They always complain about figure of the past, Nazis, etc., but then they are okay with this. Their victory parades are no different, as far as I can see.
Gorbachev knew that the Soviet Union couldn't keep going on the way it was with it's economic and ideological isolation from the west. Chernobyl was a good example that things had to change. He introduced new democratic initiatives to try and bring some kind of melting of the cold war with Glasnost and Perestroika (restructuring). He was open to democracy, but warned Yeltsen that it had to be a gradual process because the Russian people weren't used to it. Yeltsen, who was an alcoholic, refused to listen, and instead welcomed Putin (an ex-KGB spy) into his fold. With Yeltsen's death by complications from his alcoholism, it left the opportunity open for the likes of Putin and Mendvedev to capitalize on the power vacuum and seize power.