Mikhail Gorbachev Quotes & Sayings

“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.”

“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.”

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

“What we need is Star Peace and not Star Wars.”

“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.'”

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

“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.”

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

“The world will not accept dictatorship or domination.”