Quotes & Sayings About Gorbachev

I will never give up politics. I've tried to give it up three times, but I never made it. Politics mobilizes me. I won't last long if I give it up. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Life punishes those who come too late. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Those who are late will be punished by life itself. — Mikhail Gorbachev

In October 1917, we parted with the old world, rejecting it once and for all. We are moving toward a new world, a world of Communism. We shall never turn off that road. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Many people who live in big countries like ours thought that we had resources that would work for us for many, many years, but that was a mistake. Our natural wealth corrupted us. In this country, you were among the first to raise environmental issues. In Russia, despite all of its problems today, people are concerned about the environment, and it's become a central issue on the agenda. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev was the Jimmy Carter of the Communist bloc. The Russians hate him. — P. J. O'Rourke

Humankind has no option but to protect and live in harmony with its natural environment. However, it would be regrettable if in putting an end to revolutionary extremism, we should then come to environmental extremism. We should not forget that all extremes are the same. — Mikhail Gorbachev

The Union was destroyed against the will of the people, and it was done deliberately - with the participation of the Russian leadership, on the one hand, and that of the putschists, on the other. — Mikhail Gorbachev

We are all passengers aboard one ship, the Earth, and we must not allow it to be wrecked. There will be no second Noah's Ark. — Mikhail Gorbachev

In Russia, there are those who make their money in criminal ways, but I earn everything myself. — Mikhail Gorbachev

It will not be enough to rely on experts. Ordinary citizens must become experts too. It will take public opinion on a wide scale to ensure that world leaders act. — Mikhail Gorbachev

If not me, who? And if not now, when? — Mikhail Gorbachev

If what you have done yesterday still looks big to you, you haven't done much today. — Mikhail Gorbachev

But how reassuring it was for us, you remember, every now and then ("Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall"), to vibrate to the music of the very heartstrings of the Leader of the Free World who, to qualify convincingly as such, had after all to feel a total commitment to the Free World. — William F. Buckley Jr.

It is a great honor for me to be presented the award by Mikhail Gorbachev and also to be acknowledged with the World Actress Award at the Women World Awards Gala 2005. — Teri Hatcher

One day we took each other by the hand and went for a walk in the evening. And we walked like that for our whole life. — Mikhail Gorbachev

What we need is Star Peace and not Star Wars. — Mikhail Gorbachev

We desperately need to recognize that we are the guests not the masters of nature and adopt a new paradigm for development, based on the costs and benefits to all people, and bound by the limits of nature herself rather than the limits of technology and consumerism. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Today, peace means the ascent from simple coexistence to cooperation and common creativity among countries and nations. — Mikhail Gorbachev

You cannot go to sleep with one form of economic system and wake up the next morning with another. — Mikhail Gorbachev

The model of the consumer society is something that will one day end. My personal view is that too much consumption is wrong. — Mikhail Gorbachev

We have retreated from the perennial values. I don't think that we need any new values. The most important thing is to try to revive the universally known values from which we have retreated.
As a young man, I really took to heart the Communist ideals. A young soul certainly cannot reject things like justice and equality. These were the goals proclaimed by the Communists. But in reality that terrible Communist experiment brought about repression of human dignity. Violence was used in order to impose that model on society. In the name of Communism we abandoned basic human values. So when I came to power in Russia I started to restore those values; values of "openness" and freedom. — Mikhail Gorbachev

The most puzzling development in politics during the last decade is the apparent determination of Western European leaders to re-create the Soviet Union in Western Europe. — Mikhail Gorbachev

To me, nature is sacred; trees are my temples and forests are my cathedrals. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Sometimes when you stand face to face with someone, you cannot see his face. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Whatever efforts for peace President Gorbachev had in mind, they were pretty substantially undercut very swiftly by Saddam Hussein. — John Major

Man is beginning to explore the galaxy. But how much remains undone on earth? — Mikhail Gorbachev

In that case, do not expect to be rescued by the Red Army, Gorbachev said. — Ken Follett

I believe in the cosmos. All of us are linked to the cosmos. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Our rockets can find Halley's comet, and fly to Venus with amazing accuracy, but side by side with these scientific and technical triumphs is an obvious lack of efficiency in using scientific achievements for economic needs ... many Soviet household appliances are of poor quality. — Mikhail Gorbachev

