Mikhail Gorbachev — "I am a realist, but I am also an idealist."
I am a realist, but I am also an idealist.
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More from Mikhail Gorbachev
"I have always believed in the power of dialogue."
"We need to build bridges, not walls."
"I am a communist, a convinced communist. For some, this may be a fantasy. But for me, it is my main goal."
"The people are tired of promises. They want action. They want results."
"I believe in miracles. I believe in magic. I believe in love."
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.