When Gorbachev Visited Minnesota
From Moscow to Minnesota: A Cold War opponent gets a warm reception
The year is 1990. Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev visits Minnesota. His trip to "flyover country" is a global news headline, and a huge PR win for the state. But behind the visit —officially requested by Governor Rudy Perpich — is supercomputer industry leader Control Data Corporation, headquartered in Bloomington, MN. The press, CDC employees and their families gather and wait to see the Soviet leader. Two years after the visit, everything had changed: for Gorbachev, for the Russian people, and for Control Data.
