TRANSCRIPT
TIMOTHY COLTON: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am Timothy Colton, a Professor of Government, and Director of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies.
I am most pleased to welcome you here today, and especially to welcome our honored guest, Mikhail Gorbachev, the former President of the Soviet Union. It is fitting that this meeting take place on an international day of remembrance of historic events. Our focus here is not World War I, which the country commemorates today. Nor is it the Russian Revolution of 1917, which also had an anniversary this month. Or even at perhaps a different level of historical gravity, the anniversary of the death of Mr. Brezhnev, the last of the old time Soviet leaders who, by coincidence, died 20 years ago yesterday. ------ It is now my privilege to introduce the President of Harvard, Larry Summers. President Summers studied at MIT and Harvard Universities. Rose like a rocket in the economics profession. And became a full Professor of Economics at Harvard at the age of 30. ---- PRESIDENT LAWRENCE H. SUMMERS: Thank you very much, Tim. And, I want to begin by thanking you, by thanking the Davis family, by thanking all of those associated with the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies not just for the remarkable opportunity that the University has today, but what has been accomplished over a very long time. ... Tolstoy once wrote that "the vocation of every man and woman is to serve other people." Mikhail Gorbachev has served his country. He has served his era. And he has served humanity. It is a great honor to welcome him to Harvard University. Mikhail Gorbachev. [Applause] ... MIKHAIL GORBACHEV (Translator): Thank you very much. Thank you all for having come here. And, thank you for your interest in me and my work, but particularly for your interest in Perestroika, your interest about the time that was mentioned here, the period that was mentioned here by President Summers, the period that has had a tremendous impact on the developments in my country, in Europe, and in the world, a period that, indeed, changed dramatically the relationship between our two nations....
And some people from Harvard who were in Russia, who were active in Russia, helped Russia in a way that wasn't really appropriate. But, we're not blaming Harvard, we're not blaming others. We are blaming ourselves, because we tried to imitate instead of developing what is good for us. So, again, we're not blaming Harvard; it was just a few people from Harvard who tried to impose a model that was too radical for Russia, that was too laissez-faire for Russia. ...