The Rise and Fall of Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail and Raisa
Gorbachev's wife Raisa offered the world a new dynamic of how a Russian First Lady could appear and behave. Unlike her predecessors, who tended to remain invisible to the public, the beautiful and elegant Raisa accompanied her husband to many public events, and her dynamic personality and style caught the attention of many in the West. This contributed to the humanization of both her husband and her country, which was still demonized in the U.S. as an "Evil Empire."

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