They said

 
     
  NEW YORK (AP) -- Mikhail Gorbachev says the Soviet communism he served most of his life was "pure propaganda."

The former Soviet leader told a Columbia University audience on Monday that by the time he rose to power, with Soviet satellites in space, the ruling politicians "were discussing the problem of toothpaste, the problem of detergent, and they had to create a commission of the Politburo to make sure that women have pantyhose."

March 11, 2002