In the village of Privolnoye, Krasnogvardeisky district Stavropol Territory in a peasant family. My labor activity he started early, while still in school. During summer holidays worked as an assistant combine operator. In 1949, Mikhail Gorbachev received the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for his hard work harvesting grain.
In 1950, Gorbachev graduated from school with a silver medal and entered the law faculty of the Moscow state university them. M.V. Lomonosov (MSU). In 1952 he joined the CPSU.
In 1955, he graduated with honors from the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University and was assigned to the Stavropol Regional Prosecutor's Office and almost immediately transferred to Komsomol work.
In 1955-1962, Mikhail Gorbachev worked as deputy head of the agitation and propaganda department of the Stavropol regional committee of the Komsomol, first secretary of the Stavropol city committee of the Komsomol, second, then first secretary of the Stavropol regional committee of the Komsomol.
Since 1962, in party work: in 1962-1966, he was head of the department of organizational and party work of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the CPSU; in 1966-1968 - first secretary of the Stavropol city committee of the CPSU, then second secretary of the Stavropol regional committee of the CPSU (1968-1970); in 1970-1978 - first secretary of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the CPSU.
In 1967, Gorbachev graduated Faculty of Economics Stavropol Agricultural Institute (correspondence) with a degree in agronomist-economist.
Member Central Committee(Central Committee) of the CPSU from 1971 to 1991, from November 1978 - Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee for Agriculture.
From October 1980 to August 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev was a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee.
On October 1, 1988, with the election of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Gorbachev also became the formal head of the Soviet state. After the adoption of amendments to the Constitution, the first Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR on May 25, 1989 elected Gorbachev as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR; he held this position until March 1990.
From December 9, 1989 to June 19, 1990, Gorbachev was chairman Russian Bureau Central Committee of the CPSU.
On March 15, 1990, at the extraordinary Third Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR - the first and last in history Soviet Union.
In 1985-1991, on the initiative of Gorbachev, a large-scale attempt was made to reform social order in the USSR, called "perestroika". It was conceived with the aim of “renewing socialism”, giving it a “second wind”.
The policy of glasnost proclaimed by Gorbachev led, in particular, to the adoption of a press law in 1990, which abolished state censorship. The President of the USSR returned academician Andrei Sakharov from political exile. The process of returning Soviet citizenship to deprived and expelled dissidents began. A broad campaign was launched to rehabilitate the victims political repression. In April 1991, Gorbachev signed agreements with the leaders of 10 union republics on the joint preparation of a draft of a new Union Treaty designed to preserve the Soviet Union, the signing of which was scheduled for August 20. On August 19, 1991, Gorbachev's closest associates, including the "power" ministers, announced the creation of the State Committee for a State of Emergency (GKChP). They demanded that the president, who was on vacation in Crimea, introduce a state of emergency in the country or temporarily transfer power to Vice President Gennady Yanaev. After the failed coup attempt on August 21, 1991, Gorbachev returned to serve as president, but his position was significantly weakened.
On August 24, 1991, Gorbachev announced the resignation of the General Secretary of the Central Committee and his withdrawal from the CPSU.
On December 25, 1991, after the signing of the Belovezhskaya Accords on the liquidation of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev assumed the presidency of the USSR.
After resigning, Mikhail Gorbachev created, on the basis of former research institutes under the CPSU Central Committee, the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Science Research (Gorbachev Foundation), which he headed as president in January 1992.
In 1993, Gorbachev, on the initiative of representatives of 108 countries, founded the International Non-Governmental environmental organization Green Cross International. He is the founding president of this organization.
During the 1996 elections, Mikhail Gorbachev was one of the candidates for the presidency of the Russian Federation.
Gorbachev is one of the initiators of the creation of the Laureate Forum in 1999 Nobel Prize peace.
In 2001-2009, he was a co-chairman on the Russian side of the St. Petersburg Dialogue Forum, regular meetings between Russia and Germany, and in 2010 he became the founder of the New Politics Forum, a platform for informal discussion. current problems global politics by the most authoritative political and public leaders different countries peace.
