Mikhail Gorbachev

The market is not an invention of capitalism. It has existed for centuries. It is an invention of civilization.

I grew up in a family of peasants, and it was there that I saw the way that, for example, our wheat fields suffered as a result of dust storms, water erosion and wind erosion; I saw the effect of that on life – on human life.

I think the environmental problem will be the number one item on the agenda of the 21st century… This is a problem that cannot be postponed.

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.

Starting reforms in the Soviet Union was only possible from above, only from above. Any attempt to go from below was suppressed, suppressed in a most resolute way.

What about Jesus Christ? I say that he was a precursor of idealists; a precursor of socialists.

Popularity may be united with hostility to the rights of the people, and the secret slave of tyranny may be the professed lover of freedom.

It’s very important for institutions of concentrated power to keep people alone and isolated: that way they’re ineffective, they can’t defend themselves against indoctrination, they can’t even figure out what they think.

Socialism means keeping account of everything. You will have socialism if you take stock of every piece of iron and cloth.

A total of 1,580 people, the civilian population, suffered as a result of the bloody wave of terrorist acts that swept over Moscow and other towns and villages of our country.

I would have set out very quickly the relationship with Europe.

The internet provides access to an extraordinary range of information, opinion, and interpretation. But as with any source, it is useful to the extent that it is used with discrimination and insight.

[on Bill and Hillary Clinton] Everybody in politics lies, but they do it with such ease, it’s troubling.

The agents of [government] regard the wealth of their master as inexhaustible; are careless at what price they buy … at what price they sell.

Be able to resign. It will improve your value to the President and do wonders for your performance.

China is a great country with a great culture, populated by fascinating, industrious and talented people.

We believe that Lebanon has been the first real experience for all the Arabs.

Public officials are all right if they stay in their proper sphere and perform their proper functions but when they get greedy for wider scope and more power and money they lose their value and become parasites.

When I read Paris Post-Modernist talk…what I see is intellectuals interacting with one another in ways which are incomprehensible to the public and, to be frank, incomprehensible to me.

It is the responsibility of intellectuals to speak the truth and expose lies.

So investors don’t go down to the television studio and make sure that the local talk show host or news director is doing what they want. On the other hand, there are other complex mechanisms which make it fairly certain that they will do what the owners and investors want.