Mikhail Gorbachev
History punishes those that come late to it.Collection: Late
What happened to the Soviet Union happened mainly for domestic reasons. It was a failure of the model based on a command economy and dictatorship. The rejection of freedom and democracy, the decisionmaking monopoly of one party, and the monopoly of one ideology all had a chilling effect on the country. That model turned out to be incapable of making structural changes. It did not open up ways for initiative and was overly centralized.Collection: Country
You cannot go to sleep with one form of economic system and wake up the next morning with another.Collection: Morning
The forests of Russia and Brazil are the lungs of the Earth.Collection: Russia
I certainly wouldn't say that we loved the arms race. Trillions of dollars were used to stoke it. For our economy, which was smaller in size than the American economy, it was a burden. But one cannot agree with the statement that the arms race played the key role in the collapse of the Soviet Union.Collection: Keys
We need a new system of values, a system of the organic unity between humankind and nature and the ethic of global responsibility.Collection: Inspiring
Dangers await only those who do not react to life.Collection: Danger
We must treat water as if it were the most precious thing in the world, the most valuable natural resource. Be economical with water! Don't waste it! We still have time to do something about this problem before it is too late.Collection: Time
It is my firm belief that the infinite and uncontrollable fury of nuclear weapons should never be held in the hands of any mere mortal ever again, for any reason.Collection: Hands
The new European Soviet.Collection: Historical