Gorbachev Says US Needs Reconstruction

America is in urgent need of its own 'perestroika' and its days as the world’s superpower have ended, according to former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Telegraph

America is in urgent need of its own 'perestroika', says
Gorbachev

By Amanda Andrews
Last Updated: 7:08PM GMT 12 Mar 2009

“America needs perestroika right now. I did a lecture in the US and said the country needs its own perestroika and I got a 10 minute standing ovation,” said the man whose own policies helped trigger the collapse of the Soviet Union. “
(President) Obama’s proposals will be bigger than perestroika. I want to wish success to Obama and his Cabinet, because
the problems he has to deal with are not easy ones.”

The Soviet Union’s own perestroika - which means reconstruction in Russian - was adopted by Mr Gorbachev in an effort
to reform the Soviet Union and prevent its collapse. However, the former Soviet leader underestimated the power of the
nationalist forces he unleashed by loosening the grip of Moscow’s central command on the sprawling Soviet empire.
President Obama has arrived in the White House during the worst financial crisis since the 1930s and, according to Mr
Gorbachev, this is not a crisis that the US can fix on its own.

“Everyone is used to America as the shepherd that tells everyone what to do,” Mr Gorbachev said on a visit to London
with Alexander Lebedev, the new majority owner of the London Evening Standard newspaper.

“But this period has already ended. That’s why there must be solidarity and partnerships. One single country can never
rule the whole world,” he said.

His comments come before a critical G20 summit in London next month which will see the governments of the world’s
major economies come together in a renewed effort to fix the financial crisis.

Mr Gorbachev said the world needs to find “a new model”, and major changes are needed to the International Monetary
Fund (IMF), the World Bank and a string of other international institutions.

He added that there has been “excessive consumption” in recent years and the world’s biggest issue is the large divide
between rich and poor. Mr Gorbachev said he has not met President Obama, but hopes to on an upcoming visit to
Washington with Mr Lebedev, with whom he runs a political party.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s handling of the financial crisis also won support from Mr Gorbachev as he criticised the
Conservatives’ response to the downturn.

Mr Gorbachev - who spent Wednesday night with former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at a concert to
raise money for the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Gorbachev Foundation - attacked the Conservative party’s focus on
“Reaganomics”.

“Maybe the Conservative party is not ready to give up the methods they have used – such as Reaganomics. They need to
change their mind set first. Maybe they [the Conservative Government] would like to take the initiative but they’re not
ready for that yet,” he said.

The former Soviet leader and Mr Lebedev last year set up a new opposition party in Russia with a plan to field candidates
in the next parliamentary elections in 2011. Mr Gorbachev said today that he does believe that Russian Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin poses a threat to democracym saying “Putin also wants to solve the problems of democracy – and he’d like
to do it as quickly as possible.”

Mr Gorbachev - who co-owns Novaya Gazeta, a “free” newspaper in Russia with Mr Lebedev - spoke of the lack of press
freedom in Russia, with the major television channels under state control.

“Russia’s had less time to build up its democracy. We’ve got to get through this journey step-by-step. We need to change
the mind set and psychology within Russia,” he said.

Gorbachev Receives Liberty Medal in Philadelphia. Interesting.

Gorbachev Honored For Liberty
By: John P. Connolly, The Bulletin
09/19/2008

Philadelphia - The last leader of the Soviet Union was honored by the National Constitution Center last night, and the air was charged with political issues and specters of the Cold War.

After becoming the youngest full member of the Soviet Politburo in 1980, Mr. Gorbachev was named General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985, ready to make long overdue reforms in the Soviet system.

For six years, he pressed for democratization by promoting glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring). These policies created the environment that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union two years later.

Mr. Gorbachev became the 20th recipient of the Liberty Medal, an honor presented by the Constitution Center to honor world leaders who have labored to secure liberty for people throughout the world. Joseph M. Torsella, president and CEO of the Constitution Center, delivered a speech filled with praise for Mr. Gorbachev's commitment to liberty.

"He grew up under the brutal rule of Stalin, a dictator who introduced the words 'purge' and 'gulag' into the beautiful language of Pushkin and Chekhov," said Mr. Torsella. "But when he came to occupy the same office that Stalin held, 63 years later ... he introduced very different words. 'Glasnost,' openness. And 'perestroika,' change."

Renowned pianist Van Cliburn performed at the ceremony, along with singers Judy Collins and Bruce Hornsby. Also in attendance were Gov. Ed Rendell and Mayor Michael Nutter. Former President George H. W. Bush presented the award.

"It is a true honor for me to participate in this year's Liberty Medal ceremony to celebrate the achievements of someone whom I consider a great world leader and a dear friend," said Mr. Bush. "Regardless of the dividing lines between us, President Gorbachev opened up new possibilities for the world to come together and solve its problems in the pursuit of liberty. When Eastern Europeans were living in the dark shadow of the Cold War, he provided a beacon of light. Now, almost 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, we are still witnessing the positive impact his efforts have had across the globe. President Gorbachev is always looking ahead at a better future and helping all of us work to get there."

In a press conference before the ceremony, Mr. Gorbachev took questions about Russia's strained relations with the U.S., and urged caution and cooperation as the solution to the situation. Mr. Gorbachev stressed that the way forward for the countries lies in rebuilding the relations between them and cooperating.

"We have to think about the future of our relations," he said. "I recall that when I became the leader of the Soviet Union, the leaders of our two nations had not met for six years. And this was at the peak of the Cold War. At that time, we concluded that we needed to reconnect, restart the relationship between America and Russia. And step by step we did that."

He said that building up relations made it possible to make progress toward ending the Cold War. Both nations have strong tools for cooperation, and future proceedings to better Russian-American relations should build on that, even though he is not content with the level of democracy in both countries. Mr. Gorbachev said that both countries need to continue an ongoing perestroika.

"This is one area of our domestic affairs where we can not ever be fully satisfied with what's happening," he said. "But there is freedom of information and there is a large amount of freedom in the media, particularly in the print media and on the radio. As for television, I am more critical, I believe there is too much government input on the television channels."

John P. Connolly can be reached at jconnolly@thebulletin.us