I began to feel the desire for something more; I wanted to do something to make things better. — Mikhail Gorbachev

It sometimes seems to me that some of our Western partners do not want Russia to fully recover. They would like Russia to be in a subdued state, and they want Russian resources to be used for the benefit of the U.S. economy. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Being resolute today means to act within the framework of political and social pluralism and the rule of law to provide conditions for continued reform and prevent a breakdown of the state and economic collapse, prevent the elements of chaos from becoming catastrophic.
All this requires taking certain tactical steps, to search for various ways of addressing both short- and long-term tasks. Such efforts and political and economic steps, agreements based on reasonable compromise, are there for everyone to see. — Mikhail Gorbachev

The ecological crisis, in short, is the population crisis. Cut the population by 90% and there aren't enough people left to do a great deal of ecological damage. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Further global progress is now possible only through a quest for universal consensus in the movement towards a new world order. — Mikhail Gorbachev

The opportunities that Gorbachev created for international relations have also been missed, perhaps even lost - here, however, primarily because of the United States. — Stephen Cohen

When I cleared out Moscow apartment after stepping down as president, they found all kinds of wiring in the walls. It turned out that they had been spying on me all along. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Dangers await only those who do not react to life. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Please remember one lesson of the 20th century. One cannot force happiness, impose happiness on nations by imposing any kind of utopia on others. The Communist model of society was a kind of imposed utopia for which the Russian people in particular paid a great price. Still, sometimes we see that attempts are being made to impose some other kind of model on the entire world - maybe a Westernized or Americanized model ... This is not the way to go because this can only create conflict. — Mikhail Gorbachev

We were nearly one of the last to realize that in the age of
information science the most expensive asset is knowledge. — Mikhail Gorbachev

If people don't like Marxism, they should blame the British Museum. — Mikhail Gorbachev

I think God has some mechanism that he uses to punish those that make mistakes. — Mikhail Gorbachev

The forests of Russia and Brazil are the lungs of the Earth. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Russia, despite its heavy flirtation with capitalism and some quite unsavory oligarchs, is still building its foreign policy on the Soviet ideals of internationalism, solidarity and logic. And even domestically, President [Vladin]Putin is slowly, step-by-step, restoring many important Soviet achievements that were torpedoed by a nitwit, and one gangster - [Mikhail] Gorbachev and [Boris] Yeltsin. — Andre Vltchek

Putin wants to stay in power, but not so that he can finally solve our most pressing problems: education, health care, poverty. — Mikhail Gorbachev

No one, no single center, can today command the world. No single group of countries can do it. Under the current U.S. president, I don't think we can fundamentally change the situation as it is developing now. It is dangerous. The world is experiencing a period of growing global disarray. — Mikhail Gorbachev

The citizen lives in each of us. In the days of Brezhnev, Andropov, Gorbachev and Yeltsin, I was constantly trying to suppress the responsible citizen in me. I told myself that I was, after all, an artist. — Vladimir Sorokin

Mr. Gorbachev initiated Glasnost, Perestroika, so he was already, you know, way disenchanted with the rigid Communist ideology, and he was looking to become an international leader. He was more accepted actually outside of the Communist Soviet Union than inside. — Deepak Chopra

Gentlemen, comrades, do not be concerned about all you hear about Glasnost and Perestroika and democracy in the coming years. They are primarily for outward consumption. There will be no significant internal changes in the Soviet Union, other than for cosmetic purposes. Our purpose is to disarm the Americans and let them fall asleep. — Mikhail Gorbachev

In our discussions here at the forum there was no trace of the futile debate about what is better, capitalism or socialism ... We should seek a synthesis of ideas and values that have proven their viability ... — Mikhail Gorbachev

It is my firm belief that the infinite and uncontrollable fury of nuclear weapons should never be held in the hands of any mere mortal ever again, for any reason. — Mikhail Gorbachev

We used to have just one criterion and that was profit, and then another criterion was added - social welfare. Now we have to add the third important criterion, and that is nature and the environment. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Ideological and political intolerance, even with the best and most sincere intentions, produces results that are the direct opposite of those intended. — Mikhail Gorbachev

History punishes those that come late to it. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Sometimes people ask me why I began perestroika. Were the causes basically domestic or foreign? The domestic reasons were undoubtedly the main ones, but the danger of nuclear war was so serious that it was a no less significant factor. — Mikhail Gorbachev

