• Photographs of Gorbachev's visit.
  (May take a few moments to load!)
• More news about Gorbachev's visit

President Mikhail Gorbachev, famed Soviet leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, came to Hamilton on Monday afternoon and delivered a lecture to a crowd of approximately 3,000 people at Cotterell Court.

Shortly after 3 p.m., following a brief press conference during which Gorbachev expressed his eagerness to visit with students, the sold-out crowd in Cotterell Court welcomed him and his wife, Raisa, with a standing ovation. University President Neil Grabois welcomed the dignitaries and Professor of Political Science Martha Olcott introduced the address.

When the opening statements were completed, Gorbachev took over the podium for about an hour and a half. The entire lecture was translated by Pavel Palazchenko, who has served as Gorbachev's interpreter for such significant events as summits with Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush.

Gorbachev's stint at Colgate is part of a tour that includes a ceremony in his honor as recipient of the King David Award from the Jerusalem fund, a series of discussions in Washington, D.C. with environmental groups and talks in Louisiana, as well as interviews and a conference.

Without the use of notes, Gorbachev, a 42-year veteran of politics, proceeded to thank the audience for attending the lecture. He began his remarks by joking, "I must say that, to some extent, I can say I'm sick and tired of the big cities and the capitals, the urban centers," referring to Hamilton's remote, pastoral setting.

Gorbachev's address touched upon many issues, including the future of Russia, his own leadership as compared to that of current President Boris Yeltsin, and relations between the United States and Russia.

Gorbachev began the body of his speech by expressing his concern for the mutual attitudes between citizens of his own country and ours. "I am concerned and somewhat worried about the fact that many of the hopes that we had for a better world have not yet been realized," he said. "In our country, Americans were considered the enemies ... And, of course, in this country, quite recently, at the peak of the Cold War, the Soviet Union was regarded as the evil empire, and that's even worse than being just an enemy."

Gorbachev expounded upon his own foreign and domestic policies, saying that he emphasized the need for the Soviet Union and the United States to work together. Unfortunately, he said later in the speech, this vision has not yet been fulfilled. He insisted that there is still a long way to go as far as U.S.-Russian relations are concerned and explained that there are still a lot of stereotypes surrounding the two most influential countries involved in the Cold War. He then encouraged the crowd not to keep quiet about political issues. "You should no longer rely on politicians alone. Politics can be volatile; politics can go here and there. But, the most important thing is that we still have these two great nations - the United States and Russia - so let us work on that basis, that this is all important."

Launching into a description of the life and situation in Russia today, Gorbachev said that "life is hard and the situation is very confusing.

"In a country like Russia, change can be abrupt. I think that common sense proves that you cannot change things overnight in a country like ours. When I started reforms, I assumed that we should give a chance to the people to realize their full potential ... We had a very difficult situation, a very difficult society, but a society that had great potential for the future," he said of the Soviet regime's attempt to enable people to "understand what they should do in order to become masters of their lives."

During much of his speech, Gorbachev expressed nostalgia for his administration. "I wanted to reform the Soviet Union until it was a real federation, a federation that used to exist in rhetoric only ... I didn't want anything dramatic. I wanted the promises of the laws and constitutions to become real. That meant that I chose freedom."

Despite this sentimentality, Gorbachev proved that he is only human and admitted some of his own mistakes. He said that such problems were the impetus for some citizens to join in an effort to change Russian society overnight. "I'm not blaming the people. I do understand that it was the result of some of our mistakes. People followed those who proposed reckless policies," he said.

As a result of following the reckless policies of people who thought that they could work miracles, Gorbachev said that there was a 50 percent drop in production and, in terms of consumption today, the standard of living is about the same as 30 years ago.

In addition, he cited statistics concerning the mindset of the Russians, including the fact that 50 percent of the people said that they only voted for Yeltsin because they did not want Communism to return to their country. "If the policies pursued by President Yeltsin and his team since 1992 continue in the future," Gorbachev warned, "then I think we cannot expect any change for the better."

Gorbachev's expectations for Russia were unclear, due in part to the fact that he said it is necessary to wait and see what Yeltsin's administration does before making a prediction about the future. But, he did admit, "Frankly, I don't believe that policies will really change and that means that probably difficult and very traumatic times are ahead of us."

Soon after this statement, however, Gorbachev contradicted himself by explaining that he has great hopes for the fate of his country, but only with the assistance of such powerful nations as the U.S. "I believe that Russia has a chance to cope with its daunting problems and, in doing so, it should take advantage not only of its still enormous domestic potential, but also of the potential inherent in cooperating with other countries, including the United States," he said.

