1. Gorbechev Political Cartoons
By Allen Lin & Joseph Chow

2. During this era of Gorbachev and the introduction of Democratic ideals into other Communist countries, the alliances with the USSR were breaking apart, making the Soviet Union smaller, and smaller as more and more countries began to stray from Communist ideals.

3. The significance of this cartoon is the status of the Soviet Union during Gorbachev’s reign or presidency. The Soviet Union was so segmented and apart. There was no Soviet Union because there was no “union” between the countries that were allies to the USSR. Poland and Czechoslovakia were on their own separate paths. China had bad relations with the Sino-Soviet Split going on. During Gorbachev’s era, he could only watch as the Soviet Union crumbled.

4. The comic reads “I can’t believe my eyes
The comic reads “I can’t believe my eyes!” In the clouds of “Communist Paradise”, or heaven because they are dead, Karl Marx, Lenin, and Joseph Stalin are looking down upon Gorbachev and his people showing the death of Soviet Union. The casket, man holding the Soviet Union symbol, and Gorbachev leading the group, represent s how under Gorbachev, the fall of the Soviet Union is upon them.

5. Gorbachev is cutting up the Soviet flag up, like he is segmenting it
Gorbachev is cutting up the Soviet flag up, like he is segmenting it. With all of the policies and reforms that Gorbachev instated, he pushed other countries in the USSR to go away, making the USSR more and more smaller.

6. Gorbachev is talking about his new policy of Glasnost
Gorbachev is talking about his new policy of Glasnost. With the introduction of Glasnost, more and more people are calling for Democracy and more freedom. He wants to change the USSR to have a better economy and social standard for the people, but he cannot take anymore ‘beatings’ from the people of USSR about freedom or democracy in the Soviet Union.

7. Gorbachev is aboard with NATO to reunify East and West Germany
Gorbachev is aboard with NATO to reunify East and West Germany. Supposing that the time will be “moving at a gradual pace”, we can see that the change will be made rather spontaneous shown with the rocket strapped to Germany’s back. This shows that Germany was ready for fast change to reunify with friends and family across the Berlin Wall.

8. Gorbachev is riding on the boat of called “reform”
Gorbachev is riding on the boat of called “reform”. This is to help signify the reform that he wants for his government but is stop in his path by the old cadres. But like all old cadres, the start to crack and melt when it comes of old age. Gorbachev is plowing through the government with full power to achieve his political reformation.

9. Ronald Reagan and Margret Thatcher are toasting to Gorbachev for burying “The Cold War” tensions. The West is open with friendly terms to work with Gorbachev to make changes and rebuild relations between countries (specifically America and Great Britain)

10. Gorbachev is visiting the United states to participate in the Washington Summit in Washington DC. As Gorbachev walks down from the steps of his British flight, Margaret Thatcher follows behind to make sure he carries on the plans that the West favors. Thatcher favors Gorbachev for straying away from the old traditionalist ideals of Communism.

11. Here, Gorbachev is on the phone with Margaret Thatcher
Here, Gorbachev is on the phone with Margaret Thatcher. Gorbachev is ironically portrayed on how he wants to run his country. He talks of freedom and rights of the people and satirizes Britain’s prime minister of being a Communist.

12. Reagan and Gorbachev met at the summit, the eleventh such meeting between the U.S. and Soviet leaders in the past three decades, they knew, and reminded each other, that there can be no winners in a nuclear war. For two days, as the world warily watched, the two men groped for some kind of human understanding, some way to master the nuclear riddle. Meeting face to face for the first time, Reagan and Gorbachev tried to set some rules to contain the arms race, some guidelines to rein in their rivalries.

13. This cartoon is making fun of Gorbachev’s iconic birthmark he has on his head. People speculated, thinking it was some sort of shape that no one could deem it as. In this cartoon, the artist treated Gorbachev’s birthmark as the shadow of a dove flying by. The shadow birthmark of the dove symbolizes the peace and tranquility Gorbachev was born with.

14. With the new policies that come through in the Soviet Union from Gorbachev, many people believed that he was turning into a capitalist. In the 1990’s when Gorbachev was still in rule, he had policies like Perestroika and Glasnost, that made reforms to have more freedom to try and stimulate the economy, but made the USSR look like they were reforming to capitalism and Democracy. With the USSR changing and so many other countries straying from Communism, Castro seemed like he was the only Communist left during the 1990’s.

15. In this cartoon, the main focus is the headstones
In this cartoon, the main focus is the headstones. The headstones read “Cold War”, “Arms Race”, and “Soviet Dictatorship”. The headstones signify how under Gorbachev’s rule, the whole cold war, arms race, and soviet dictatorship died. The birdcage reads “Eastern Europe”, meaning that Gorbachev let free the entirety of Soviet Eastern Europe. The sprouts of Democracy mean the new ideals of Democracy shining through as the Soviet ideals fall.