I couldn t help but say to Mr. Gorbachev just think how easy his task and mine might be in these meetings that we held if suddenly there was a threat to this world from another planet. We d find out once and for all that we really are all human beings here on this earth together — Ronald Reagan

For a new type of progress throughout the world to become a reality, everyone must change. Tolerance is the alpha and omega of a new world order. — Mikhail Gorbachev

The time has come to develop integrated global policies. — Mikhail Gorbachev

I certainly wouldn't say that we loved the arms race. Trillions of dollars were used to stoke it. For our economy, which was smaller in size than the American economy, it was a burden. But one cannot agree with the statement that the arms race played the key role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. — Mikhail Gorbachev

The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear plant ... has painfully affected the Soviet people, and shocked the international community. For the first time, we confront the real force of nuclear energy, out of control. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Politics is my second love, next to my love for Raisa [Gorbacheva]. — Mikhail Gorbachev

When [Vladimir] Putin, a former lieutenant-colonel in the KGB, became Russia's president on December 31, 1999 - eight years after the failed coup attempt against (then Soviet leader Mikhail) Gorbachev, and eight years after the people had torn down the statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky, the hated founder of the KGB, in Moscow - it was admittedly a shock. Nevertheless, I decided to give Putin a chance. He seemed dynamic and capable of learning. But I had to bury my hopes after just a few months. He proved to be an autocrat - and, because the West let him do as he pleased, he became a dictator. — Garry Kasparov

The EU is the old Soviet Union dressed in Western clothes — Mikhail Gorbachev

The threat of a world war is no more. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Gorbachev's stance contrasts admirably with the policy of the sainted Abraham Lincoln, who used massive force and mass murder to force the seceding Southern states to remain in the Union. — Murray Rothbard

Though representatives of many ethnic groups came together in the United States, English became their common language. Apparently, this was a natural choice. One can imagine what would have happened if members of each nation moving to the U.S. had spoken only their own tongues and refused to learn English. — Mikhail Gorbachev

There is only one superpower now and it doesn't know what to do with its status. As a result, we got Yugoslavia and Iraq, and the situation has only got worse. — Mikhail Gorbachev

I think the environmental problem will be the number one item on the agenda of the 21st century ... This is a problem that cannot be postponed. — Mikhail Gorbachev

The words spoken by the leader of the free world can expand the frontiers of freedom or shrink them. When Ronald Reagan called on Gorbachev to 'tear down this wall', a surge of confidence rose that would ultimately breach the bounds of the evil empire. — Mitt Romney

My goal was to avoid bloodshed. But unfortunately there was some bloodshed, after all. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Pavel Palazchenko has given us a well-written, inside account of Gorbachev's and Shevardnadze's diplomacy. Remarkably objective, it is full of insights, makes fascinating reading, and will also be a prime source for scholars long into the future. — Jack F. Matlock Jr.

History is a capricious creature. It depends on who writes it. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Contemporary social democracy is what I believe is the right concept. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Strong countries and strong presidents talk to their adversaries. That's what Kennedy did with Khrushchev. That's what Reagan did with Gorbachev. That's what Nixon did with Mao. I mean think about it. Iran, Cuba, Venezuela - these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us. And yet we were willing to talk to the Soviet Union at the time when they were saying we're going to wipe you off the planet. — Barack Obama

Every country should conduct its own reforms, should develop its own model, taking into account the experience of other countries, whether close neighbours or far away countries. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Montreal, this wonderful town ... Pearl of Canada, Pearl of the world. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Not only America but all countries should think together about how the enormous might of the sole remaining superpower should be used. We need a leadership that is based on partnership, a leadership that unites nations and makes it possible to solve the problems of the globe together. Otherwise, we will have another Gold Rush for a superpower that wants to gain even greater advantages, that wants to gain an absolutely new position for itself. That would lead to a perverse utopia. — Mikhail Gorbachev

I have Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin to thank that a Russian writer can not only write anything he wants, but also publish it. — Vladimir Sorokin

We are beginning to see practical support. And this is a very significant sign of the movement towards a new era, a new age ... We see both in our country and elsewhere ... ghosts of the old thinking ... When we rid ourselves of their presence, we will be better able to move toward a new world order ... relying on the relevent mechanisms of the United Nations. — Mikhail Gorbachev

