As the world mourns the loss of a towering man of peace, Aberdonians might pause to remember Mikhail Gorbachev’s visit to the Granite City almost thirty years ago.
Gorbachev was the man of the moment, with almost superstar status in the west.
His pursuit of glasnost had hastened the collapse of the Soviet Union and eventually yielded an easing of relations with the west.
As the man who worked with the likes of former US president Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, Gorbachev was rewarded for his efforts across Europe – and that included him being given the Freedom of the City in Aberdeen in 1993.
He flew from Hanover to Aberdeen on December 5, attending a dinner in his honour at the Beach Ballroom.
The arrival of the man who helped end the Cold War created the phenomenon “Gorby-mania” in the Granite City.
Even up to the night before the ceremony held in the Music Hall, callers swamped phone lines to the city council clamouring for the 1,000 free places in the now-vanished Capitol Cinema which was screening a live link to the historic event.
A massive transport operation swung into action to bring 5,000 schoolchildren to Union Street and they lined the pavements as Gorbachev took part in a procession from the Music Hall to the Town House.
It was a far cry from the suspicion and hostility which surrounded Britain’s dealings with the Soviet Union at the start of the 1980s.
Admission as a Free Burgess gives the holder rights and privileges including being exempt from any tolls (hence the freedom).
A later Lord Provost, Barney Crockett – a keen local historian with an interest in the city’s prestigious Roll of Freedom – said the golden ticket (it was once presented in a gold box) also conferred perks like being able to drive sheep across the Bridge of Dee free of charge.
He said Gorbachev’s visit to the city was a major coup.
“That was at the peak of his world role so it was quite something for him to come to Aberdeen.”
Gorbachev was the recipient of a diverse range of awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize.
But, while he was popular with Western leaders such as Reagan and Thatcher who famously said “we can do business with him”, he became a hated figure for many of his compatriots, including Vladimir Putin, who accused him of selling out the USSR.
Farewell from the Granite City.
Conversation