Mikhail Gorbachev Quotations

A society should never become like a pond with stagnant water, without movement. That's the most important thing.

If not me, who? And if not now, when?

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

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.

It is better to discuss things, to argue and engage in polemics than make perfidious plans of mutual destruction

I paid too heavy a price for perestroika.

It would be naive to think that the problems plaguing mankind today can be solved with means and methods which were applied or seemed to work in the past.

The world will not accept dictatorship or domination

If what you have done yesterday still looks big to you. You haven't done much today.

It seems that the most important thing about Reagan was his anti-Communism and his reputation as a hawk who saw the Soviet Union as an 'evil empire.'

More socialism means more democracy, openness and collectivism in everyday life.

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.

Without perestroika, the cold war simply would not have ended. But the world could not continue developing as it had, with the stark menace of nuclear war ever present.

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

The soviet people want full-blooded and unconditional democracy.

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.

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.

The market came with the dawn of civilization and it is not an invention of capitalism. ... If it leads to improving the well-being of the people there is no contradiction with socialism.

Democracy is the wholesome and pure air without which a socialist public organization cannot live a full-blooded life

What we need is Star Peace and not Star Wars.

Imagine a country that flies into space, launches Sputniks, creates such a defense system, and it can't resolve the problem of women's pantyhose. There's no toothpaste, no soap powder, not the basic necessities of life. It was incredible and humiliating to work in such a government.

Political leaders still think things can be done through force, but that cannot solve terrorism. Backwardness is the breeding ground of terror, and that is what we have to fight.

Jesus was the first socialist, the first to seek a better life for mankind.

Sometimes when you stand face to face with someone, you cannot see his face

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.

There should be competition and exchanges between different countries, but there are certainly certain universal values, and that is freedom and democracy.

I grew up in a family of peasants, and it was there that I saw the way that, for example, our wheat fields suffered as a result of dust storms, water erosion and wind erosion; I saw the effect of that on life - on human life.

On the day I became Soviet leader, in March 1985, I had a special meeting with the leaders of the Warsaw Pact countries and told them: 'You are independent, and we are independent. You are responsible for your policies, we are responsible for ours. We will not intervene in your affairs, I promise you.'

I believe, as Lenin said, that this revolutionary chaos may yet crystallize into new forms of life

America must be the teacher of democracy, not the advertiser of the consumer society. It is unrealistic for the rest of the world to reach the American living standard.

The market is not an invention of capitalism. It has existed for centuries. It is an invention of civilization.

We are not abandoning our convictions, our philosophy or traditions, nor do we urge anyone to abandon theirs

Ex-Presidents of the United States get state subsidies. Not so in Russia. You get no government support.

I say again that I am an atheist. I do not believe in God.

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

I couldn't wait to get to the most powerful position, because I thought then I would be able to fix problems that only the leader can fix. But when I got there, I realized we needed revolutionary change.

I don't think Russia is setting this as a goal; I don't think this should be Russia's goal. I think even the United States doesn't need to be a superpower. China doesn't need to be a superpower. It's a different world.

If current technological processes continue without change, the environment will change, and we, the human species, will either have to mutate or even die, to disappear, as many species have disappeared.

I think we need more young people; we need to elect young people to government. We need to give them a chance, in the media, in politics, in democracy.

Surely, God on high has not refused to give us enough wisdom to find ways to bring us an improvement in relations between the two great nations on earth.

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

What about Jesus Christ? I say that he was a precursor of idealists; a precursor of socialists.

You cannot put Russia down on its knees and hold it there because Russia will ultimately pull out.

Certain people in the United States are driving nails into this structure of our relationship, then cutting off the heads. So the Soviets must use their teeth to pull them out.

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.

Of course I invited Bush and Margaret Thatcher and (Spanish former prime minister) Felipe Gonzalez, but we are already at an age where it's not that easy to just travel somewhere.

It is a worthy reward for his efforts over many years. He is a man who does his job solidly and responsibly.

While adhering to his convictions, with which one could agree or disagree, he was not dogmatic; he was looking for negotiations and cooperation. And this was the most important thing to me; he had the trust of the American people.

The pope did everything possible to help humanity out of its era of hate.

We often argued but always understood each other,

We don't need to kiss each other, we don't need to flirt with each other, we have to -- seriously on a human and political level -- we have to work together and be partners with the United States and Russia.

Those who want Russia to continue to grow in IT should work with Russian companies, with our science centers and with our software companies, ... Now is the time to go to Russia with investment.

devotion to his followers is a remarkable example to all of us.

was committed to the principles of democracy to his dying days.

