In January 1990, Gorbachev was worn down by economic and nationalist problems, yet he believed that he had pushed the Soviet Union from its totalitarian moorings. Raisa privately encouraged her husband to retire; she doubted that he could sustain much more stress. But Gorbachev did not leave, not in 1990 and not even a year later. He repeated to his aides that he did not like power for power’s sake. Yet he was convinced that he was the only person who could steer perestroika forward. The problem was that with every month the sense of chaos and crisis in the country increased.
