Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev; born 2 March 1931) is a former Soviet statesman. He was the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991 when the party was dissolved. He served as the country's head of state from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991. He was the only General Secretary in the history of the Soviet Union to have been born after the October...
ProfessionWorld Leader
Date of Birth2 March 1931
CityPrivolnoye, Russia
certainly competition exchanges freedom universal
There should be competition and exchanges between different countries, but there are certainly certain universal values, and that is freedom and democracy.
agenda cannot environmental item
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.
attempt below possible reforms resolute suppressed union
Starting reforms in the Soviet Union was only possible from above, only from above. Any attempt to go from below was suppressed, suppressed in a most resolute way.
arms change iron nature needed rid solve therefore
We could only solve our problems by cooperating with other countries. It would have been paradoxical not to cooperate. And therefore we needed to put an end to the Iron Curtain, to change the nature of international relations, to rid them of ideological confrontation, and particularly to end the arms race.
difficult punished recognise
Sometimes it's difficult to accept, to recognise one's own mistakes, but one must do it. I was guilty of overconfidence and arrogance, and I was punished for that.
deal great work
In Russia, we still have a great deal of work to do.
goal bloodshed
My goal was to avoid bloodshed. But unfortunately there was some bloodshed, after all.
want poverty care
Putin wants to stay in power, but not so that he can finally solve our most pressing problems: education, health care, poverty.
regret people want
Even today, a majority of people surveyed say that they regret the fact that the USSR collapsed. But only 9 percent say that they would want it back.
russia way criminals
In Russia, there are those who make their money in criminal ways, but I earn everything myself.
opponents defeat coups
The opponents of perestroika had suffered a defeat, and then they organized the coup.
giving-up long three
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.
important vote important-things
The most important thing is who counts the votes.
hands people unions
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.