The person who destroyed the communist regime and the Berlin Wall could not help but inspire artists and film directors and leave his mark on popular culture. Read below how the first and only president of the Soviet Union became a hero of conceptualists, TV series, pop art, music – and even advertising.
Gorbachev in movies
The Naked Gun (1988)
The Naked Gun / dir. David Zucker, 1988 / Paramount Pictures
The American parody starring Leslie Nielsen speculated why the Soviet president might not have a distinctive birthmark on his head. In the series, David Lloyd Austin plays Gorbachev – a player in a global conspiracy against the United States. By the way, the actor appeared in character twice more: in the American film “Midnight Train to Moscow” (1989) and the TV show “Counterstrike” (1990) starring Christopher Plummer.
Rocky IV (1985)
Rocky 4 / dir. Sylvester Stallone, 1985 / Chartoff-Winkler Productions
In the fourth installment of the iconic franchise, Rocky Balboa takes on a Soviet killing machine Ivan Drago, who for some reason is under constant surveillance by the General Secretary of the Soviet Union himself (who, by the way, is shown without a distinctive birthmark).
The weather is fine on Deribasovskaya, it’s raining again on Brighton Beach (1992)
you. Leonid Gaidai, 1992 / Mosfilm
Soviet director Leonid Gaidai’s last film begins and ends with humorous scenes, in which Gorbachev’s secret telephone line conversation with George HW Bush is constantly interrupted by the head of the “Russian mafia” Rabinovich.
Gorbachev on TV
Chernobyl (2019)
Chernobyl / dir. Johan Renk, 2019/ HBO
Gorbachev’s biography is unthinkable without the Chernobyl disaster, his role in the consequences and the response to the emergency. In the HBO 5-episode series of the same name, the Soviet president was played by Swedish actor David Dencik, portraying Gorbachev as a still not-so-indifferent party functionary.
Saturday Night Live (1987)
SNL / YouTube / Saturday Night Live
In one of the humorous sketches from the late 1980s on the “Saturday Night Live” show, Gorbachev was played by Danny DeVito. In it, US President Ronald Reagan takes the Soviet leader around the District of Columbia and tells US history based on Hollywood movies.
The Simpsons (1996)
Homer vs. George bush / YouTube / The Simpsons
Gorbachev had a cameo in the animated TV series “The Simpsons” back in 1996: he asks George HW Bush to apologize to Homer Simpson, with whom he recently had a falling out. The US president does not want to “show his weaknesses to the Russians”, but apologizes in the end.
Gorbachev in rave music
In 1996, a surprising music track saw the light of day: DJ Groove recorded a song called ‘Happiness Exists’ (Schastye Yest) with the voices of Mikhail and Raisa Gorbachev at his own request. According to Evgeny Rudin (Groove), Gorbachev wanted to resonate with the younger generation. The experiment proved successful: the song became a hit song in the 1990s.
Gorbachev in art
Gorbachev as an Indian woman, Vladislav Mamyshev-Monro
Winer magazine cover, 1989
This portrait of Gorbachev was made while he was still in power, with the work even reaching the covers of Western newspapers. Gorbachev depicted as an Indian drag queen is the work of artist Vladislav Mamyshev-Monro, who has a whole set of paintings called “Politbureau” featuring Soviet party functionaries. The artist “changed” their clothes and “made up” their faces in case they wanted to escape from the Kremlin, as one theory says. This is a reference to a legend about a certain Soviet minister Alexander Kerensky, who allegedly escaped from Petrograd dressed as a woman.
Forty Gorbys, Peter Max (1989)
Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
A multiplied 40-part portrait of Gorbachev was painted by Peter Max, one of the foremost pop art masters. The Soviet leader took note and invited the artist to hold a personal exhibition in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg).
Triptych, Alexander Kosolapov (1990)
Alexander Kosolapov, Gorbachev (triptych), 1990 / Auction: CREAM
The social art classic combined the image of Gorbachev with the symbols of Western culture and Soviet propaganda after the artist had emigrated to the United States
Gorbachev in advertising
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut Gorbachev TV Spot Commercial: 60 International Version / YouTube/ Tom Darbyshire
Back in 1997, Gorbachev appeared in a commercial for American Pizza Hut restaurants. As the plot goes, when he goes to the pizza restaurant, other patrons recognize him at once and engage in a heated debate about the legacy of the former Soviet president. Some accuse him of ruining the country, while others praise the politician for revealing new opportunities for people. The commercial ends with a comment from an elderly woman, that if Russians didn’t have Gorbachev, they wouldn’t have Pizza Hut.
In 2010, Time Magazine included this video in its list of “Top 10 Embarrassing Celebrity Ads”. Gorbachev responded, saying that he had accepted the offer to make the commercial, as he needed money to fund the Gorbachev Foundation and Green Cross International.
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton – “Gorbachev (French)” / adforum.com
Gorbachev was a true connoisseur of fashion and met many famous designers in person during his time. In 2007, the politician (he was the only national leader to appear in a commercial) became the face of Louis Vuitton and participated in the brand’s advertising campaign. In the commercial, he is sitting in a car with a Louis Vuitton bag by his side and the Berlin Wall in the background. It was especially his own idea to shoot the video close to the wall.
Source: sn.dk