new Mission to promote his reforms by Michael Parks los Angeles times Moscow a having changed history in ways that other world leaders can Only dream about soviet president Mikhail s. Gorbachev left the Kremlin wednesday evening with a new Mission extending the philosophy of his reforms More widely in the world and protecting that heritage at Home. It is the occupation of an elder statesman a a Willy Brandt a Winston Churchill a Henry Kissinger a and a role that Gorbachev covets for it redeems him from the defeat he suffered in trying to preserve the soviet Union. Gorbachev asked in his Farewell address to be remembered for what he had accomplished a political and social transformation so vast that it could not be conceived when he assumed the Kremlin leadership. He asked that he not be cast forever in the minds of his countrymen As the president who overreached himself and plunged the nation into an even deeper crisis. A this society has acquired Freedom a he said with Pride. A it has been freed politically and spiritually. This is the most important achievement but we have not appreciated it fully because we have not yet Learned How to use Freedom. Nevertheless an Effort of historic importance has been carried  Gorbachev fears that in the Tough times ahead the country May turn toward the dictatorship he had resolutely refused to reimpose. He made it Clear that he will remain Active in Public life so he May speak out on the major issues confronting Russia and the other former soviet republics. A to preserve the democratic achievements of the recent years seems to me to be vitally important a he said. Quot we have paid with All our history and tragic experience for these democratic achievements. We cannot reject them under any pretext. Otherwise All our Hopes for a better life will be  Gorbachev a relations with russian federation president Boris n. Yeltsin will determine in Large part what role he plays in the future Here. Gorbachev once criticized then later supported Yeltsin. Although the russian president had forced the dissolution of the soviet Union and in the process his resignation As president Gorbachev declared that he wants to remain above the fray of Day to Day politics and does not intend to be an opposition Leader. A i do not want to justify the Way that Yeltsin and others Are conducting the policy at various times and when solving some problems a Gorbachev said. A i cannot share some of the principles that they apply and i will speak about  Gorbachev believes that when he Speaks out in the future he should have the Quot moral authority of the Man who launched perestroika but whose interest now is solely the Good of the nation according to senior aides. Some also said they can foresee Gorbachev in time becoming chairman of a new political party and even running for office. But the role Gorbachev sketched for himself As he left the Kremlin on wednesday was that of a conciliator perhaps As the country a political  a after All the democrats and nationalists have fought each other to death the country May need Gorbachev once again As the Only person who could play the role of referee a the Radical economist Nikolai p. Shmelev said commenting on Gorbachev a prospects in retirement. Yet Gorbachev a present interests appear much broader for As he has said in recent interviews he believes that a new thinking a the willingness with which he reassessed and then changed even the most strongly held soviet policies a can be used by other countries to restructure their societies. A is it Only the soviet Union that was trapped in the a period of stagnation a a he asked of delegates to a recent International conference Here comparing the political and economic situation that he inherited with that in other countries today. A there Are countries in the West some of the biggest and some of the most powerful that should rethink and rework fundamental aspects of their  Many citizens Moscow apr As Mikhail s. Gorbachev a image flickered on a Small color television perched inside a noisy train station wednesday hundreds listened to his Farewell speech with no tears and Little regret. One woman Shook her head when Gorbachev said he was resigning. A few smiled and clapped loudly when he finished. Several people slept through it All. A Gypsy Cut a sausage and fed her family. A Gorbachev is too soft a said Valera Rushkevich who was waiting at the Kiev station to go Home to the Ukraine. A the made a swamp out of a Strong country. He a been gone for a Long time. This just seals the  although the West hailed the soviet Leader for the changes he brought to his country his popularity at Home has never been High. It was no different the Day he left. A the should have gone three years ago. His perestroika brought us nothing. He is to blame for our poverty a said Ivan Petrov a War Veteran. One woman worried that russian president Boris Yeltsin a new Commonwealth of Independent states was no better than the now dissolved soviet Union. A i done to Trust this Commonwealth. Everything is so Uncertain. It was better with Gorbachev a said Lyubov Nikolayeva who builds housing for victims of the chernobyl nuclear disaster. A Gorbachev gave us democracy. But for the rest he a hopeless. In six years he let everything go to pieces. Its time for him to go a said 59-year-old Nikolai Gubenko a forester. In the dwindling Winter Light before Gorbachev a speech the talk in Moscow a Muddy streets crowded stores and packed buses was mainly of prices not of politics. It is a time that to Many seems As confusing and Uncertain As the aftermath to see Gorbachev give the mus Chick family sits in a Moscow apartment and watches Mikhail Gorbachev give his resignation speech of the 1917 revolution. There was a feeling of despair and anger among older people and workers but some Hope among the Young for whom Gorbachev has been the dominant political figure in their lives. A How do you expect me to say anything Good about Gorbachev he brought everything Down and now we have to try to put this country Back together again a said Anatoly Ivanov 58, a Metal fitter from the Southern russian City of Krasnodar. A of course its not All Gorbachev a fault a Ivanov said. He pointed to a Large statue of Vladimir i. Lenin that towers Over october Square and said a it All started with  Anastasia Baranova 73, said she would not watch Gorbachev a speech. A Good grief what could he possibly say i have lived through War and famine and ill survive him too. And i done to need to listen to somebody who made our lives worse a she said As she waited for the bus. At prestigious Moscow state University students expressed some optimism. A Gorbachev gave us Freedom a said physics student Andrei Byton. A but he was weak in economics. Now everybody has to think about food but at least we can think