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The Reagan - Gorbachev Project

Battles Won Hard, Are Too Soon Forgotten

–So Too Are How Wars Were Prevented

Thirty years ago, the World changed—seemingly in an instant. But it was really the result of years of pain-staking efforts.

Only two years after Soviet Air Defenses thought they detected a surprise attack by the United States and recommend that Soviet Premier Yuri Andropov launch a retaliatory Nuclear Strike, President Ronald Reagan met with Andropov’s successor, Mikhail Gorbachev, for the 1st time.

For nearly five years there had been no meetings between the leaders of the two Nuclear Superpowers. President Jimmy Carter’s decided not to submit the SALT II Treaty to the Senate, responded to the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan by commenting that, “Brezhnev lied to me” and boycotted the Moscow Olympics. Poland was placed under Marshall Law ahead of a possible invasion. Andropov was implicated in the attempted assassination of the Pope. Americans placed new missiles in Western Europe.

Then, secret-meetings led to the first face-to-face meeting between Reagan & Gorbachev. Annual meetings between the two leaders followed that ushered-in the end of the most dangerous war of the 20th Century: The Cold War (1945 – 1991).

Reagan & Gorbachev in Moscow

On May 29, 1988, President Ronald Reagan arrived in Moscow for a Summit that ushered-in the end of the Cold War. Six months later, the two would meet again—at the Statue of Liberty, along with Reagan’s just-elected successor, George H.W. Bush. Less than a year after the Statue of Liberty meeting, “Mr. Gorbachev” accepted Reagan’s Berlin challenge to “tear-down this Wall.” By the time Reagan & Gorbachev met again, both nations had ‘stood-down’ their missiles and a hopeful relationship begun.

“I Like Mr. Gorbachev. I can do business with him” – Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

Do Men Make History? --Or Does History Make Men? Help us answer that question.

In association with the American University in Moscow, the Reagan – Gorbachev Project will host academic exchanges and conferences to foster mutual understanding of how history’s most dangerous conflict was brought to peaceful end and what lessons can be learned for today.

American University in Moscow

American University in Moscow was founded in 1990 to educate new generations of Russian youth in the spirit of political, economic, and civil cooperation between the United States and Russia. In addition to presentations by American professors the university facilitates dialog among civil, business, and academic groups and individuals interested in improving U.S.-Russia relations.

Reagan Statue in Moscow

The Reagan – Gorbachev Summit Project, in cooperation with Burganov Museum in Moscow, will erect sculptural compositions in both countries related to the important figures and events related to the history of U.S. – Russia relations. Two such compositions of Abraham Lincoln & Tsar Alexander II and Elbe River reunion have been already installed in downtown Moscow. The statues of the Russian scientist and Nobel Peace Laureate Andrei Sakharov and great Russia poet Alexander Pushkin have been installed in Washington, DC.

A statue commemorating President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev’s meeting will be unveiled in Moscow on the 30th Anniversary of their Moscow Summit. Future statues will be erected in other cities.

Educational Exchange Programs

In addition to statues in USA and Russia, the American University in Moscow will bestow:

*Reagan – Gorbachev Scholarships

*A special grant making fund will be created to award qualified scholars to do a research with materials available in the Reagan Presidential Library and Gorbachev Foundation.