Certainly not, Gorbachev insisted during his recent visit to Washington, where he lobbied President Bush on Putin's behalf. Maybe his advisers pulled the wool over his eyes. Maybe we shouldn't expect passion about democracy, or even candor, from Moscow's last Communist czar. They are mostly still around, still helping to run the country. And yet, in one way or another, virtually all of them are casting their lot with Putin.
Nothing is black or white, fortunately or unfortunately.
The disorder fostered a wide open press but also mafias and monopolies that robbed the country's resources and made it impossible to establish a working economic system. Yeltsin stood on a tank to save democracy. People started paying better taxes. Nemtsov all but formalized the pact in his meeting with Putin a week ago. Fedorov would like to strike his own economic deal with Putin.