HIST 410N Week 7 Case Study 6: Mikhail
Gorbachev 1988 UN Speech
If the pace of improving US-Soviet relations seemed rapid, Mikhail Gorbachev's speech to the United
Nations General Assembly would shift the process into overdrive. In this remarkable oration, which you
can find by clicking on the link below, Gorbachev emphatically declared that all nations must have the
freedom to choose their own destiny, that ideology had no place in foreign affairs, and that great
powers should renounce the use of force in international relations. Review his speech and answer in
essay form the following questions:
Why did Gorbachev choose the United Nations as his forum for this speech?
The purpose of Mikhail Gorbachev’s speech is the reason he chose to present it at the General
Assembly at the United Nations in 1988. Gorbachev’s purpose was to relay a message to not just his
people but instead to a wide audience of leaders from around the world. It was important to change the
reputation of the Soviet Union and in my opinion, it was a very fitting place to do so or at the very least
start working on rebuilding and forming new relationships with nations surrounding the Soviet Union as
well as other nations.
From the Very beginning of the speech you can observe the intent Gorbachev wants to drive
home. In mentioning two revolutions one of the French Revolution in 1789 and one that includes his
own nation, the Russian revolution of 1917 his point is to refer to what has been acceptable and the
lasting affects of those nations going through necessary changes they as a country deemed important
and substantial enough to enforce radical changes. Next, he connects his audience to the present by
stating when it is accepted and allowed for revolutions to take place that is good but in the world in
which they lived in now constitutes new and diverse ways, in Gorbachev’s own words: “it is necessary to
seek different roads toward the future…”.
Lastly, I would also mention that Gorbachev chose the UN audience because it wasn’t enough to
talk about changing the reputation of the Soviet Union but that actions needed to be in line with the
new vision for the Soviet Union. Gorbachev was looking for support and collaboration and speaking
before this audience if he did well could do just that. When Gorbachev said: “Today we have entered an
era when progress will be based on the interest of all mankind”. Also, he ties in his speech another key
point on why others should be interested in assisting the Soviet Union and what they could possibly
receive because they assisted when he stated: “Further world progress is now possible only through the
search for a consensus of all mankind, in movement toward a new world order”.
Gorbachev 1988 UN Speech
If the pace of improving US-Soviet relations seemed rapid, Mikhail Gorbachev's speech to the United
Nations General Assembly would shift the process into overdrive. In this remarkable oration, which you
can find by clicking on the link below, Gorbachev emphatically declared that all nations must have the
freedom to choose their own destiny, that ideology had no place in foreign affairs, and that great
powers should renounce the use of force in international relations. Review his speech and answer in
essay form the following questions:
Why did Gorbachev choose the United Nations as his forum for this speech?
The purpose of Mikhail Gorbachev’s speech is the reason he chose to present it at the General
Assembly at the United Nations in 1988. Gorbachev’s purpose was to relay a message to not just his
people but instead to a wide audience of leaders from around the world. It was important to change the
reputation of the Soviet Union and in my opinion, it was a very fitting place to do so or at the very least
start working on rebuilding and forming new relationships with nations surrounding the Soviet Union as
well as other nations.
From the Very beginning of the speech you can observe the intent Gorbachev wants to drive
home. In mentioning two revolutions one of the French Revolution in 1789 and one that includes his
own nation, the Russian revolution of 1917 his point is to refer to what has been acceptable and the
lasting affects of those nations going through necessary changes they as a country deemed important
and substantial enough to enforce radical changes. Next, he connects his audience to the present by
stating when it is accepted and allowed for revolutions to take place that is good but in the world in
which they lived in now constitutes new and diverse ways, in Gorbachev’s own words: “it is necessary to
seek different roads toward the future…”.
Lastly, I would also mention that Gorbachev chose the UN audience because it wasn’t enough to
talk about changing the reputation of the Soviet Union but that actions needed to be in line with the
new vision for the Soviet Union. Gorbachev was looking for support and collaboration and speaking
before this audience if he did well could do just that. When Gorbachev said: “Today we have entered an
era when progress will be based on the interest of all mankind”. Also, he ties in his speech another key
point on why others should be interested in assisting the Soviet Union and what they could possibly
receive because they assisted when he stated: “Further world progress is now possible only through the
search for a consensus of all mankind, in movement toward a new world order”.
