Great Throughts Treasury

"This understanding is embodied in the canons of world religions and in the works of philosophers from antiquity to our time."

"This idea reflects our vision of a way of helping the energy-impoverished in the developing world, while creating concentrations of solar energy in cities that could be used to prevent blackouts."

"Those who knew him remember how much his position and voice meant in difficult times when all the changes started and when people needed faithful, honest, truthful and courageous words."

"Those who want Russia to continue to grow in IT should work with Russian companies, with our science centers and with our software companies... Now is the time to go to Russia with investment."

"We are not abandoning our convictions, our philosophy or traditions, nor do we urge anyone to abandon theirs."

"We desperately need to recognize that we are the guests, not the masters, of nature and adopt a new paradigm for development, based on the costs and benefits to all people, and bound by the limits of nature herself rather than the limits of technology and consumerism."

"To me, it is self-evident that if Soviet perestroika succeeds, there will be a real chance of building a new world order. And if perestroika fails, the prospect of entering a new peaceful period in history will vanish, at least for the foreseeable future. I believe that the movement that we have launched towards that goal has fairly good prospects of success. After all, mankind has already benefited greatly in recent years, and this has created a certain positive momentum."

"We had a really interesting, albeit perhaps too emotional conversation. He told me he ... was very, very critical of communism."

"We don't need to kiss each other, we don't need to flirt with each other, we have to -- seriously on a human and political level -- we have to work together and be partners with the United States and Russia."

"We have cast off many fetters, and like a bird set free, we won?t return to our cage."

"We have no right ever to forget that psychological warfare is a struggle for winning people's minds."

"We have not yet left the past behind: its death grip can be felt everywhere."

"We have retreated from the perennial values. I don't think that we need any new values. The most important thing is to try to revive the universally known values from which we have retreated. As a young man, I really took to heart the Communist ideals. A young soul certainly cannot reject things like justice and equality. These were the goals proclaimed by the Communists. But in reality that terrible Communist experiment brought about repression of human dignity. Violence was used in order to impose that model on society. In the name of Communism we abandoned basic human values. So when I came to power in Russia I started to restore those values; values of "openness" and freedom."

"What the 21st century will be like depends on whether we learn the lessons of the 20th century and avoid repeating its worst mistakes - For example, it would be disastrous if we began to renew our entire system of social relations by acting like a bu."

"We must continue peaceful dialogue, persuading Iran that even as it has this right we must protect the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty."

"We spent the first days trying to get the picture. I can't agree that we were trying to conduct a sly policy and hide something."

"We often argued but always understood each other."

"We must do our best in order to make sure that this coalition is not broken, that it is strengthened and enhanced and that we move toward a new international order."

"While adhering to his convictions, with which one could agree or disagree, he was not dogmatic; he was looking for negotiations and cooperation. And this was the most important thing to me; he had the trust of the American people."

"Why not? [When asked by a reporter if he thought the Berlin Wall should be dismantled]"

"With less East-West confrontation, or even none at all, old contradictions resurface, which seemed of secondary importance compared to the threat of nuclear war. The melting ice of the Cold War reveals old conflicts and claims, and entirely new problems accumulate rapidly."

"Yeltsin's current limited work schedule was] totally unacceptable... It is not for this role that we elected a president with immense constitutional powers."

"With Yeltsin, the Soviet Union broke apart, the country was totally mismanaged, the constitution was not respected by the regions of Russia. The army, education and health systems collapsed. People in the West quietly applauded, dancing with and around Yeltsin. I conclude therefore that we should not pay too much attention to what the West is saying."

"Without glasnost there is not, and there cannot be, democratism, the political creativity of the masses and their participation in management."