18 quotes
Progress towards the civilization of the 21st century will certainly not be simple or easy.
Nobel Address (1991)
In our times, good relations benefit all. Any worsening of relations anywhere is a common loss.
Nobel Address (1991)
Never before has the idea that peace is indivisible been so true as it is now.
Peace is not unity in similarity but unity in diversity, in the comparison and conciliation of differences.
Nobel Address (1991)
This understanding is embodied in the canons of world religions and in the works of philosophers from antiquity to our time.
Nobel Address (1991)
The new integrity of the world, in our view, can be built only on the principles of the freedom of choice and balance of interests.
Nobel Address (1991)
All members of the world community should resolutely discard old stereotypes and motivations nurtured by the Cold War, and give up the habit of seeking each other's weak spots and exploiting them in their own interests.
Nobel Address (1991)
A period of transition to a new quality in all spheres of society's life is accompanied by painful phenomena.
Nobel Address (1991)
No one is in a position to describe in detail what perestroika will finally produce. But it would certainly be a self-delusion to expect that perestroika will produce "a copy" of anything.
Nobel Address (1991)
There is a growing will to achieve consensus, and a growing understanding that we have a State, a country, a common life. This is what must be preserved first of all.
Nobel Address (1991)
Life is much richer and more complex than even the most perfect plans to make it better. It ultimately takes vengeance for attempts to impose abstract schemes, even with the best of intentions.
Nobel Address (1991)
Today, peace means the ascent from simple coexistence to cooperation and common creativity among countries and nations.
Nobel Address (1991)
During the last six years we have discarded and destroyed much that stood in the way of a renewal and transformation of our society.
Nobel Address (1991)
Preparing for my address I found in an old Russian encyclopedia a definition of "peace" as a "commune" — the traditional cell of Russian peasant life.
Nobel Address (1991)
I am an optimist and I believe that together we shall be able now to make the right historical choice so as not to miss the great chance at the turn of centuries and millenia and make the current extremely difficult transition to a peaceful world order.
Nobel Address (1991)
The more I reflect on the current world developments, the more I become convinced that the world needs perestroika no less than the Soviet Union needs it.
Nobel Address (1991)
In the beginning we imprudently generated great expectations, without taking into account the fact that it takes time for people to realize that all have to live and work differently, to stop expecting that new life would be given from above.
Nobel Address (1991)
Have we not been able to cross the threshold of mistrust, though mistrust has not completely disappeared? Has not the political thinking in the world changed substantially? Does not most of the world community already regard weapons of mass destruction as unacceptable for achieving political objectives?
Nobel Address (1991)
Being resolute today means to act within the framework of political and social pluralism and the rule of law to provide conditions for continued reform and prevent a breakdown of the state and economic collapse, prevent the elements of chaos from becoming catastrophic.
Nobel Address (1991)