16. This cartoon shows the Soviet Union begging for money from Capitalism, or the person who represents capitalism: the president of the United states, Reagan. The sign says “Buddy, can you spare a dime!” as Reagan walks around with stacks and stacks of dollar bills, showing the wealth of Capitalism and America at the time. At the bottom, Gorbachev is telling his General, “thank goodness, General, you never destroyed Capitalism…”. Gorbachev is happy about having capitalism because Gorbachev is thriving off Capitalism and the charity of it and the countries who are capitalistic, like America.

17. In this comic, the Prime Minister of Great Britain is telling President Reagan that “Frankly—it looks more like the ‘The Rape of Europa’ to me”, showing Gorbachev in the picture of a woman with no arms and a skirt saying “Arms Control”. The picture is meant to be a pun, showing how the USSR under Gorbachev has no arms control at all. The USSR were so far behind in the arms race, that other believed that they had “no arms” at all.

18. This comic shows how many countries were left as USSR fell from Communism. Before there were so many countries that were Communist and after Gorbachev, there was China, North Korea, and Cuba left. Past leaders of communism have now "broken away" from the pedestals of communism.

19. This cartoon shows Gorbachev in a Space Ship called the USSR and many panels falling off of it. The panels are the names of the satallite countries that used to be a part of the USSR are breaking away. It also shows how Gorbachev’s shutting down of the Space program was a failure of the leader, considering how the ship is failing. The general of the “Red Army” is just floating off into space, as Gorbachev tries its best to supply him with what little the USSR has.

21. The cartoon shows Gorbachev standing like the Statue of Liberty
The cartoon shows Gorbachev standing like the Statue of Liberty. The torch says “Glasnost” and the tablet says “Perestroika”. The meaning is that with the new policies by Gorbachev, he is turning into a liberal, capitalist like America.

22. The cartoon Is showing the USSR as a factory that seems very old and rustic. At the bottom right hand corner, it shows Gorbachev and his “moving truck” thinking about changing some things, which means that Gorbachev wants to change the USSR into something entirely different. The movers also bring up “vodka” because of Gorbachev’s failure in banning vodka, making the USSR lose billions of Rubels.

23. In light of Reagan's vocal criticism of Mutual Assured Destruction, the Strategic Defense Initiative was an important part of his defense policy intended to offset Mutual Assured Destruction bias. It was soon derided, largely in the mainstream media, as "Star Wars," after the popular 1977 film by George Lucas.

24. Gorbachev is shown to be Humpty-Dumpty as he is sitting on a structurally unstable wall, representing USSR. With the introduction of Gorbachev and his policies, the USSR is crumbling beneath his feet.

25. This cartoon is showing the book to make fun of Gorbachev
This cartoon is showing the book to make fun of Gorbachev. The USSR was started because of Karl Marx and his teachings in “Das Kapital”. But, Gorbachev makes his own book, “Das Kapitalism”, as he has so many reforms to the USSR policies to be like capitalism.

26. Gorbachev is seen as a mother bird to the eggs
Gorbachev is seen as a mother bird to the eggs. The first two eggs say “Glasnost” and “Perestroika” which are his reforms. The cracked egg is a result of the bird with “riots” on the back. This ultimately means that because of Gorbachev’s reforms, they are a direct result of the riots that broke out all over the USSR.

27. Gorbachev is “inaugurated” into his position as the next leader of the USSR, he is barraged with military officials as well as old political officials. Here, Mr. Gorbachev is supported by many outside national leaders and is will to protect Gorbachev. Wanting a new system of government in the USSR, other nations are putting hands in the coat pocket, ready to pull out the gun if anyone tried to interfere.

28. In this cartoon, the dominoes represent the Domino Theory for Communism. It is said that once one country falls to communism, all the other countries around the country, fall to capitalism, in a very domino-like effect. But, Gorbachev stands to the last one, preventing the last of the countries to fall to communism.

29. This cartoon is ironic because Gorbachev cancels the Soviet Space program, thinking it was a waste of money. Gorbachev's face is the face of the space shuttle and is carrying the "Soviet Reform Programme" to be launched in his leadership. Like the Space program, the Soviet Union will fall.

30. Gorbachev is the new leader of the USSR and takes over by moving away from the old traditions of Communism. Here, Gorbachev is standing over Lenin’s dead body (representing the old ideals) while he questions whether or not it is necessary to continue on with the old Communistic ways.

32. Reagan is watching Gorbachev as he tries to promote his new plans about selling the idea of Glasnost and Perestroika to the common people. Though people aren’t ready to try it, Gorbachev is confident to market his new idea to the people of the USSR.

33. Gorbachev has a checkbook in his hand with the word "budget cuts" on the side of it. He says "Oh no, I bounced another Czech" meaning how his budget reforms led to Czechoslovakia to 'bounce' or leave the soviet Union.

34. This cartoon shows Ronald Reagan and Gorbachev standing on their territories. Ronald Reagan says “Let us look forward to a future of “clear skies” for all mankind.” which is ironic because of everything in the skies. In America, there is the laser satellite for the “Star Wars” project, and an explosion in Central America, representing the disputes in Central America which America has to deal with. In the Eastern hemisphere, there is a huge puff of smoke with “Afghanistan” written on it, repesenting the war going on in Afghanistan that both countries are involved in.