Mikhail Gorbachev was the founder and leader (2000-2001) of the Russian United Social Democratic Party (ROSDP) and the Social Democratic Party of Russia (SDPR) (2001-2007), an all-Russian social movement"Union of Social Democrats" (2007), Forum "Civil Dialogue" (2010).
Since 1992, Mikhail Gorbachev has made more than 250 international visits, visiting 50 countries.
Even after decades, Gorbachev is firmly confident in the correctness of his choice. Answering the question about what he considers his main achievement and what he would have done differently if he had remained in power, the hero of the day did not hesitate for a second.
Mikhail Gorbachev, in 1990 1991 President of the USSR: “The most important thing, I think, is freedom and openness. If there weren't them, there wouldn't be Afghanistan. I would continue the reforms in an evolutionary way, without any shocks.”
How it conveys NTV columnist Vladimir Kondratyev, already in his declining years Gorbachev admitted what fatal mistakes he made. The ex-president said that he should not have left for Foros in August 1991, then the Soviet Union would have survived, and he also had to deal more decisively with Yeltsin by sending him as an ambassador abroad.
Gorbachev was in power for only six years, but these six years were filled with turbulent, sometimes dramatic events. How happy we were soviet people, when, after 18 years of Brezhnev's stagnation and a series of magnificent funerals of Kremlin elders, 49-year-old Mikhail Gorbachev, healthy, energetic, handsome, able to speak smoothly, immediately promised radical reforms, took the helm of the country.
Mikhail Gorbachev: “Everyone in his place must do everything in good faith, honestly, that’s what perestroika is all about. And then everyone says: what is perestroika, what is perestroika? Do your job honestly. The main thing is perestroika.”
Then the whole world watched with bated breath as the CPSU abandoned the guiding and guiding force of society, as Academician Sakharov returned from political exile and the persecution of dissent ceased, as Gorbachev condemned the criminal side of Stalinism, as opponents of the new reformer began to raise their heads, not wanting to sacrifice their principles .
Gorbachev found the courage to withdraw Soviet troops from Afghanistan, go to eliminate medium-range missiles, recognize the responsibility of the USSR leadership for the tragedy in Katyn. And, of course, Gorbachev’s main achievement in foreign policy it is considered that he did not interfere with the fall Berlin Wall on the night of November 9-10, 1989 and the subsequent German reunification.
Gorbachev's critics noted his naivety, gullibility, and compliance; they say, he did not even secure a written promise not to advance NATO to the east.
The August 1991 coup revealed to the world a new alignment of political forces in the Soviet Union. Gorbachev lacked either authority, charisma, political will, or determination to retain power at any cost. Yeltsin outplayed him in all respects, subjecting him to humiliation every now and then. We must give Mikhail Sergeevich his due: he did not, like Khrushchev, live out his days in retirement at his personal dacha, where Politburo member Fyodor Kulakov once lived. The foundation he founded became a significant factor in public life.
Germany, united with the help of Gorbachev, made him an honorary citizen of Berlin and even appropriated his highest award Grand Cross of the Order of Merit, 1st class. And his bust was erected in Berlin.
Even with all his mistakes and miscalculations, the last Secretary General will remain in history and memory Russian citizens and the whole world as the largest reformer politician who changed the country and its ideology.
NTV is conducting a survey on its Twitter page and asking users to tell us what exactly they associate with the years of Gorbachev’s rule.
Mikhail Gorbachev turns 85 years old. What do you primarily associate with the period of his reign?
“Before, the awards were for two, because tango takes two to dance. Whereas, according to the current proposal, it turns out that Zelensky danced alone and alone freed those in Russian prisons. Obviously, according to S.A. Belkovsky, it was that V.A. Zelensky telegraphed to the Federal Penitentiary Service: “Release such and such,” after which the Russian jailers immediately took up the matter. Otherwise it is impossible to explain the absence of V.V. from the nominees. Putin. Of course, from the point of view of the echo audience, even mentioning this is unacceptable haram.”
