In our discussions here at the forum there was no trace of the futile debate about what is better, capitalism or socialism...We should seek a synthesis of ideas and values that have proven their viability.

I am a Communist, a convinced Communist! For some that may be a fantasy. But to me it is my main goal.

I think the United States is sick. It suffers from the sickness, the disease of being the victor and it needs to cure itself from this disease.

To me, nature is sacred. Trees are my temples and forests are my cathedrals.

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

The most important thing is who counts the votes.

We could still have continued the arms race, but the arms race was pointless, and it was another reason we decided to start perestroika. It was senseless to continue to accumulate weapons. We had enough weapons to destroy life on Earth 1,000 times, and therefore it was very clear to us that the arms race could spiral out of control. A conflict could have started, as both the Americans and the Soviets realized, not out of a wrong political decision but because of a failure in the command-and-control systems.