Gorbachev beholds a shattered hammer and sickle

Cartoon shows Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev looking in dismay at a massive stone hammer and sickle, now shattered into many parts. One of a new breed of Soviet leaders who ascended to power in 1980s, Gorbachev implemented political and cultural reforms such as perestroika (restructuring of the Russian economy) and glasnost (new "openness"). By 1991 he faced challenges from the deteriorating Soviet economy, communist hard liners, nationalists, and secessionists who desired independence for their republics. Although he survived a coup by hard-liners in August 1991, he found himself faced with the shattered remnants of the former Soviet power.
Published in: The Waterbury Republican.
Published in: The Middletown press.
Published in Valtman : the editorial cartoons of Edmund S. Valtman, 1961-1991. Baltimore, Md. : Esto, 1991, p. 13.
Published in: The best editorial cartoons of the year, 1992, p. 14.
(DLC/PP-1999:142.064)
ljr / 020411.
Unprocessed in PR13 CN 1999:142.064
Publication information from the artist.