Mikhail Gorbachev talks about Vladimir Putin at the LBJ Library (2011)

On October 18, 2011, Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union, Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and the man credited with ending the cold war, spoke with Library Director Mark Updegrove in the LBJ Auditorium. Prior to the program, Gorbachev had stated he believed Vladimir Putin should step down as President of Russia. Updegrove asked Gorbachev why he had that opinion. In response, Gorbachev said authoritarian measures as a policy for the future are wrong and “…You see that where you have leaders that rule for 20 years or more you see what happens around them. The only thing that is important in such situations for those leaders and people around them is holding onto power. I believe that this is something that is happening now in our country.”