Quotes by Mikhail Gorbachev

About Mikhail Gorbachev:

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev 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 (titled as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 1988 to 1989, as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet from 1989 to 1990, and as President of the Soviet Union from 1990 to 1991). He was the only general secretary in the history of the Soviet Union to have been born after the October Revolution.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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

Mikhail Gorbachev

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

Mikhail Gorbachev

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

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

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.

Mikhail Gorbachev

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

Mikhail Gorbachev

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. W...

Mikhail Gorbachev

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.

Mikhail Gorbachev

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

Mikhail Gorbachev

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

Mikhail Gorbachev

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.

Mikhail Gorbachev

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.

Mikhail Gorbachev

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

Mikhail Gorbachev

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.'

Mikhail Gorbachev

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

Mikhail Gorbachev

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

Mikhail Gorbachev

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.

Mikhail Gorbachev

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

Mikhail Gorbachev

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.

Mikhail Gorbachev

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 ideologi...

Mikhail Gorbachev

Author Bio

  • NameMikhail Gorbachev
  • DescriptionGeneral Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
  • AliasesMikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev; ?????? ????????
  • BornMarch 2, 1931
  • CountrySoviet Union; Russia
  • ProfessionPolitician
  • AwardsNobel Peace Prize; Commandeur Des Arts Et Des Lettres?; Honorary Citizen Of Berlin; Order Of Lenin; Order Of Honour; Order Of The October Revolution; Order Of The White Lion; Order Of The Badge Of Honour; Indira Gandhi Prize; Princess Of Asturias Award For International Cooperation; Philadelphia Liberty Medal; Free Your Mind; North–South Prize; ; Ronald Reagan Freedom Award; Delta Prize For Global Understanding