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" You cannot put Russia down on its knees and hold it there because Russia will ultimately pull out. "

Mikhail Gorbachev

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" 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. "

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" I couldn't wait to get to the most powerful position, because I thought then I would be able to fix problems that only the leader can fix. But when I got there, I realized we needed revolutionary change. "

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" Without perestroika, the cold war simply would not have ended. But the world could not continue developing as it had, with the stark menace of nuclear war ever present. "

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" What we need is Star Peace and not Star Wars. "

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" Imagine a country that flies into space, launches Sputniks, creates such a defense system, and it can't resolve the problem of women's pantyhose. There's no toothpaste, no soap powder, not the basic necessities of life. It was incredible and humiliating to work in such a government. "

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" If not me, who? And if not now, when? "

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" I am a Communist, a convinced Communist! For some that may be a fantasy. But to me it is my main goal. "

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" It seems that the most important thing about Reagan was his anti-Communism and his reputation as a hawk who saw the Soviet Union as an 'evil empire.' "

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" I think God has some mechanism that he uses to punish those that make mistakes. "

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

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" On the day I became Soviet leader, in March 1985, I had a special meeting with the leaders of the Warsaw Pact countries and told them: 'You are independent, and we are independent. You are responsible for your policies, we are responsible for ours. We will not intervene in your affairs, I promise you.' "

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" We are not abandoning our convictions, our philosophy or traditions, nor do we urge anyone to abandon theirs. "

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" Every country should conduct its own reforms, should develop its own model, taking into account the experience of other countries, whether close neighbours or far away countries. "

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" Sometimes it's difficult to accept, to recognise one's own mistakes, but one must do it. I was guilty of overconfidence and arrogance, and I was punished for that. "

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" Democracy must learn to defend itself. "

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" It would be naive to think that the problems plaguing mankind today can be solved with means and methods which were applied or seemed to work in the past. "

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" I say again that I am an atheist. I do not believe in God. "

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" If current technological processes continue without change, the environment will change, and we, the human species, will either have to mutate or even die, to disappear, as many species have disappeared. "

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" Sometimes when you stand face to face with someone, you cannot see his face. "

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" My life's work has been accomplished. I did all that I could. "

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" Certain people in the United States are driving nails into this structure of our relationship, then cutting off the heads. So the Soviets must use their teeth to pull them out. "

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" I think we need more young people; we need to elect young people to government. We need to give them a chance, in the media, in politics, in democracy. "

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" I believe, as Lenin said, that this revolutionary chaos may yet crystallize into new forms of life. "

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" The world will not accept dictatorship or domination. "

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" I paid too heavy a price for perestroika. "

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" The market came with the dawn of civilization and it is not an invention of capitalism. If it leads to improving the well-being of the people there is no contradiction with socialism. "

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

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" 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. "

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" I don't think Russia is setting this as a goal; I don't think this should be Russia's goal. I think even the United States doesn't need to be a superpower. China doesn't need to be a superpower. It's a different world. "

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" Democracy is the wholesome and pure air without which a socialist public organization cannot live a full-blooded life. "

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