Hojatoleslam Taskhiri:

Before Imam, Islamic unity was mostly a theoretical discussion

At the time which the Islamic world was looking for unity among its children, they didn’t have the necessary instruments, but Imam Khomeini by founding the great government of the Islamic republic, paved the path for other Muslims.”

Hamid Reza Asefi:

The message to Gorbachev was a sign of Imam’s power

This letter has different dimensions which we could speak about it; philosophical, religious and cultural dimensions which are all notable, but about the political dimension of the message; we should consider that in the situation which the message was sent no one could have thought or predicted about the collapse of the Soviet Union, but Imam had done it, and this shows that if any one wants to view the situation with out considering the developments of time he has too have a inspirational point of view.

How did the Soviet Union end?

The collapse of the Soviet Union made the bipolar world disappear, a world which through the last decades had decided about the political destiny of countries. This situation eased the reliance on culture to determine different layers of foreign policies in a government-nation level by the international players. On the other hand, it confirmed that along with the cultural role of politicians, we shouldn't forget that not seeing the effects of religious features, believes and traditions of nations on structuring a culture would cause disasters.

Gorbachev’s response to Imam Khomeini:

''Your message has deep concerns about the fate of mankind''

On January 4th 1989 Imam Khomeini’s message was delivered to Gorbachev by his selected delegations who were Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, Mohammad Javad Larijani and Mrs. Marzieh Hadidehchi Dabbaq. Eight weeks later Gorbachev delivered his response to Imam Khomeini by the then Soviet foreign minister, Edward Shevardnadze in Tehran. Gorbachev saw a great value to Imam’s message in his response, but it was clear that he had not understood the spiritual dimensions of Imam’s message. Because he had first tried to describe his activities for promoting political freedom in the Soviet Union and then he had described the achievements of a communist economic from 1917 till now. In the meeting between Eduard Shevardnadze, those days Soviet foreign minister, and Imam Khomeini, Ali Akbar Velayati, those days Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Larijani, deputy of the foreign minister and a member of the delegation, and Alireza Nobari, then the Iranian ambassador to the Soviet Union were also present.

Iran-Russia relations

From Imam Khomeini’s letter to the collapse of the Soviet Union

When Mikhail Gorbachev, Head of state of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, received Imam Khomeini’s letter from the Imam’s chosen delegation party, he turned to them and said: “Although the people of the Soviet Union and Iran are followers of different schools of thought, this does not prevent us from cooperating with each other based on our common principles and traditions.” On January the 4th 1989, when Eduard Shevardnadze, the Soviet foreign minister, traveled to Iran after his visit to Iraq and delivered Gorbachev’s official response to Imam Khomeini, he was also instructed to talk about bilateral relations.

Gorbachev and Imam Khomeini

Gorbachev: “I’m sorry! I should have listened to Imam’s message”

In 1999, on the anniversary of the death of Imam Khomeini’s demise, in an interview with the IRIB News Agency in Moscow, Gorbachev regretted ignoring the Imam’s warnings three years before the collapse of the Soviet Union and said: “I think Imam Khomeini’s message addressed all the ages throughout history.” He also added: “When I received this message, I felt the person who wrote it was thoughtful and cared about the situation of the world. By studying the letter, I realized that he was someone who was worried about the world and wanted me to understand more about the Islamic revolution.”

Imam and Governance

A Gathering Discussing Imam Khomeini’s Jurisprudential School of Thought

The Imam’s opinion and views on governance and the difference between a fagih’s ruling and a governmental ruling are of great importance in jurisprudential governance. The Imam’s jurisprudential school of thought discusses the matter of governance, politics and power at length. Hujjat al-Islam Sa’eed Ziya’ei Fard, who is a howza intellectual and researcher, talked about the Imam’s jurisprudential school of thought at the gathering discussing Imam Khomeini’s jurisprudential school of thought.

Imam’s letter to Gorbachev

Imam’s prediction of the fall of Communism

On January the 1st 1989, Imam Khomeini sent a letter to Gorbachev, who is the ex-leader of the Soviet Union, and predicted the fall of communism. On the 26th of December 1991, three years after this letter was written, the world witnessed the fall of communism.