As the last leader of the Soviet Union, President Mikhail Gorbachev presided over a peaceful end to the Cold War and liberated the former Eastern Bloc from totalitarianism’s iron grip. In a roundtable discussion with a group of journalists held on December 4, 2007 at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Gorbachev, who won the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize, discussed nuclear proliferation, the results of the Russian elections, and other domestic and foreign policy issues Russia faces in the future. Questions asked by the HPR, which was present at the event, are denoted as such.

Question: What was your assessment of the recent Russian Parliamentary Elections?

Answer: Well, the results were as expected. We watched the campaign and it was absolutely clear. So far as I know, there were some irregularities. But, overall, it’s very important that many voters turned out to vote. And I believe they responded to Putin; the results could have been different, without this decision, to Russia. We shall now see what they [the United Russia Party] will be doing, now that they have power. The country is facing the need to modernize and the problems of modernization should affect all spheres of life. The expectations of the people are very high. So the people will be watching whether those in power will remember their demands, and their promises. So, people will be watching and the media will be helping to monitor United Russia, a party that now holds a two-thirds majority in parliament. That means that they will be assuming greater responsibility. So this is a new phase for them, a new life for them.

Q: Is Russia actually developing? Because it seems most of its economic growth has come from natural resources.

A: Well, real development of course should be the result of modernization. For the time being, Russia’s growth has been mostly as a result of the resource sector, you’re right, oil and gas. But, there is also the chemical sector, and we are selling chemical products throughout the world. There is steel. We are selling our steel products throughout the world. Russia is making pipes that it sells in different countries. It is developing a car-making industry, an auto industry. The Japanese have bought a whole bunch of factories near St. Petersburg, and Toyota is starting new production soon there. What we need is a total modernization of our manufacturing sector. And Russia’s approach is that old technology should be phased out. We need to have new technology, new production services. And what is particularly significant is to build up medium-size business. And this requires some support. And just about everyone, starting with the President, has committed themselves to the support of small and medium-sized business.

Harvard Political Review: President Bush has said the missile defense system America plans to build in Central and Eastern Europe will guard against Iran. Do you think this shield is necessary?

A: I don’t think so, particularly given what I am told the current publications and newspapers say: That in 2003-2005, the CIA had information that the Iran was not working on nuclear weapons. So it appears very similar to the war in Iraq. They started the war because they accused Iraq of developing nuclear weapons and chemical weapons. They bombed the country. They found Saddam Hussein, of course, but they didn’t find anything else. They thought they would get a more stable Middle East, but that is not the case. The situation is more complicated and more difficult than it was before. Also, Iran, I think, has been the victim of a double-standard approach. The non-proliferation treaty does not require the things that are now demanded of Iran—these are additional demands. But my impression is that there seems to be some emerging hope that this problem will be handled on the basis of reliable information, and will also take into account these new circumstances that have come to light. But there certainly is no difference between the views of the United States, Russia, and the European Union, as to the unacceptability of letting Iran develop nuclear weapons. On this score, there is one view. This makes it possible to develop cooperation on this issue.

Q: Where do you see the primary threat of nuclear terrorism coming from?

A: I think that when we talk about the threat of nuclear terrorism today, we should talk about it in preventive terms. We should prevent that threat from emerging. And it could become more real, if we have the proliferation of nuclear weapons. You have to bear in mind that an act of nuclear terrorism could have extremely grave consequences.

Q: Given the long history between the United States and Russia, and given the fact that we are going through elections right now, do you have any advice for the next United States President about continuing good relations with Russia, and the world at large?

A: Well, Russia and the United States do not have a very long history, just 200 years of diplomatic relations. There will be no problem on the part of Russia. But there is just one thing that Russia will not accept. It will not accept the position of a kid brother, the position of a person who does what someone tells it to do. This should be totally out of the question. And whenever I talk to Americans, whenever I give speeches to Americans, Americans agree with me, that is to say we need equal cooperation. We need equitable cooperation. I can tell you that I believe that there is an agenda for relations between our countries. We could shape a very positive relationship. We see that there has been very harsh rhetoric between our two countries—between our two states I would say, not necessarily between our two nations. I think we see that Americans respect Russians, just as Russians respect Americans. But while this kind of rhetoric, this kind of polemic rhetoric has been under way, many American companies have been entering Russia and doing very successful business in Russia: Ford, General Electric, John Deere, Boeing, etc. Those big corporations are working very successfully. They have 100 percent annual growth in their annual Russia operations. Boeing has a technology center, employing hundreds of Russian engineers. Russia Boeing is cooperating with the Russian Aircraft Sukhoi Corporation. So, while there is all this rhetoric, Americans are working in Russia. And there is a lot of work in Russia to be done. We need cooperation. Russia will now emphasize new technology, which requires business cooperation. So, it would be silly to ignore this kind of market, to lose this kind of market. ]]>