Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was widely praised for his instrumental role in ending the Cold War, expanding human rights in the Soviet Union, and bringing down the Eastern Bloc in eastern and central Europe.
Here are some of the most notable statements by Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, who died yesterday afternoon (Tuesday), aged 91.
About his wife Raisa, his interview with American Vogue magazine, 2013:
“One day we held hands and went for a walk in the afternoon. And we continued to walk like this all our lives.”
First public statements about the accident at the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl (Ukraine), May 14, 1986, on Soviet television:
“This is another bell ringing, a new dire warning that in the nuclear age new political thinking is needed and new policies are needed.”
Address to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, January 1987:
“At some point, the country began to lose its momentum, difficulties and unresolved problems began to accumulate, elements of stagnation and other phenomena alien to socialism appeared. And this severely affected the economic, social, cultural and spiritual life”.
“There was a need for change for a long time, in the economy and other fields, but it was not implemented in the political and practical work of the party and the state.”
At the signing ceremony of the INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty) with US President Ronald Reagan, December 8, 1987, in Washington:
“For everyone, and above all for our two great powers, the agreement whose text is on the table offers, finally, the great opportunity to take the road that leads away from the threat of destruction. It is our duty to take full advantage of this opportunity and move forward together towards a world free of nuclear weapons, better for our children and our grandchildren and their children and their grandchildren (…) to the promise of fulfillment and a happier life, without fear, and without the senseless waste of resources on weapons of destruction.”
On his decision not to order the Soviet Army to stop the fall of the Berlin Wall, Canadian CBC interview, 2009:
“We had half a million men there, armed to the teeth. The largest concentration of weapons, well-trained soldiers, tanks, nuclear weapons. If we gave such an order, it would be wrong, it would lead to disaster, we could end up in World War III.”
Statements to foreign journalists after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, October 15, 1990:
“First of all, I am deeply moved, as a person, by this decision, I will not hide it. But I accept the award (…) not personally, but in recognition of the great value and enormous importance of the important mission we call perestroika for the fate of the whole world.”
Last speech as leader of the Soviet Union, December 25, 1991:
“As fate would have it, when I became head of state, it was already obvious that something was going wrong in this country. We had an abundance of everything: land, oil, gas and other natural resources, and god blessed us with intelligence and talent — and yet we lived much worse than the world in other industrialized countries, and the gap was constantly growing.
The reason has been obvious for a long time: our society was caught in the grip of the bureaucratic system. Condemned to serve the ideology and carry the heavy burden of the arms race, it was unbearably pressed. All attempts to implement half-hearted reforms, and there were many, failed one after the other. The country was losing all hope. We couldn’t go on living like this. We had to change everything radically. For this reason, I have never regretted not using my position as Secretary General to simply ‘reign’ for a few years.
I leave office with trepidation — but also with hope, with faith in you, your wisdom, and your spiritual strength. We are the inheritors of a great civilization, and our revitalization and transformation to a modern and dignified life depends on each and every one of us.”
Gorbachev Foundation announcement, February 26, 2022:
“Regarding Russia’s military operation in Ukraine that began on February 24, we underline the need to stop the hostilities as soon as possible and start peace negotiations immediately. There is nothing more precious in the world than human lives.”
RES-EMP
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