Mikhail Gorbachev — "Perestroika was not a betrayal of socialism. It was its salvation."
Perestroika was not a betrayal of socialism. It was its salvation.
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More from Mikhail Gorbachev
"We are experiencing a decisive moment, a turning point in the history of our country, and perhaps in the history of the world."
"I'm a man of principle."
"History punishes those who come too late or too early. Those who don't know how to use the opportunities that history provides."
"If what you have done yesterday still looks big to you, you haven't done much today."
"I am a communist, a convinced communist. For some, this may be a fantasy. But for me, it is my main goal."
About Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-2022)
Final General Secretary of the Soviet Union whose glasnost and perestroika reforms led to the USSR's dissolution and the end of the Cold War. Closely associated with Boris Yeltsin (his domestic rival and successor as Russian leader) and Ronald Reagan (Cold War counterpart and arms-control partner). For an intellectual contrast, see Vladimir Putin, Russian president (2000-2008, 2012-) — Putin has publicly called the Soviet collapse 'the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century' — Gorbachev's signature achievement. Putin's two-decade political project has been organized around reversing Gorbachev's liberalization.