On August 19, 1991, the State Emergency Committee announced the introduction of a state of emergency in certain areas of the USSR. Thus, a group of representatives of the union leadership opposed the collapse of the country and the signing of an agreement to transform it into a Union of sovereign states. RSFSR President Boris Yeltsin condemned the State Emergency Committee. Numerous demonstrations took place in Moscow and Leningrad in support of his position. Troops were brought into the capital, but most of the military refused to carry out the orders of the State Emergency Committee. The State Emergency Committee was dissolved on August 21.
The termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) leads to the destruction of the principles of strategic stability and a new arms race. This opinion was expressed by former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on Russia to take advantage of its “last chance” to preserve the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Otherwise, all responsibility for the collapse of this agreement will lie with Moscow, the head of the North Atlantic Alliance believes. In addition, according to him, the Russian side has already allegedly deployed prohibited missiles. Experts recall that Russia has repeatedly rejected these accusations and even held a special briefing and provided information about the missile, which, as the West says, “violates” the INF Treaty. Analysts note that with such attacks, the United States and its NATO allies are trying to shift responsibility for the destruction of the agreement from Washington to Moscow. However, experts recall that it was the American side that initiated the termination of the agreement.
On May 25, 1989, the First Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR began its work in Moscow. For the first time in the history of the country, elections to the highest government body were held on an alternative basis. During the meetings, a permanent legislative, administrative and control body - the Supreme Council - was elected, and an opposition was created - the Interregional Deputy Group. More than 2 thousand delegates from all republics of the Soviet Union took part in the congress, one of the most representative in composition in the entire history of Russia. This was a turning point in the process of removing the CPSU from power, the collapse of the USSR and the country's transition to a market economy, experts say.
On May 4, 1979, Conservative Party Chairman Margaret Thatcher became the first woman to serve as Prime Minister of Great Britain. Thatcher managed to reduce inflation and the maximum level of taxes, as well as ensure a reduction in government control over the economy and the privatization of a number of large companies. Her conservative political course received the name “Thatcherism,” and the prime minister herself gained a reputation as the “Iron Lady” for her tough foreign policy rhetoric, primarily in relation to the USSR. She advocated the deployment of NATO nuclear missiles in Europe and fought the Soviet presence in Afghanistan. A chemist by training, Thatcher called for the use of chemical weapons against Iraq. Her tenure as head of government was the longest in history. political history Great Britain since the time of the Marquis Robert of Salisbury.
Former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev said that Russia and the United States need to conduct a strategic dialogue, because nuclear deterrence does not protect the world, but exposes it to danger. He expressed this opinion in an article published in The Wall Street Journal.
The first president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, said that he could not abdicate responsibility for the collapse of the Soviet Union. He announced this today at the Moscow School of Economics of Moscow State University, where the presentation of the book “Gorbachev in Life” took place.
“I cannot absolve myself of responsibility for anything. But first, if you read my books: for example, the book “The USSR Can Be Preserved”, it explains everything in detail, who did what and what they threw into this history,” this is how Gorbachev answered a question from one of the students about what he thinks whether he held himself responsible for the collapse of the USSR.He noted that he resigned several times from the commission created by parliament, which he headed, “But after a while, either Yeltsin came with someone, then someone else: come back.”
Today, many experts confidently say that Mikhail Gorbachev is to blame for the collapse of the USSR. Even the politician himself says in some interviews that years later he regrets some of his decisions. But he considers perestroika, glasnost and all the changes that occurred in the country during his reign necessary.
True, the population of Russia does not think so. While Gorbachev was celebrating his 85th birthday at Radisson, a whole campaign against the former president began on the Internet. Citizens decided not to remain in the dark and also congratulated Gorbachev on the holiday.
Today many say that Mikhail Gorbachev is to blame for the collapse of the USSR. But despite everything, even after his resignation, Gorbachev tried several times to return to big politics. But each time these attempts ended in failure. Some experts even call him the main political loser of recent decades. In 2012 he was not accepted into the League of Voters. This organization advocates for fair elections. Also in 2012, he was expelled from the lists of the Right Cause party, and this despite the fact that Gorbachev was friends with its leader Mikhail Prokhorov.
Another attempt by Gorbachev to return to big politics in 1996 ended in complete failure.
