Eduard Shevardnadze

Eduard Shevardnadze (25 January 1928 - 7 July 2014) was a Georgian politician. He served as President of Georgia from 1995 until 2003. Prior to Georgian independence from the USSR, he served as Soviet Foreign Minister.

Quotes

 * It is time to realize that neither socialism, nor friendship, nor good-neighborliness, nor respect can be produced by bayonets, tanks or blood.
 * As quoted in North Atlantic Assembly Political Committee Report (1990), p. 7


 * Corruption has its own motivations, and one has to thoroughly study that phenomenon and eliminate the foundations that allow corruption to exist.
 * As quoted in The Many Faces of Corruption (2007) edited by J. Edgardo Campos and ‎Sanjay Pradhan, p. 267

Quotes about

 * It is obvious: the division of Europe has become politically untenable: not because of Western "revanchism" to which Mr. Shevardnadze referred: not because of our interference in their domestic affairs. No. Simply for two reasons. First, because communism has failed as much in ideological as in economic and social terms. It is not able to solve the problems of modern industrialised societies in the age of global communication. And even more important: second, because you cannot suppress freedom forever. The natural aspiration of men to live and work freely is the driving force behind the historical process of change which we are witnessing. And no dictator or system - not even by using force - will be able to stop or prevent this dynamic change in the long-term.
 * Manfred Wörner, Address given at the 35th Annual Session of the North Atlantic Assembly, 9 October 1989