Mikhail Gorbachev Quotes - Page 5

I paid too heavy a price for perestroika.

The human race has entered a stage where we are all dependent on each other. No other country or nation should be regarded in total separation from another, let alone pitted against another.

If you want Russia to be a real fully developed partner, then America should invest in Russia and activate Russia as a strong nation.

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.

The soviet people want full-blooded and unconditional democracy.

An awareness of the need for some kind of global government is gaining ground, one in which all members of the world community would take part.

A new world order is taking shape so fast that governments as well as private citizens find it difficult just to absorb the gallop of events.

New approaches are needed, new orientations in both thought and action. We must make the transition to a new civilization...We are talking of a transition toward a new civilization. No one knows what it will be like. What is important is to orient in that direction... I am convinced that a new civilization will inevitably take on certain features that are characteristic of, or inherent in, the socialist ideal.

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

People, human beings with all their creative diversity, are the makers of history.

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

In our discussions here at the forum there was no trace of the futile debate about what is better, capitalism or socialism...We should seek a synthesis of ideas and values that have proven their viability.

We are beginning to see practical support. And this is a very significant sign of the movement towards a new era, a new age.... We see both in our country and elsewhere... ghosts of the old thinking.... When we rid ourselves of their presence, we will be better able to move toward a new world order...relying on the relevent mechanisms of the United Nations.

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

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

There is only one superpower now and it doesn't know what to do with its status. As a result, we got Yugoslavia and Iraq, and the situation has only got worse.

It's America calling the shots in everything

It is really important to solve the problem of rational utilization and distribution of wate supplies. I dare say, the shortage of fresh water is the major ecological problem of this moment.

What we need is Star Peace and not Star Wars.

Many people who live in big countries like ours thought that we had resources that would work for us for many, many years, but that was a mistake. Our natural wealth corrupted us. In this country, you were among the first to raise environmental issues. In Russia, despite all of its problems today, people are concerned about the environment, and it's become a central issue on the agenda.

Ideally, peace means the absence of violence. It is an ethical value.

In Russia, there are those who make their money in criminal ways, but I earn everything myself.

The time has come to develop integrated global policies.

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

The world will not accept dictatorship or domination.