According to Wikiquote Mikhail Gorbachev said this:
I believe in the cosmos. All of us are linked to the cosmos. Look at the sun. If there is no sun, then we cannot exist. So nature is my god. To me, nature is sacred. Trees are my temples and forests are my cathedrals.
This is from: “Nature Is My God” – interview with Fred Matser in Resurgence No. 184 (September-October 1997)
But we must not be surprised and stay cautious before praising him for saying these words.
Because as a skilled member of Commmunist Party of Soviet Union, the single party allowed there most of USSR existence, Gorbachev have to get a big experience on saying not what he thinks, otherwise he would not become member of CPSU, and even its Secretary General, “top boss”.
So, even if Gorbachev said this, it does not mean he believed in this.
Tbilisi 1989. Baku 1990. Vilnius 1991. There are other moments of USSR collapse process when Gorbachev approved usage of brutal force against peaceful demonstrations or at least did not explicitly forbid it, what was enough to happen.
So either these words from quote have been said as part of empty PR trick, or he has quite twisted understanding of how Nature exists and “works”. The latter is quite possible, as for dictators it is common to see world as something as endless struggle, non-stop brutal violence and permanent fight for survival and nothing else.
Either you, either them. “Zero-sum game”. And all that bloody crap. Yes, that “You should strike first” (Бить надо первым) by said by putin, also from this direction of thought.
It is impossible to completely deny such component of nature, but making it so prominent of your worldview it ends up with multiple bloodbaths over and over – this eliminate the spirit and meaning of that quote being discussed.
Yes, Gorbachev said that trees are his temple. But to which god(s) Gorbachev prayed there? To some bloodthirsty one(s), for sure.