36. Sculptures of Reagan and Gorbachev are shown in this cartoon
Sculptures of Reagan and Gorbachev are shown in this cartoon. Upon Reagan’s chiseled chest (pun) has his famous line “tear down this wall!” This speech was given in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Germany to reunite both sides of East and West Germany. Gorbachev on the other hand seems small and insignificant. Ironically, his birthmark is replaced with the words “Real Hero” which meant his willingness to remove the wall made him a hero to the western nations. But it was Reagan who stands above Gorbachev since he pushed for the reunification of East and West Germany. With force and pride, Reagan delivered his message to the entire world, sharing the few famous words “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!”

37. Gorbachev stands in front of a closet or room filled with skeletons
Gorbachev stands in front of a closet or room filled with skeletons. This cartoon shows Gorbachev acknowledging the discovery of the Katyn massacre. From the late 1980s on there was increasing pressure on both the Polish and Soviet governments to release documents related to the massacre. In 1989 Soviet scholars revealed that Joseph Stalin had indeed ordered the massacre, and in 1990 Mikhail Gorbachev admitted that the NKVD had executed the Poles and confirmed two other burial sites similar to the site at Katyn: Mednoye and Piatykhatky.

38. Mikhail Gorbachev is seen here with a hammer, ready to knock down the Berlin Wall. Behind Gorbachev is the Brandenburg Gate. He has taken apart the symbol of communism (the sickle and the hammer) and uses the hammer to knock down the wall. This shows that Gorbachev is ready to destroy a long standing symbol with the power of communism.

39. The Chernobyl disaster is widely considered to have been the worst nuclear power plant accident in history, and is one of only two classified as a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale. It is difficult to establish the total economic cost of the disaster. According to Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union spent 18 billion rubles on containment and decontamination, virtually bankrupting itself

40. Gorbachev and Reagan are battling out with a round of arm wrestling
Gorbachev and Reagan are battling out with a round of arm wrestling. Garland takes the a twist to the meaning of “arm wrestling” as he hides the meaning of the conflict of arms between USSR and the US. As both countries pushes against each other to see who ever will fall, they slowly begin to release their tensions. In the end, both leaders come into agreement of a stalemate. Like the arms race, both country are fighting to see who has more WMDs. The last box represents the agreement to lower the number of missile and stop the production of nuclear weapons.

41. Gorbachev meets with Pope Jean Paul II
Gorbachev meets with Pope Jean Paul II. This cartoon jokingly mocks the soviet for their lack of bread and food supplies in their country. With the words coming from the Pope’s mouth, he is almost questioning whether or not the religion and practice of praising of God was decreasing in the Soviet Union. It is also ironic that Gorbachev is talking to a religious figure even though the old traditions of communism states that religions are a distraction by living in preparation for the afterlife rather than the now.

42. This cartoon is all about the INF treaty the USSR had with America, limiting the amount of nuclear missiles to be had in their countries. The comic says "One Giant step backward for Mankind (Thanks goodness!)" because there was a huge possibility that both countries can go into Nuclear war against each other, which would destroy the world.

43. Gorbachev shown putting a flower in the barrel of a tank, emulating the iconic picture that showed “flower power” during the Vietnam war. This meant that Gorbachev wanted peace rather than war, like the rest of his predecessors. The use of flower power also brings up the very American-like or liberal policies that he enacted during his rule.

44. With the new policies that Gorbachev has put out, he is put upon a pedestal to be seen as the highest ranking officer, with a banner saying “The Great Liberal Tsar”, which is ironic because being liberal in an all communist Kremlin. There are even flowers coming out of the Soviet symbol, showing the sprouting of Democratic ideals. The two other characters that represent other countries, were countries under the control of the USSR and call for freedom under a new, easier government who will not suppress their calls.

45. Gorbachev is trying to hold back the wild horse of the Soviet Union
Gorbachev is trying to hold back the wild horse of the Soviet Union. It is as if he wanted the Soviet Union to stop altogether so that they can start all over again.

46. This cartoon shows the Lame duck leaders of Reagan and Gorbachev
This cartoon shows the Lame duck leaders of Reagan and Gorbachev. Lame duck means that they know they would not be chosen for another term in their office because they were relatively hated in their administrations. Even the hand of the “Old Guard” from USSR was ready to backstab Gorbachev to get him out of office.

47. The Soviet hardliners are trying to get Gorbachev out of the government by “backstabbing him” because of what he is doing to the USSR. The communist hardliners could not take it anymore, of being so close to capitalism and liberalism.

48. With Gorbachev around, the symbols of the hammer, sickle, and star are falling off the Soviet Flag. This cartoon meant that with Gorbachev as the leader of the USSR, the country was falling apart, much like how the flag is in the cartoon. His administration led to the end of the Soviet Union.

49. Gorbachev is the only leader for the USSR to not be in the era of the Cold War. He is not a Cold Warrior. Gorbachev never had the experience of what happened during that time, which could be an underline cost for the reasons why he had such radical policies from his administration.

50. "New Thinking"