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.

There should be competition and exchanges between different countries, but there are certainly certain universal values, and that is freedom and democracy.

Ex-Presidents of the United States get state subsidies. Not so in Russia. You get no government support.

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.

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

It would be naive to think that the problems plaguing mankind today can be solved with means and methods which were applied or seemed to work in the past.

As soon as the legitimate Lebanese government is convinced that the conditions have ripened and that Lebanon is able to maintain stability on its own… Then, the Syrian forces will return to their homeland.

I stand for anti-bigotry, anti-Semitism, and anti-racism.

He who does not regret the break-up of the Soviet Union has no heart; he who wants to revive it in its previous form has no head.

Once his wife goes to sleep it takes a minor nuclear explosion to wake her.

Who is going to help them abroad? They are just persecuted there. Conditions are created making their work impossible. This is a big mistake by those who are doing this in the West.

It’s not going to be easy to proceed. There are going to be barriers, difficulties, hardships, failures- it’s inevitable. But unless the process that is taking place here and elsewhere in the country and around the world, unless that continues to grow and becomes a major force in the social and political world, the chances for a decent future are not very high.

Like most technology, the internet has mixed effects. It’s a neutral instrument.

Nobody and nothing will stop Russia on the road to strengthening democracy and ensuring human rights and freedoms.

[on Trump] The winning candidate, now the president-elect, calls for rapid increase in use of fossil fuels, including coal; dismantling of regulations; rejection of help to developing countries that are seeking to move to sustainable energy; and in general, racing to the cliff as fast as possible.

If Russians knew how to read they would write me off.

I believe that government is the servant of the people and not their master.

I am never guided by a possible assessment of my work.

While Trump’s antics occupy the attention of the media, his associates in Congress have been working intensively to advance the interests of their actual constituency-extreme wealth and corporate power-while dismantling what is of value to the general population andfuture generations.

The Comrade Wolf knows whom to eat, as the saying goes. It knows whom to eat and is not about to listen to anyone, it seems.

I’ve read hundreds of books about China over the decades. I know the Chinese. I’ve made a lot of money with the Chinese. I understand the Chinese mind.