“The society doesn’t like him; he is the anti-Putin,” Mr. Venediktov said. “Putin is the constructor and he is the deconstructor.” He called that perception unfair.

In the interview, Mr. Gorbachev said, “I keep saying that Russia needs more democracy.” The hourlong interview took place at his shrinking foundation, where his office is dominated by an oil painting of his wife, Raisa, who died of leukemia in 1999.

“We hear, even from people close to Putin, statements that emphasize authoritarianism, that emphasize decisiveness and that suggest that democracy can only be achieved far into the future,” Mr. Gorbachev said. “I think if democracy is firmly rooted, if it is based on elections, if people have the chance to elect leaders at regular intervals, I think that is what we need. That is the basis for stability in foreign and domestic policy.”

In his twilight years, Mr. Gorbachev has become an isolated figure. Most of his contemporaries are dead. He is just critical enough about the lack of democracy under Mr. Putin that state-run television channels avoid him. His death has been announced more than once.

Mr. Gorbachev does not fault Mr. Putin directly for the lack of democracy in Russia, although he was more critical of the president when his book was released in Russia last year. “He began suffering from the same disease from which I used to suffer: self-assuredness,” Mr. Gorbachev said at the time. “He considers himself deputy-God, I don’t know for what matters, though.”

He and others listed several reasons for muting his criticism. First, Mr. Gorbachev enjoys no immunity from prosecution, and hence like many government critics, feels increasingly uneasy as the Kremlin chips away at civil liberties. He said he feared being declared a “foreign agent,” a revived Stalinist label that basically means “spy,” and that is now being used to shutter dozens of civil society organizations.