Those who knew him remember how much his position and voice meant in difficult times when all the changes started and when people needed faithful, honest, truthful and courageous words.

Reagan was a statesman who, despite all disagreements that existed between our countries at the time, displayed foresight and determination to meet our proposals halfway and change our relations for the better, stop the nuclear race, start scrapping nuclear weapons, and arrange normal relations between our countries.

A true leader, a man of his word and an optimist, he traveled the journey of his life with dignity and faced courageously the cruel disease that darkened his final years. He has earned a place in history and in people's hearts.

America has a right to be a leader, ... this leadership should be realized through partnership, not domination.

In Russia, we still have a great deal of work to do.

Taking into consideration Lenin's will and wishes of his family, we must bury his body according to all principles of human morality, although we should find an appropriate time for it.

The Berlin Wall was a mark of contradictions in the world, and it became a mark of radical changes in the world which touched the majority of humankind, ... But the way towards abolishing it was long and painful.

a great deal is still to be done before stability develops into national accord.

As a human being, I want to support Boris Nikolayevich (Yeltsin) and wish him recovery, ... the president's health is also a political matter.

What the 21st century will be like depends on whether we learn the lessons of the 20th century and avoid repeating its worst mistakes - For example, it would be disastrous if we began to renew our entire system of social relations by acting like a bu

A birthday party will be a modest one, and I shall celebrate it with relatives and friends.

The EU is the old Soviet Union dressed in Western clothes

I believe in the cosmos. All of us are linked to the cosmos. So nature is my god. To me, nature is sacred. Trees are my temples and forests are my cathedrals. Being at one with nature.

The problem the world faces today is that only one-third of the world's population lives in decent circumstances, while half the population of the world lives on one or two dollars a day. And even as we have this poverty and backwardness, we are facing a global environmental crisis. We need developmental models that will take into account the specific and unique position of each country and at the same time will address the environmental crisis.

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.

Peace is not unity in similarity but unity in diversity, in the comparison and conciliation of differences.

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.

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

In principle as a philosophy, a model of organising society, Communism has to be respected. As regards the use of certain methods to advance social justice and greater regulation by the state, there are certain methods that are useful. What we need is a new society, a new civilization and convergence of all that is best in both [Communism and Capitalism]

When future generations judge those who came before them on environmental issues, they may conclude "they didn't know": let us not go down in history as the generations who knew, but didn't care

I support freedom and I support a free market economy, but it should be a socially oriented market economy. I support globalization, but it should be globalization with a human face.

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.

Nature is reminding us that it used to exist without human beings.

One of the reasons why this country undertook military action in Iraq was that there are quite a few problems here, and perhaps attention needed to be deflected from those problems. It sometimes seems that the U.S. economy works successfully only if it gets a stimulus from the defense industry. So perhaps in addition to showing the power and the might of the United States internationally, another reason was to help the defense industry and to help the U.S. economy recover.

Water, like religion and ideology, has the power to move millions of people. Since the very birth of human civilization, people have moved to settle close to it. People move when there is too little of it. People move when there is too much of it. People journey down it. People write, sing and dance about it. People fight over it. And all people, everywhere and every day, need it.

The forests of Russia and Brazil are the lungs of the Earth.

The threat of a world war is no more.

I remember Secretary of State [George] Shultz one day saying that America is an economic model for the world. I replied to him that America represents 5 percent of the world's population and consumes 30 percent of the world's energy. What if everyone in the world lives like Americans? Where do we get the energy for this standard of living?

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

The social model of the Bolsheviks failed, as will any model that denies individual rights, intellectual freedom, and freedom of competing political parties. Without these freedoms and rights, there is no motivation for people to work. Such a system cannot be sustained, especially in light of the technological revolution of the information era.

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

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

Contemporary social democracy is what I believe is the right concept.

We must treat water as if it were the most precious thing in the world, the most valuable natural resource. Be economical with water! Don't waste it! We still have time to do something about this problem before it is too late.

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

It will be difficult, even painful, but democracy will prevail in Russia. There will be no dictatorship, although relapses into authoritarianism are possible.

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

The phenomenon of UFOs does exist, and it must be treated seriously.

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

Democracy must learn to defend itself.

Dangers await only those who do not react to life.

I think the United States is sick. It suffers from the sickness, the disease of being the victor and it needs to cure itself from this disease.

Montreal, this wonderful town… Pearl of Canada, Pearl of the world.

It's America calling the shots in everything

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

We need a new system of values, a system of the organic unity between humankind and nature and the ethic of global responsibility.