"For myself I found one thing to be true: having once begun a dialogue with Jefferson, one continues the conversation with him forever."
–Mikhail Gorbachev, April 13, 1993
Mikhail Gorbachev gives the keynote speech at the 250th commemoration of Thomas Jefferson's birth on April 13, 1993
Gorbachev sits on Monticello's West Portico alongside Lee Stuart Cochran and Daniel P. Jordan
Gorbachev departs Monticello
Today we mark the passing of former Secretary General of the Communist Party and President of the U.S.S.R., Mikhail Gorbachev. Through his policies of "perestroika" (restructuring) and "glasnost" (openness), Gorbachev initiated a daring series of reforms in the Soviet Union that ultimately led to its dissolution and the independence of several former Soviet republics and bloc countries, including Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Ukraine.
On April 13, 1993, Gorbachev was a featured speaker at Monticello's annual Founders Day Celebration and Commemoration of the 250th anniversary of Jefferson's birth.
We offer our sincerest condolences to Mr. Gorbachev's family, friends, and all who mourn his loss.