Cooperation takes a mutual commitment, though, and Gorbachev warned the crowd that western countries like the U.S. have had a hard time developing consistent policies toward Russia. "I believe that their policies toward our country are still rather confusing and volatile. One cannot move forward while looking all the time back to the past," Gorbachev said, thus concluding his formal address.

Once the floor was opened up to questions, topics ranged from Russia and China's Communist influences on the world and Poland's inclusion in NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) to the manners and methods of Stalin and Lenin as compared to Marx's goals and the social problems facing Russia today. Gorbachev responded to each question enthusiastically and at length. The session ended with a brief thanks from Grabois, who said, "You [Gorbachev] have made an extraordinary difference in the world and today, you have made an extraordinary difference in Hamilton, New York."

Following the end of the question-and-answer period at approximately 4:30 p.m., the Gorbachevs attended a small reception given by the University in their honor. There, they were presented with gifts and were showered with affection and praise.

The praise did not end there.

"I thought his speech was wonderfully frank and wide-ranging. It made it evident why he has been such a popular figure in the United States and further compounded our inability to understand why he is so unpopular in Russia ... This extraordinary visit will become part of Colgate lore and I want to express my appreciation to all those who worked so hard to make the visit a reality," Grabois said.

Dean of the College Michael Cappeto agreed. "I lived in a town on the West Coast where a few movie stars and professional baseball players also lived. I'd often see them, but I was never starstruck. But, when Gorbachev walked into Cotterell Court, I was starstruck. I was genuinely in awe of the man and I was surprised by that reaction. He made such an enormous impact on the world and it was an honor for me to be in the same room as him," he said.

Although Gorbachev's role in Russian history is often disputed, there is no doubt that he was influential in world politics. He joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1952 and, after making a name for himself, was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1985. In this position, he formulated famous two theories: perestroika, or government restructuring, and the political openness known as glasnost.

Gorbachev served as president of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 1985 through 1990, the year in which he became the only president of the Soviet Union and earned the Nobel Peace Prize.

On Christmas Day of 1991, Gorbachev resigned as president, following the breakdown of the Soviet Union.

Since his executive leadership role ended, he has been president of the Gorbachev Foundation, a non-profit educational foundation that addresses the challenges of the post-Cold War world, and founder of Green Cross International, an environmental organization.

According to Associate Professor of Russian Anthony Olcott, he and his wife, Martha, approached Dean of the Faculty and Provost Jane Pinchin a year ago with the idea of bringing Gorbachev to Colgate. Initially, the Olcotts tried to get Gorbachev here during his October trip, but to no avail. "I thought that was it," Anthony Olcott said. "But, I got back on the phone in January and tried again. The biggest concern was that they were unfamiliar with what a liberal arts institution is. When I talked about President Ford coming here in 1986, it made it clear that this was a place where presidents come."

As for the address itself, Olcott said, "Gorbachev seemed to have loosened up. He seemed to understand some of the miscalculations of his leadership," Olcott said. "I think he was really candid with us."

Olcott explained that the University was told that Gorbachev would be speaking about the environment, however, the topic was changed at the last minute. "I think it was a lot more memorable than it would have been if he had spoken about the environment," Olcott said, adding that Gorbachev addressed the environment the next day. That speech was featured on C-SPAN Tuesday night.

Despite the fact that Gorbachev "held the audience extremely well," Olcott said that there have been criticisms of the translation. But, Olcott explained, "[Palazchenko] is so highly regarded because he is an interpreter who knows America well enough to flush things out. For example, at one point, Gorbachev literally said, `only the grave will correct the humpback,' while [Palazchenko] translated it to mean `the leopard cannot change its spots.' In another instance, Gorbachev said, `I like Americans' and Palazchenko translated it in a roundabout way. But, I suspect that [that mistake] was just because [Palazchenko] couldn't hear [Gorbachev] well."

The address was sponsored by the offices of the University President and Dean of the Faculty and Provost, as well as the Student Government Association (SGA). The Council on Post-Soviet Studies, SGA Treasurer senior Patrick Fleming and the Olcotts also played an important role in bringing Gorbachev to Colgate.

"It was one of the most incredible moments in Colgate's history. After being in Russia for six months, hearing what Gorbachev had to say was fresh, enlightening and surprising. It seemed as if he really cared about Colgate," junior Noah Wintroub, member of Colgate's 1996 Moscow study group, said.

Sophomore Tanner Johnson, who will travel to Moscow with the Colgate study group this fall, agreed. "Having a speaker with the prestige and international significance of Gorbachev was truly an important event for the Colgate community," he said.

By Sarah Treffinger

News Editor, Colgate Maroon-News