The threat of environmental crisis is the 'international disaster key' to unlock the New World Order. — Mikhail Gorbachev

The emerging 'environmentalization' of our civilization and the need for vigorous action in the interest of the entire global community will inevitably have multiple political consequences. Perhaps the most important of them will be a gradual change in the status of the United Nations. Inevitably, it must assume some aspects of a world government. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Scholars have been arguing for a long time whether the Soviet Union could have been turned into some kind of social democracy. I doubt it myself. I think what Gorbachev didn't quite understand, until it was too late, is that his efforts at change unleashed new, certrifical forces he hadn't counted on. He opened the door a crack and a huge wind blew it open. — David Hoffman

I like Mr. Gorbachev, we can do business together. — Margaret Thatcher

Women prevent the threads of life from being broken. The finest minds have always understood the peacemaking role of women. — Mikhail Gorbachev

I was named after the great emperor Cyrus as my father, Farokh Broacha, was a great admirer of the Persian emperor. Continuing the tradition, I have named my son after Mikhail Gorbachev, someone whom I admire. He gave his people freedom. — Cyrus Broacha

I love art. I used to have a painting of Gorbachev that was given to my family by Gorbachev. — Armie Hammer

My life's work has been accomplished. I did all that I could. — Mikhail Gorbachev

I am a Communist, a convinced Communist! For some that may be a fantasy. But to me it is my main goal. — Mikhail Gorbachev

A man writing a letter is a man in the act of thinking, and it was an exercise Reagan obviously enjoyed. After his first meeting with Gorbachev, for example, he sent a 'Dear Murph' letter about it to his old friend George Murphy, a former senator and actor who had once played Reagan's father in a film. — Russell Baker

We could still have continued the arms race, but the arms race was pointless, and it was another reason we decided to start perestroika. It was senseless to continue to accumulate weapons. We had enough weapons to destroy life on Earth 1,000 times, and therefore it was very clear to us that the arms race could spiral out of control. A conflict could have started, as both the Americans and the Soviets realized, not out of a wrong political decision but because of a failure in the command-and-control systems. — Mikhail Gorbachev

The role of Ronald Reagan had been deliberately diminished; the role of the Europeans, who, with the exception of Helmet Kohl, were often keen to undermine America when it mattered, had been sanitized; and the role of Mr. Gorbachev, who had failed spectacularly in his declared objective of saving communism and the Soviet Union, had been absurdly misunderstood. — Margaret Thatcher

History teaches us, however, that when the times are ripe for change and the government refuses or is unable to change, either society starts to decay or a revolution begins. — Mikhail Gorbachev

One of Ronald Reagan's fantasies as president was that he would take Mikhail Gorbachev on a tour of the United States so the Soviet leader could see how ordinary Americans lived. Reagan often talked about it. He imagined that he and Gorbachev would fly by helicopter over a working-class community, viewing a factory and its parking lot filled with cars and then circling over the pleasant neighborhood where the factory workers lived in homes "with lawns and backyards, perhaps with a second car or a boat in the driveway, not the concrete rabbit warrens I'd seen in Moscow." The helicopter would descend, and Reagan would invite Gorbachev to knock on doors and ask the residents "what they think of our system." The workers would tell him how wonderful it was to live in America. — Henry Kissinger

The opponents of perestroika had suffered a defeat, and then they organized the coup. — Mikhail Gorbachev

People, human beings with all their creative diversity, are the makers of history. — Mikhail Gorbachev

We need a new environmental consciousness on a global basis. To do this, we need to educate people. — Mikhail Gorbachev

The time has come to choose a new direction of global development, to opt for a new civilization. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Americans have a severe disease - worse than AIDS. It's called the winner's complex. — Mikhail Gorbachev

Now that we are rid of this syndrome of imposing the communist model on people, now that we've given them the chance to get rid of this dogma, I have to tell you Americans that you've been pushing your American way of life for decades. You thought it was perfection itself, the ultimate achievement of human thought ... There has to be a different approach ... Americans have to be more modest in their desires. We have to stimulate human qualities in people rather than greed. — Mikhail Gorbachev

According to Lenin, socialism and democracy are indivisible ... The essence of perestroika lies in the fact that it unites socialism with democracy and revives the Leninist concept of socialist construction both in theory and in practice. We want more socialism and, therefore, more democracy. — Mikhail Gorbachev