Welcome to a new series of legacy.

Across four episodes, a man loved in the West, but widely despised in his homeland.

Mikhail Sergeovich Gorbachev.

3rd of September, 2022.

All week, leaders in the West have been queuing up to pay fond tributes to a man widely

seen to have entered the Cold War, to have saved the planet from nuclear Armageddon.

These past weeks have been very tough.

We have witnessed the passing away of Mikhail Gorbachev, one of the most significant figures

of the second half of the 20th century.

One of those people who changed the world and one of the authors of fantastic change for the better

in the world.

Ronald Reagan himself referred to Mr. Gorbachev as his friend,

and the talk about an evil empire stopped.

He sent a wind of freedom to Russian society.

He tried to change the communist system from inside,

which became impossible.

But the scene in Moscow is low-key.

This isn't a state funeral.

The President of Russia isn't in attendance.

There are no parades in Red Square.

The flags over the Kremlin aren't at half-mast.

A simple coffin is lowered into the ground on a rainy day at a Moscow cemetery.

...