Government Should Be Fired, Gorbachev Says
From Times Wire Reports
Former Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev says Russia’s government should be fired because of bungled social policy changes.
Gorbachev, who came to power 20 years ago and presided over the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, criticized an attempt to scrap Soviet-era social benefits and replace them with cash payments.
The steps sparked protests by pensioners angered by the comparatively small sums they were to receive.
The ministers aren’t following policies set out by President Vladimir V. Putin, Gorbachev said.
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