Well, Gorbachev had said so, sure. And Gorbachev could very well have come down with a really bad cold that autumn. Lucky for all of us (Gorbachev included),

Well, Gorbachev had said so, sure. And Gorbachev could very well have come down with a really bad cold that autumn. Lucky for all of us (Gorbachev included), he actually managed to convince his hardliners - or things really were that iffy in the Soviet Union.