Gorbachev in Laramie

The University of Wyoming has an impressive schedule of speakers and cultural events and on October 14^th, former head of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev came to town. He was clearly a popular speaker – a long line formed outside the Arena-Auditorium and although it was slightly chaotic when they opened several doors at once, we got in without much difficulty. When Gorbachev came into the auditorium, he cheerfully waved at everyone and began his speech, through an interpreter, and although there were sound issues at first, they were quickly remedied after the crowd started shouting(!)

It was an interesting speech and Gorbachev is quite as a funny speaker – his anecdotes made the audience laugh and some of his comments prompted big rounds of applause, including his saying that books influenced him more than any person. I admit to not knowing a great deal about him, but now am interested to learn more. He said that you can criticize Communism, but that you should not hate the people – that they’re not so different from everyone else. He remarked that he would be occupying Wall Street right now if he could and reflected upon the challenges facing the world, describing the eradication of poverty as a top priority. As I exited the arena, his convoy was leaving at the same time, so I got another look at the ever-waving Gorbachev.

Gorbachev and interpreter
with Senator Alan Simpson

Following the talk, there was a special dinner for guests of the Governor and university president, including state legislators, other VIPs and various student organization leaders. The Governor’s guests just had to dress smartly for the dinner, but the dress code for the president’s guests was ‘cowboy chic’ – perhaps to give Gorbachev an ‘authentic’ taste of Wyoming…? A friend of mine (who is from Wyoming) had to borrow some cowboy boots and a bolo tie to achieve this look. I can’t help but wonder what the former leader of the Soviet Union must have made of this small Western town.