Former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev visited the University of Wyoming in October 2011. He had been invited to give a speech titled “Global Unrest and International Leadership in the 21st Century.” More than six thousand people turned out to hear his remarks.
Gorbachev reflected on his relationship with U.S. President Ronald Regan and differing perspectives on the fall of the Berlin Wall. He discussed his concern about the billions of people living without access to clean water. And somewhat surprisingly, he expressed his support for the Occupy Wall Street protesters.
Following his speech, he answered questions from UW students. Former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson moderated the Q&A session. Simpson had first met Gorbachev in 1985. Students were curious about Gorbachev’s perspective on Afghanistan, the Arab Spring, and economic reforms in China.
See the Alan K. Simpson papers at UW’s American Heritage Center to learn more about Mikhail Gorbachev’s post-Cold War visit to Laramie.
For more information, visit the American Heritage Center site.