Former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics President Mikhail Gorbachev spoke three nights at the Foothill College Celebrity Forum speaker series last week.
On Friday, he decried the lack of world leadership in general, and specifically criticized the United States’ war and occupation of Iraq as a mistake.
Questions surrounding the Cold War that went unanswered for more than 20 years were revisited as Michael Reagan and Gorbachev sat down in plush chairs and spoke about the past.
Speaking in Russian through his longtime interpreter, Gorbachev reflected on his family, growing up in Communist U.S.S.R., his rise to power and his relationship with Ronald Reagan.
“My life started March 2, 1931. We had no health care and a midwife took my mother into another room and I was born on a rug,” said Gorbachev. “Just like Jesus Christ.”
The main thing in life was survival. To have a future, he joined the Communist Party in the 10th grade because they needed new people.
Sipping tea from a large tumbler, Gorbachev answered questions from Reagan as the audience was given a rare opportunity to relive history and feel the passion the two past presidents shared in leading their nations through the tumultuously changing history of the U.S.S.R. and the United States.
Mikhail Gorbachev was general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991 and president of the USSR from 1990 to 1991. He helped liberalize Soviet society with perestroika (reform), which ultimately contributed to the downfall of Communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Almost from the start, he strove for significant reforms so that the system would work more efficiently and more democratically. The two key terms of the era that Gorbachev used were glasnost (openness) and perestroika.
“There were too many constraints in the system and I fully understood we needed to reform the system,” Gorbachev said. “The Communist Party was managing the people. They had a different form of democracy.”
When he discussed the steps his government took toward freedom of religion and freedom of choice, you could detect bitterness in his words. Twenty percent of the Russian people blamed him for the problems in Russia and voted for Boris Yeltsin as the Soviet Union fell apart.
The audience erupted in loud clapping when Gorbachev said, “You have an election coming up. Think about who you vote for.”
All evening, the former Soviet leader, looking healthy and fit, spoke with the kind of authority and vigor that made him one of the most influential world figures of the 20th century.
Several times he pointed his finger at Reagan to make his point.
Gorbachev came to power at a time when President Ronald Reagan labeled Russia “an evil empire.”
“That was overreaction, but he accomplished what he wanted by highlighting the failures of the Soviet system,” Gorbachev said. “He got my attention, and it led to arms reduction.”
Michael Reagan asked, “What was your first impression of Ronald Reagan?”
“I liked him. We had some chemistry, and we were able to see a better understanding.
“We started a dialogue and wrote letters to each other,” Gorbachev said.