Then seven politicians competed for the post of head of state, including Mikhail Gorbachev. He was counting on a triumphant return to the Kremlin, but he became a universal laughing stock. And all because less than one percent of Russians voted for him! Even the famous ophthalmologist Svyatoslav Fedorov, who participated in the same elections, managed to get ahead of Gorbachev in terms of the number of votes.
Foreign journalists in general are often perplexed: why do many Russians treat Gorbachev with indifference or hostility? But historians and political scientists say: there is nothing surprising in this, because Russia and the CIS countries have never experienced so many troubles as under the first and last president of the USSR. Comedians from among the people even made up a joke that the surname “Gorbachev” is spelled out as “Citizens, wait to rejoice, remember Brezhnev, Andropov, Chernenko”!
Mikhail Sergeevich was unable not only to speak, but also to carry out balanced reforms. Many people still remember the anti-alcohol campaign. Indeed, there was a need for it. The population was drinking themselves to death. According to statistics, just imagine, almost half of all deaths in the country were caused by alcohol. Gorbachev, who came to power in 1985, decided on tough reforms. Look, this is how the famous campaign in support of Prohibition began.
The measures turned out to be both drastic and ill-conceived. For example, Moldova - a small but very picturesque country - has always been famous for its luxurious vineyards. In the mid-1980s, almost half of its unique gardens were cut down. The same fate befell the winegrowing farms of Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, and Tajikistan. Local authorities In order to please the center, they destroyed plants with such fury that even after 30 years, the wine industry of these republics, already independent of the USSR, has not restored what was lost.
When wine disappeared from Soviet stores, people were forced to switch to vodka. The alcoholic drink quickly became a scarce commodity, for which kilometer-long queues lined up.
Due to the shortage of alcohol, people began to drink moonshine. And in general, they didn’t drink anything. We weren’t afraid to mix FB glue, varnishes, polishes, brake fluid, colognes.
Of course, drinking such cocktails led to inevitable poisoning. But the Soviet state did not offer any other alternatives. Nevertheless, the demand for vodka, cognac and beer remained. That's why speculators got into the game. During the years of Prohibition, they made a fortune on people who did not want to be poisoned with glue or varnish.
Perestroika means not only queues for vodka, but also queues for food. Another failed Gorbachev reform literally emptied store shelves. On January 1, 1987, the government abolished the state foreign trade monopoly, which led to an unprecedented mass export of consumer goods abroad. Hundreds of organizations became exporters overnight. To make money, everything that could be sold for dollars was exported: meat, stewed meat, sausage, chocolate, equipment, medicines, even toilet paper did not reach the Soviet consumer, but was sent abroad. There was a shortage of everything in the country, and in order to buy anything, you had to wait in huge queues.
Surprisingly, not so long ago, United Nations experts published a special report that reported an interesting fact. It turns out that in the 80s the USSR produced more than 14 percent of all food products on earth. Some experts are sure: goods were exported from the USSR on purpose, and the shortage was created artificially. Because even goods that did not go abroad simply did not end up in stores, but were destroyed. Experts are sure that the top party tried to make money in this way...
According to historians and political scientists, it was under Gorbachev that the Soviet Union began to literally burst at the seams. It was then that rallies, protests, and interethnic conflicts began. The Caucasus and the Baltic states were the first to “blaze.”
In December 1986, protests took place in Almaty and Karaganda and became the first major protests against the appointment of ethnic Russians to leadership positions. More than 9 thousand Kazakhs took part in the rally. As a result of the clashes, there were deaths, according to different estimates, from 2 to 100 people, 1,700 young people were injured.
Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan
Experts also accuse Gorbachev of getting rid of strategically important weapons to please Western politicians. He did everything to please the Americans and Europeans.
On December 8, 1987, General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Mikhail Gorbachev signed an agreement on the elimination of medium- and short-range missiles. This decision led to the fact that the USSR, considered one of the most powerful military powers in the world, found itself practically defenseless.
A huge number of expensive unique weapons were destroyed. Including the Pioneer and Temp-S missile systems, medium-range ballistic missiles R-12 and R-14. But, according to Gorbachev, the USSR was ready to do anything for the sake of humanism.
