2009

December 17, 2009

Mikhail Gorbachev. We Have a Real Emergency

As the climate change summit meeting moves forward in Copenhagen, it is increasingly clear that more than just the environment is at stake. The global environmental crisis is at the heart of practically all the problems now confronting us...

December 4, 2009

Mikhail Gorbachev, Alexander Likhotal. Playing Russian Roulette with Climate Change

GENEVA – Mounting skepticism and deadlocked negotiations have culminated in an announcement that the Copenhagen Climate Conference will not result in a comprehensive global climate deal. Disappointing? Certainly. But the Copenhagen climate...

December 4, 2009

Failure in Copenhagen would be ''catastrophic risk'': Gorbachev

The Copenhagen climate summit is a "test of modern leadership" and a failed outcome would almost certainly condemn the planet to disaster, Mikhail Gorbachev said Thursday in an interview. The Nobel laureate and last leader of the Soviet Union also...

November 10, 2009

Mikhail Gorbachev.Tear down this wall! And save the planet

There are urgent parallels between the fall of Communism and the fight to stop climate change The German people, and the whole world alongside them, are today celebrating a landmark date in history: the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin...

November 10, 2009

Gorbachev warns against walls of mistrust in Europe

As Germany and the rest of the world prepare to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev warned against creating new barriers between nations. Nobel Peace Prize winner Gorbachev, who...

November 6, 2009

Mikhail Gorbachev. Now Clear Away the Rubble of the Wall

The year 1989 was a turning point for Europe and for the world, a time when history went into high gear. This acceleration was symbolized by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the velvet revolutions in Central and Eastern Europe. Totalitarian and...

October 29, 2009

Keynote statement by Mikhail Gorbachev at the General Assembly conference of the Club of Rome on October 26, 2009 in Amsterdam

Your Majesty, Dear Members of the Club of Rome, Ladies and Gentlemen, The theme chosen for discussion at this Assembly, the interdependency of environmental problems, energy and the overcoming of the global economic...

October 20, 2009

Democracy in Russia a ''mockery'': Gorbachev

The last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Monday launched his bitterest attack yet on the state of democracy in Russia, saying elections had turned into a mockery and the whole system was faulty. Gorbachev's comments came after the ruling United...

October 9, 2009

Mikhail Gorbachev’s Letter of Congratulations to President Obama

Dear Mr. President, I congratulate you on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. I am convinced that it is the right decision, which significantly reinforces our family of Nobel laureates. Your efforts have helped to bring about a significant...

October 8, 2009

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev Delivers a Speech at United Nations Office at Geneva

Mikhail Gorbachev, the Founding President of Green Cross International, delivered the third Geneva Lecture at the United Nations in Geneva on 5 October 2009. The following text is based on simultaneous interpretation from the...