'Hail to Gorbhachev': Internet falls in love with Mikhail Gorbachev's pizza ad

An advertisement, with special appearance of USSR’s last leader Mikhail Gorbachev, is doing rounds in the social media. In the ad, the Soviet leader can be seen walking into the restaurant with his granddaughter. The diners in the restaurant, caught up in two minds whether Gorbachev should be extolled or criticised, were amazed by the presence of their leader. An argument escalated between a youth and a comparatively older compatriot.

On young boy’s assertion, ‘It’s Gorbachev’, the elderly man says, “Because of him we have economic confusion.” The youth responded, “Because of him we have opportunities.” The infuriated old man further adds, “Because of him, we have political instability.” “Because of him, we have freedom”, boy reiterated his support for the leader. Terming Gorbachev’s rule as ‘Complete Chaos’, fuming old chap gets ‘hope’ as a counter. A lady from the vicinity interjects, “Because of him we have many things..like Pizza Hut!”

The restaurant, thus, buzzes with ‘Hail to Gorbhachev’, with the soviet leader nodding in affirmation.

just found out gorbachev did a commercial for pizza hut pic.twitter.com/jqwVVTpM8t

— ☀ï¸Â👀 (@zei_nabq) August 13, 2019

At the time, many Russians had blamed Gorbachev for the fall of USSR after the ‘Cold War’ concluded. Now that’s again back in public memory and social media users are pouring in their reactions.

Mikhail Gorbachev was eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union. He was country’s head of state from 1988 to 1991 and acted as general secretary of Russia’s communist party from 1985 to 1991.

Read: Russia backs India, says change in J-K's status 'carried within framework of the Constitution'

Gorbachev who was a Marxist-Leninist initially, later moved towards social democracy. He is said to have played a pivotal role in ending the cold war although his contributions to Russia has remained debatable for long.  

He was committed to preserving the Soviet state and to its socialist ideals, but he believed that significant reform was necessary. He is credited for withdrawing from Soviet-Afghan war and engaged in deliberations with the then US president Ronald Reagan. After he left office, he launched ‘Gorbachev Foundation’ and became a vocal critic of Russian Presidents Boris Yelstin and Vladimir Putin. Not only this, he also campaigned for Russia's social-democratic movement.