"I grew up in a family of peasants, and it was there that I saw the way that, for example, our wheat fields suffered as a result of dust storms, water erosion and wind erosion; I saw the effect of that on life - on human life."
Mikhail Gorbachev was a Soviet and Russian statesman who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union. He is known for reforms including glasnost and perestroika and for his role in ending the Cold War era.