Descendants will make their verdict on the significance of the event that is taking place before our eyes. But I will venture to say that what we will do now - we will sign the first treaty on the elimination of nuclear weapons - has universal significance both from the point of view of world politics and from the point of view of humanism.
Here, you can look or remember how it was. American President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev sign an open-ended Treaty...
The USSR military cannot forgive Gorbachev for the destruction of the Soviet Oka tactical missile system. The accuracy of the complex was fantastic. It completely hit targets at a distance of up to 400 km. At the request of the Americans, these vehicles were also on the list for destruction...
But now Gorbachev is not discouraged and does not regret anything. Now the politician is retired, but still leads an active life. Participates in numerous talk shows, appears in documentaries, writes books...
Media playback is unsupported on your device
The ex-president of the USSR spoke about how he now perceives the events of 25 years ago.In December 1991, a declaration was adopted on the cessation of the existence of the Soviet Union and the formation of the CIS. On the 25th anniversary of the collapse of the USSR, its last president, Mikhail Gorbachev, spoke with BBC correspondent Steve Rosenberg about how it happened and what awaits the world and Russia now.
BBC: Mikhail Sergeevich, how often does this moment, this moment 25 years ago, when you realized that it was not possible, will not be possible to save the Union - how often do you rememberthis moment?
Mikhail Gorbachev: ...The Union is my drama, as I think, and the drama of our entire community, the Union. Just imagine: the situation is difficult, but elections were held, a brigade was created, and it created - in fact, representatives of all the republics - a program for overcoming the crisis. Even the Baltic states stated that they would participate in this program.
Well, and the most important thing, of course, the agreement was already ready, it was necessary to sign it, we agreed to start on the twentieth [of December]. In short, life goes on normally, but the fact is that there was betrayal behind my back, everything is being done behind my back.
BBC: Who are the traitors?
M.G.: The main one is Russia after all. I mean Russian leadership. Is it possible to set fire to a house or blow up a house in order to light a cigarette? There are matches for this. So it is here. They couldn't win it democratically. The elections just took place in 1989, famous ones. By the way, 84% of the communists passed - amazing. They thought that free elections were everything, the end of the communists. Nothing of the kind.
BBC: If you could go back to those years, to December 91, do you think it was necessary to do something differently to save Soya?h?
M.G.: I did the right thing. I was not involved in criminal matters and never allowed it. My credo is no blood. It didn’t work out, but it was already happening behind my back. There were enough provocateurs to cause some... Now you see how he does what? Provokes, provokes, provokes. I mean both Syria and... And then it was done like this.
They could not take power through elections. Thus, they committed a crime - a coup Mikhail GorbachevI only ended up with some of the coup participants there, and all of them were tried. Yeltsin did this so that later, when he came to power, everyone from the State Emergency Committee - it started from there, with them - would be rehabilitated, because they agreed with the communists that they would finish the case in court, and the communists and all the others would not initiate a case on investigation into the shooting of parliament.
BBC: Was the Belovezhskaya Agreement also a coup?
M.G.: Yes, sure. This is all a continuation, and it turned out like this. Already when the Belovezhskaya Agreement is being voted on, communist leaders are running around trying to persuade people to vote for the Belovezhskaya Agreement. Amazing!
BBC: On the last day, the day of your last address to the people, before the broadcast, what emotions did you feel?
M.G.: This is a very strong performance. It was done on such a dramatic note. However, in neither case nor in the other did I want us to get into trouble. civil war, and everything was fine. Can you imagine if there [was] a split and a struggle for power in a country like ours, oversaturated with weapons, including nuclear ones? Does this mean that Gorbachev did all this in order to stay in power?
No matter how many people were killed, there was no destruction, I couldn’t allow that. My victory is that I left power. You know, you have to have both a heart and a head - that’s how they should behave. There are a lot of them, you see how easy it is now: they launched planes, launched missiles, launched them - they shoot, beat, break apart.
