We live in an era where to speak rudely about anyone is considered bad and to speak rudely of the dead is an absolute no-no.
So, when Mikhail Gorbachev passed away, tributes poured in from across the world, including from those who might not agree with his legacy and blame him for the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
Even Vladimir Putin, who visited the hospital after his death and paid his last respects, dialled down the criticism, admitting he had a ‘huge impact on world history’.
However, one person who had no chill was the CPI(M) Puducherry’s social media handler.
After Gorbachev’s passing, the CPI(M) Puducherry unit shared a tweet captioned: “Mikhail Gorbachev, a traitor to socialism and the destroyer of the USSR, died at the age of 92.”
Along with the caption, it had three images:
1) A cartoon of Gorbachev’s infamous Pizza Hut commercial
2) A chart of the 1991 Soviet Union referendum (the most famous referendum pre-Brexit) which asked if the USSR ought to be preserved as a ‘renewed federation of equal sovereign republics’ in which the vast majority had voted ‘Yes’.
3) A Thanos-themed Gorbachev meme which was a better crossover than the Avengers.
For the uninitiated, the meme is based on Thanos’ brief trip to the world of the Soul Stone where he meets a young Gamora who asks him if it was worthit (killing her to get the Soul Stone).
Except, Thanos is replaced by Gorbachev and young Gamora is Pizza Hut. In fact, one’d need Derrida to deconstruct what was going through the admin’s head as he used a theme inspired by perhaps the most capitalist organisation on earth to mock Gorbachev for ‘destroying socialism’.
In a world where politics is largely the art of the possible and few stick to their ideologies, it’s heartening to see some continue to endorse what they believe in.
The meme was widely appreciated on social media with many, including those who don’t vote for the Communist Party.
Others felts that it was in ‘bad taste’.
Interestingly, neither the CPI(M)’s official Twitter handle or prominent leaders like Sitaram Yechury have tweeted to condole his demise.
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The Pizza Hut jibe refers to Gorbachev’s infamous Pizza Hut commercial which was shot in 1997 but wasn’t ever released in Russia. Gorbachev was reportedly paid a million dollars for the commercial which saw various people discussing his legacy.
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