A time of hope, now dashed – former Reuters reporter recalls the Gorbachev years

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Boris Yeltsin (R) and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev applaud during the Extraordinary meeting of the Supreme Soviet of Russian Federation in Moscow in this August 23, 1991 file photo. REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin/Files

(Reuters) - Euphoria. There is no better word to describe my feelings, the feelings of many in the Soviet intelligentsia, when Mikhail Gorbachev came to power and started the reforms that the world came to know as perestroika and glasnost. It was the euphoria of liberation, freedom, hope.

Changes that had seemed unthinkable were suddenly a reality, prompting a torrent of disbelieving questions. Did you know? Have you heard? Have you read...?