When I look at how Aleppo was disfigured, other cities - everything is destroyed, we need to revive the cities again, build them, that is, like we did in Stalingrad during the fight against fascism. Voronezh. I remember going to study at Moscow University, passing both there and there - a terrible impression, to this day I cannot free myself from these impressions.
BBC: So Russia is doing the wrong thing with its military operation in Syria?
M.G.: No, that’s right, Russia is right, Russia is just right. You know, I still know a lot. Russia is for the situation to develop in the spirit of the choice we made after finishing cold war.
Russia is ready to preserve peace, to get rid of nuclear weapons Mikhail GorbachevWe proclaimed and held an international conference of all European states and those supporting [it]. There is one path, and it was chosen, that is, there was a path, it was supported by the entire society. And now Russia is ready to preserve peace, to get rid of nuclear weapons. This is a very serious, responsible commitment. But they want to provoke Russia and will provoke it. Remember my words: they will provoke.
BBC: Why?
M.G.: Let’s ask you this question. Because many people don’t like the changed order. Everyone wants - do you remember how it ended, began, ruined everything, the situation that we got as a result of the end of the Cold War? After all, the Americans decided that this was a triumphant path. I visited them and read what they wrote - what God himself sent, Lord: the whole world lies at their feet, so we need to do it, build a unipolar world.
BBC: How the order has changedin the worldNow?
M.G.: Bad, bad. Americans are losing power and influence in the world and are therefore ready to take the wrong path. Now the situation, I see, is such that there is an opportunity, a necessity, an understanding of cooperation between America and Russia. Russia is for. I don’t know of any plans in Russia to attack or wage war with the United States; there are no such plans.
Do you remember, it was published how many and which cities were susceptible to nuclear targets, destruction in Russia, and planned by America? I would not say that they consider us fools, they understand that no, this does not work for them, and the fact that everything is not in order with their morality is for sure. They pray, swear to God, send prayers to him, but for their own deeds...
BBC: When you last time addressed the people in December 1991, you said that during the years of perestroika society gained freedom. What happened to this freedom after that?
M.G.: I think that this process is not completed, we need to speak openly here, and freedom interferes with some people, they feel very bad with it. But people need it, the world needs it. In this complex, crowded world, we need freedom and harmony in the interests of peace - general consent.
BBC: Who cares about freedom?
M.G.: Guess what. I can ask one question.
BBC: Do you mean Putin?
M.G.: I say, if we understand that we need to do this - agree on nuclear weapons, and about international relations- jail the people responsible for this. Until they [don’t] give a decision, don’t release them.
In this complex, crowded world, freedom and harmony are needed Mikhail GorbachevSomeone once said this: “Don’t release until we are given a positive solution.” No, Eisenhower warned us all in time about the dangers that lurk in the military-industrial complex. Do you remember when he left, he said that he was very worried?
I don’t know, I openly told the Americans, and now it’s worth reminding them: can’t they successfully run the economy without the military-industrial complex, achieve results, resolve issues through the negotiation process, and so on? If this is a country that cannot live without the military-industrial complex, that should concern us all.
BBC: Do you think today Russia needs a leader like Vladimir Putin - strong leader, who fights back the West, that is, Russia needs Putin, not Gorbachev today?
M.G.: No, I think when he gave his first speech in Munich, there [was] noise there, but the noise is made by those who have something depending on it. They polled Germans, and 68% said that they were on Putin’s side, on the side of what he said in Munich.
I sometimes speak and make critical remarks to our authorities. If they deserve it, it should be done - talk, but look what is happening. The more the attacks go on - after all, it just hasn’t ended yet, but there was a special directive for the entire press (you should have had a directive too - that’s for sure, I know) from the West: to achieve the goal of discrediting Putin and eliminating him, or eliminating him what physically and so on, but for him to leave his post.
As a result, the latest VTsIOM poll in November showed 86% support for Putin. Soon it will be 120%.
BBC: Regarding Donald Trump: do you know him?
M.G.: I was even with him. When I was on a trip, I was in his trading high-rise buildings, I was in his apartment, so I know him, but I didn’t have the opportunity to judge his views, his attitudes.
