AUTHOR'S BIO
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was the last president of the USSR.
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A Farewell to Nuclear Arms
Mikhail Gorbachev Series: The World in Words 2011-10-09The Reykjavik summit in 1986 should remind us that palliative nuclear-disarmament measures are not enough. The world wlll be truly safe only when the Bomb ends up beside the slave trader’s manacles and the Great War’s mustard gas in the museum of bygone savagery.... read Comments: 3 Recommended: 1 Read: 19041
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A New Democratic Agenda for Russia
Mikhail Gorbachev Series: A Window on Russia 2010-12-28
The evolution of Russian society could transform Russian politics, despite denials by domestic opponents of change and those who classify Russia as somehow "incorrigibly authoritarian." But, in order for change to happen, a new agenda for Russia must be developed this year.... read Comments: 5 Recommended: 1 Read: 15658
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Playing Russian Roulette with Climate Change
Mikhail Gorbachev and Alexander Likhotal Series: Earth in the Balance 2009-12-03Decision-makers have not faced up to just how close the world may be to the climate “tipping point.” According to the latest science, the current proposals for an international climate-change agreement will result in warming of more than 4°C during this century – double the 2°C maximum endorsed by the G-8 and other leaders.... read Comments: 1 Recommended: 0 Read: 18514
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More Walls to Fall
Mikhail Gorbachev Series: The World in Words 
2009-11-08
Twenty years ago, at a time when the nuclear arms race was threatening humanity's existence, world leaders demonstrated resolve, faced up to opposition and immense pressure, and the Berlin Wall came down. It remains to be seen whether leaders will do the same when it comes to addressing today's existential threat - climate change.... read Comments: 3 Recommended: 2 Read: 19388
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Climate Change and Water Security
Mikhail Gorbachev and Jean-Michel Severino Series: Frontiers of Growth 2007-06-04Water scarcity is ecpected to affect 1-3 billion people by 2100, posing a threat of widespread conflict and war. Our ability to prevent “water wars” will depend on our collective capacity to anticipate tensions, and to find the technical and institutional solutions to manage emerging tensions.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 18534
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Turning Point at Chernobyl
Mikhail Gorbachev Series: The World in Words 2006-04-14The nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl 20 years ago this month, even more than my launch of perestroika, was perhaps the real cause of the collapse of the Soviet Union five years later. Indeed, the Chernobyl catastrophe was an historic turning point: there was the era before the disaster, and there is the very different era that has followed.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 32454
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New World, Less Order
Mikhail Gorbachev Series: A Window on Russia 2004-11-05Looking back to the revolutions that shook Europe and the world 15 years ago this month, we should rejoice in what has been gained - freedom, democracy, and transcendence of Europe's 40-year division. But we should also take stock of missed opportunities in the wake of the Cold War's peaceful end. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 36820
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The Ides of August
Mikhail Gorbachev Series: A Window on Russia 2001-08-20MOSCOW: For many Russians, August is a month for their dachas. But it is also a month with a developing tradition as a time to change the country. August 1991 was such a time because of the attempted coup against my government. That coup attempt failed, but Russia was changed forever. This August we are also engaged (more quietly) in re-examining executive power in Russia, and also in an ongoing effort to correct many of the changes made by President Yeltsin in the wake of August, 1991. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 14863
