On My Country and the World Quotes

“History teaches us, however, that when the times are ripe for change and the government refuses or is unable to change, either society starts to decay or a revolution begins.”
― Mikhail Gorbachev, On My Country and the World

“Alexander Solzhenitsyn in his speech accepting the Nobel Prize: “Violence has no way to conceal itself except by lies, and lies have no way to maintain themselves except through violence. Anyone who has proclaimed violence his method inexorably must choose lying as his principle.”
― Mikhail Gorbachev, On My Country and the World

“In the end, the “model” that came into existence in the USSR was not socialist but totalitarian. This is a serious matter to be reflected on by all who seriously aspire to progress for the benefit of the human race.”
― Mikhail Gorbachev, On My Country and the World

“Ideological and political intolerance, even with the best and most sincere intentions, produces results that are the direct opposite of those intended.”
― Mikhail Gorbachev, On My Country and the World

“At times of profound, fundamental change in the foundations of social development it is not only senseless but impossible to expect some sort of previously worked out “model” or a clear-cut outline of the transformations that will take place. This does not mean, however, the absence of a definite goal for the reforms, a distinct conception of their content and the main direction of their development.”
― Mikhail Gorbachev, On My Country and the World

“The aims and ideals of the Soviet revolution inspired the patriotic enthusiasm of millions of people in the 1930s, during World War II, and in the postwar reconstruction period. This explains the Soviet Union's great leap forward, the achievement of a high level of industrial capacity in a very short time, the transformation of the Soviet Union into a major power in terms of science and culture. The historic victory in the Great Patriotic War against Nazism, which was a surprise not only for Hitler but also for the Western democracies is also explained by what we have said above. All this is true. But the historical truth is also that the regime and the system abused the faith of the people in these high ideals, turning them to its own advantage.”
― Mikhail Gorbachev, On My Country and the World

“Preservation, renewal, and reform of the Union was my main political and, if you will, moral task in my position as president of the USSR. I consider it my greatest sorrow and misfortune that I did not succeed in preserving the country as a single whole. All my efforts were focused on trying to preserve that unity. Incidentally, more and more statements are heard today, including some by participants in the Belovezh accord, that the "soft form of Union Gorbachev proposed" might have protected our nations and nationalities from painful experiences. But, as the saying goes, the train has already left the station.”
― Mikhail Gorbachev, On My Country and the World

“The reforms of the perestroika era were aimed at a qualitative renewal of society and at overcoming the totalitarian structure blocking the road to democracy. Fundamental reforms were begun under very complex conditions, but they were cut short by the August coup attempt and the Belovezh agreement that dissolved the Soviet Union.”
― Mikhail Gorbachev, On My Country and the World

“The efficiency of the market economy results from its central law, that of profits and the maximization of profits, but it proved incapable of eliminating poverty for millions of people. As a result, the global “North-South” problem has arisen and remains a terrible menace hanging over the entire world community. In the most highly developed countries the market has greatly improved productivity, but it has imposed a harmful consumer mentality on the population and created a situation in which unemployment has steadily increased, affecting many millions with all its dramatic social and moral consequences. Unemployment is one of the basic defects of the market-based system. This defect should be overcome or at least minimized in terms of its consequences for working people. But how? The answer is by means of a rational social policy. But this requires revision of some of the present-day dogmas, which”
― Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, On My Country and the World