But it’s an interesting situation [with Trump’s victory]. Everyone in Russia thought, and I thought so—I didn’t say it, but I thought—that the Democrats would win. No.
BBC: The fact that he is not a politician at all, he is a businessman from show business, television,withoutpolitical experience -vaWithThiscare?
M.G.: Frankly speaking, big business is not only always economics, it’s also politics, it’s social sphere, this is culture, and so on. Although I am not a supporter of such a system where corporations rule the roost. They all don't like me.
BBC: You helped end the coldwowwarsat. What advice would you give to Putin and Trump to overcome the current tensions?
M.G.: I won’t say anything. I once performed in America in the Midwest, the audience was 15 thousand - this is usually eight, 10, 15 [thousand]. When I finished the hour-long lecture, they asked me questions. One guy stands up and says: “President Gorbachev, you see that things are getting worse and worse in America. What should we do? You’ve been through this, you have such experience, please advise what we should do?”
America needs its own perestroika Mikhail GorbachevSo you ask a question. I say: “No, come on, advising America is the last thing, you decide for yourself. I won’t give you a schedule, I won’t give you a menu.” The second one rises and says: “President, we are very serious. Everyone is sitting here, and they share my question, still say something.”
“Okay,” I say, “I won’t give you a menu or a schedule, I’ll say this: “America needs its own restructuring.” They applauded for about five minutes. At the next election, Obama was elected. There are problems in America, there are questions, they need to be addressed. decide, so it will be very difficult to start and lead and carry out a policy, even if it is successful, it could be successful. It is very difficult, I even think that he [Trump] will not succeed.
BBC: Does Russia need a new perestroika now?
M.G.: I would go back to square one and act. There are a lot of blockages on the way now.
BBC: Outside of Russia, many see you as a hero who ended the Cold War, who gave freedom Eastern Europe, paved the way for the unification of Germany. In your own country, in your homeland, many people criticize you for losing your country. Do you feel some degree of responsibility for the problem?l countries?
M.G.: I worry that there is no proper understanding of my plans and my actions in the country. But here the bureaucracy took advantage of the newly opened democratic freedoms.
She stole the nation's wealth and started creating these corporations. How many are there? Who is Sechin? Now he is a person who is trying to influence government affairs, and on figures, I think, on the president himself. This is how the process went.
Both for the country and for the world, our perestroika decisions opened the way, we made a turn in the direction of cooperation, in the direction of strengthening peace, preserving peace. Even now I regret that I was not able to complete it.
BBC: Can you advise the president?Putinasks for yourhisadviceA?
M.G.: So he knows everything. Everyone wants everything their own way. C'est la vie, as the French, whom I respect, say.
BBC: Fine. I have one last question: now...
M.G.: The last question is that you started dividing the UK.
BBC: Just about, such unusual processes began in Europe:" Brexit" , other elections in Europe, Trump in America. Are you worried about this growth of nationalism, this right turn in the West, does it surprise you?
M.G.: This is the most difficult issue, and we must understand it calmly, seriously, with common efforts and not allow us to fall into some kind of trap.
I am a supporter of this: if somewhere some issue is ripe, and the people decide this way - all polls, referendums, everything shows that “so” - why did I immediately, when Crimea announced that it was appealing, and the general vote for entry to Russia, for a return to Russia?
I think the only correct guideline is the sovereignty of the people Mikhail GorbachevIn general, Nikita left us this, Khrushchev. For Crimea, Russia sacrificed so much blood - and everything. The whole story is connected with Crimea - everything, and it turned out like this: Crimea was a gift. So they asked me, I said: “I approve of this. Since the people have expressed it, it must be supported.”
Ukrainians and others are nagging me here now. No, I think the only correct guideline is the sovereignty of the people.
BBC: H sensesare you thatover this year Russia has strengthened, become more confidentnnoy?
M.G.: Why are you asking the question?
BBC: There are just a lot of events this year: both Syria and...
M.G.: I'll tell you frankly. The other day I received an assessment from a group of comrades. They monitor monthly. Uncertainty is said to have increased in November. You shouldn’t panic here, you need to figure it out head on and do it. I agree with this assessment.
