We must speak more clearly about sexuality, contraception, about abortion, about values that control population, because the ecological crisis, in short, is the population crisis. Cut the population by 90% and there aren't enough people left to do a great deal of ecological damage.

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

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.'

We used to have just one criterion and that was profit, and then another criterion was added - social welfare. Now we have to add the third important criterion, and that is nature and the environment.

History is a capricious creature. It depends on who writes it.

A new generation of more educated people started to be active. Then society required freedom, society demanded freedom.

The model of the consumer society is something that will one day end. My personal view is that too much consumption is wrong.