Mikhail Gorbachev, On My Country and the World, Columbia University Press, 2000

Perestroika was born out of the realization that problems of internal development in our country were
ripe, even overripe, for a solution. New approaches and types of action were needed to escape the
downward spiral of crisis, to normalize life, and to make a breakthrough to qualitatively new frontiers.
It can be said that to a certain extent perestroika was a result of a rethinking of the Soviet experience
since October. The vital need for change was dictated also by the following consideration. It was
obvious that the whole world was entering a new stage of developmentsome call it the postindustrial
age, some the information age. But the Soviet Union had not yet passed through the industrial stage. It
was lagging further and further behind those processes that were making a renewal in the life of the
world community possible. Not only was a leap forward in technology needed but fundamental change
in the entire social and political process. Of course it cannot be said that at the time we began
perestroika we had everything thought out. In the early stages we all said, including myself, that
perestroika was a continuation of the October revolution. Today I believe that that assertion contained
a grain of truth but also an element of delusion.

On perestroika today - Mikhail Gorbachev, Russia Beyond the Headlines, March 2015
But is the result of perestroika the dissolution of the Union, as many say - some due to ignorance,
others out of spite? No. The dissolution of the Union, the hardships and privations that many
experienced in the 90s were only the result of the failure of perestroika. But this does not annul the
most important thing: The changes that perestroika had introduced were so profound that it was
impossible to go back. First and foremost this means political freedoms, human rights those rights
and freedoms that today are taken for granted, such as the opportunity to vote in the elections, to elect
your leaders. The opportunity to openly voice your opinion. The opportunity to practice your religion.
The opportunity to freely travel abroad. The opportunity to open your business and become successful.
Not everything has been realized to the utmost degree, however. In the last years we have seen
breakdowns and understandable movements. A lot has caused and continues to cause anxiety. But I
am convinced that no one will take perestroikas main achievements away from the people. (...)I am
convinced that the large-scale historical challenges that faced perestroika, its ideas and principles
solving society's problems by including people in the political and democratic processes, the
evolutionary nature of the changes, the understanding of the interdependency of today's world and the
country's determination to integrate with international policy and economy are still relevant today,
both in Russia and in the world.