But I also knew that communism is not yet finished, that there are far too many communists still about–some in high places-and they will stop at nothing to ensure the continuation of the only system they know. On my last visit to Moscow, at the end of May, I did my usual visits and went to see Marshal Yazov at the Ministry of Defense. General Moiseyev was with him, and I said to the two of them, “There are suggestions from some of the hard-line communists that one day the military and KGB will take over. I’m tackling you about it because it seems to me that you have already seen that this is a day when tanks and soldiers can’t beat the people.” Both of them said, “Oh no, that’s not our way at all.” Of course one doesn’t expect a frank answer. But they knew. They had only to listen and to look back to see what would happen. But that belief in force runs very deep in communist hard-liners.
I knew Mr. Gorbachev would never resign, never give in. And I knew Mrs. Gorbachev would be with him all the way. Mr. Gorbachev is a man of vision. A man of determination. A man who understands that if you’re going to do great things, you mustn’t be afraid to make a few enemies along the way. And he has the resolve to see his reforms through. He also has a great deal of political skill. We’ve seen him handle the Supreme Soviet, we’ve seen him handle the television cameras. We’ve seen him handle every political crisis superbly. He brought his people democracy, freedom of speech, greater freedom of movement. He let Eastern Europe go. He dissolved the Warsaw Pact. He changed the world, and for one moment on Monday morning we feared there were people who were going to reverse that.
The worst thing, when these occasions occur, is the realization that some of those whom you have most trusted were most prominent in your betrayal. And you look back to see if you weren’t too trusting. Because you see, when you’re so busy getting things done, you’re not constantly making an assessment of those around you. You have chosen them as part of a team, and you tend to assume they are dedicated to the things you are. But you forget about polities, which is something different. I’m not a very skilled politician. I wanted things done and I concentrated on getting things done because I believed in them. Mr. Gorbachev wanted things done because he knew that communism was crumbling, and he wanted to go in a certain way. President Gorbachev has many, many, loyal friends. I spoke to President Reagan on Monday to say, “There’s President Gorbachev and Mrs. Gorbachev sitting there, wondering what on earth their friends are doing on their behalf. I’m going to get on to the Russian Embassy to see if you and I, who are no longer in power, can speak to him, as a friend, just so he knows that someone in addition to the governments is working on his behalf” Mr. Reagan agreed at once and asked me to make the call. I never did get through. But I wanted to get in touch, so the old friendship could prove itself again.
I believe those hard-liners knew Mr. Gorbachev was on the verge of a breakthrough with the new treaty. The first dispersal of power to the republics would have gone through and, once dispersed, couldn’t be taken back. They moved because they could not endure change. But the reforms will now be stronger than they were a week ago, and they’ll move ahead faster.
This is the time when we must not falter, as we didn’t falter over the coup. Mr. Yeltsin and Mr. Gorbachev must stand together. The worst thing for reform is if the reformers fragment, because it gives the hard-liners much more power. I would say to Mr. Gorbachev, your resolve and will and nerve held, and when the hour of trial came, so did Mr. Yeltsin’s. And now you owe one another a debt of gratitude. The things you all believe in are far greater than some of the smaller differences that may divide you. And I would say to the rest of the world, you must deal with Mr. Yeltsin and Mr. Gorbachev together. Neither one can come first. The reforms would not have happened but for Mr. Gorbachev. But the coup would not have been defeated without Mr. Yeltsin, and the reforms cannot be completed without him. The power of the Russian president will be colossal, because he will be taking the lion’s share of powers from the center, along with the other republics. When you have a purpose, you need unity and will to press it through.
I had been given to understand that Yeltsin was more a demagogue than a real politician. So I was very pleased to meet him when he came to London in April 1990. I told him, “Look, I never talk to people on a false basis. You know I’m a fan of Mr. Gorbachev, I admire enormously what he’s done and the way in which he’s brought about the reforms. That doesn’t stop me from being friends of others as well. But I want you to know that.” And he said, “Yes, I’m for Mr. Gorbachev. I’m for the reforms, too.”
He went on quietly in a most impressive way. His complaint was that reform was not going fast enough. He had three points. The first was that there had been no dispersal of powers from the center to the republics. His second point was that not enough was being done to get a proper market economy and that the old economic structures were still there. And his third point was that he wished they had gone for economic reforms first, because then they would have some results to show. He felt it would have been easier to work on political reforms afterward. He said he was going to stand for the presidency of the Russian Republic and see that these things were done. And I went away and told President Bush and my friends in the United States, “Don’t write off Mr. Yeltsin. He’s got a clear strategy and the will to carry it out.”
I’ve known Mr. Gorbachev since December 1984. From the beginning, we could talk very easily. Normally when you meet Communist ministers, they seem to be the prisoner of their background. They come in and give you a volley of statistics: we’ve produced so much of this, so much of that. But there weren’t any limits to what Mr. Gorbachev was prepared to talk about. There weren’t any standard answers. We talked freely about agriculture, foreign affairs, SDI, Anglo-American relations, philosophies. I’d never come across a communist prepared to discuss these things openly. And whatever we discussed, he knew something about. He didn’t need a pile of papers. He took the points I was talking about, but he also said, “You know, the West talks to us and lectures us. It’s good to be treated on grounds of mutual respect, that we have a right to our defense, we have a right to our way of polities.”
What I felt when the coup collapsed was deeper than “We’ve won.” It was that the forces of dictatorship and communism have been defeated, not only for now, but for a very long time to come. The clawing down of the Berlin wall was a sign of communism’s eclipse, but it wasn’t the end. The crumbling of the coup was the victory of the people, and the victory of liberty over darkness.
There will always be hard-liners; you have to watch them. I’ve been watching communists and socialists all my political life. They won’t give up. They will quietly sit there, waiting for opportunities. They’ll have front organizations. They’ll have soft phrases like “Let’s have an industrial policy,” which will mean there should be more dependence on a strong center. And that will suit some people.
It has been a remarkable century. It saw the rise of communism in a coup by Lenin; it saw the downfall of communism when the treacherous coup against Mr. Gorbachev failed. It also saw the rise of fascism and its defeat. We have to see the spread of democracy and Western-style economies worldwide. The lesson of this century is that countries put together artificially will fall apart. National identities will not be suppressed. I do know from talking to Mr. Gorbachev that he wanted, above all, to keep the perimeter of the Soviet Union. He wanted the same area. I told him immediately, “But Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Moldavia don’t belong to the Soviet Union. " He never came round to my way of thinking. We, the West, have to go on standing up for the republics. They should be free, and they will be free.
Had I said in 1979, “Elect me! In 10 years the Berlin wall will be down, the Warsaw Pact will have collapsed, you will have a friendly person in the Soviet Union, communism will be crumbling worldwide. Vote for me and Mr. Reagan and all that will come about!”–they would’ve said, “You’re crazy.” But it came out just that way. So this is no time to be piffling and small-minded,to find reasons why we can’t help. It’s a time for big minds and bold policies.
