“Sometimes people ask me why I began perestroika. Were the causes basically domestic or foreign? The domestic reasons were undoubtedly the main ones, but the danger of nuclear war was so serious that it was a no less significant factor.”

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

“A society should never become like a pond with stagnant water, without movement. That's the most important thing.”

“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.”

“What we need is Star Peace and not Star Wars.”

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

“The soviet people want full-blooded and unconditional democracy.”

“Democracy must learn to defend itself.”

“The world will not accept dictatorship or domination.”

“I paid too heavy a price for perestroika.”

“America must be the teacher of democracy, not the advertiser of the consumer society. It is unrealistic for the rest of the world to reach the American living standard.”