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Good morning. ‘A one-of-a kind statesman, who changed the course of history.’ This is UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres’ reflection on Mikhail Gorbachev, who died on Tuesday. Just one of the many tributes and reflections on his extraordinary time as the leader who enabled the end of the Cold War. Remembering leaders is a complex affair. Tributes from Western leaders are largely, uniformly, positive, hailing Gorbachev’s imagination for a new future, and his ushering in of reform. Comments from other parts of the world, Russia in particular, are more subdued and varied. Some hail him for ending a quasi-dictatorship, others see him as responsible for the rise of nationalism and unrest after the fragmentation of the USSR. Assessing legacy is difficult at such close range, and the criteria one uses differ depending on perspective, ideology, nationality and socio-economic position. It is often easier to trim down the memory of influential leaders, to remember one aspect of their legacy, reduce them to heroes or villains. But one-dimensional portrayals are risky. To learn from history means to learn from mistakes and the complexity of the consequences of our actions, as well as acknowledging courage, vision and great leadership. How we remember is a deeply political act: who gets to shape communal memory? Whose voices are included, and whose voices are suppressed? What do we remember, what do we quietly erase? The question, fundamentally, is how can we remember well? Civilisations have always struggled with how to tell history, and challenges to official history have abounded, as new perspectives, previously silenced voices, and emerging values challenge those of the past. There is no perfect telling, nor can we know how a long-term perspective might reshape the telling. The Christian Scriptures suggest a way forward to me however: the stories of leaders are told, warts and all. David was a great leader politically but made correspondingly huge mistakes. So did Solomon and many others. To remember well in biblical terms, is to remember with both truth and grace. Truth, because we need to hear the complexity of history and actions, so we can learn from them, and not deceive ourselves into thinking that our generation will necessarily do better. And grace, because it acknowledges truth, but proclaims that a different future is possible, and that past actions do not erase the value and worth of any human being, or of the good they may have accomplished. Holding truth and grace together can help remember great leaders, their accomplishments and their failings, with space for new insights to emerge, and different voices to be heard. Doing this, I can truly say of Gorbachev, with his extraordinary legacy, may he rest in peace.