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| 1931-2022 |
We could only solve our problems by cooperating with other countries. It would have been paradoxical not to cooperate. And therefore we needed to put an end to the Iron Curtain, to change the nature of international relations, to rid them of ideological confrontation, and particularly to end the arms race.
--Mikhail Gorbachev
A fascinating man and leader.
ReplyDeleteHe turned out to be the real deal, Mitchell. We could use an American Gorbachev.
DeleteWhat a contrast to present Russian leader. Gorbachev will be a VIP in the history of the Soviet Union and Russia.
ReplyDeleteA VIP in the history of the world, Andrew.
DeleteHi, Kirk!
ReplyDeleteThanks for doing a piece on Mikhail Gorbachev, last leader of the Soviet Union, who joined the notorious reaper feed yesterday. Gorbachev is remembered by many in the West as one of the 20th century's great statesmen, a reformer and visionary. who seemed inspired by the words of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address in January, 1961: "Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us." Today, too few leaders at home and abroad are embracing that philosophy. I well remember the pompous, posturing, sabre-rattling, warmongering Ron Regan in 1987 uttering the words, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"... a quote that gained fame after the Berlin Wall fell two years later.
Thanks again for marking this moment in time, the end of an era with the passing of Mikhail Gorbachev, a principled man of reason. Enjoy the rest of your week, good buddy Kirk!
Shady, I hold no truck with Reagan, who I think inflicted grave damage upon our country domestically, but I do give him (and Margaret Thatcher) credit for taking the measure of Gorbachev and concluding he was a genuine reformer, when it would have been politically advantageous for him not to. It now seems possible that Reagan reacted to the news of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with extreme negativity, was revulsed by the whole idea of nuclear weapons, but kept that revulsion to himself as he moved from the Left to the Right.
DeleteJust to qualify what I said, he was not perfect and some bad things happened under his leadership, but I do think he made the world a better place in his time.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, a Wikiquote for you:
DeleteGorbachev succeeded in destroying what was left of totalitarianism in the Soviet Union; he brought freedom of speech, of assembly, and of conscience to people who had never known it, except perhaps for a few chaotic months in 1917. By introducing free elections and creating parliamentary institutions, he laid the groundwork for democracy. It is more the fault of the raw material he worked with than of his own real shortcomings and mistakes that Russian democracy will take much longer to build than he thought.
— Gorbachev biographer William Taubman, 2017
And look where Russia has ended up now, under a regime that destroyed all of Gorbachev's insights and reforms.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's the shame of it, Debra.
DeleteMaybe current leaders should take note of that quote!
ReplyDeleteFirst they'll have to take their heads out of their asses, Ananka.
DeleteI remember him! Love this quote.
ReplyDeleteHe was in all the papers, JM.
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