"I told him I did not understand why he had canceled state elections. There is no glasnost," he said, referring to the Soviet push toward a more open society in the 1980s. "No elections here like there used to be in '89 and '90."
"Vladimir Putin is walking on a razor's edge," he said. "Putin has used and he will continue to use authoritarian measures, but Russia will form a democracy. I know Vladimir Putin. He is a moral person."
Gorbachev said he was ultimately a Putin supporter and was impressed by the president's need to create stability out of chaos.
Although he has assumed the role of senior statesman and remains active in Russian politics, Gorbachev said he was "75 years. Enough is enough."
He has not given up the dream of Russian democracy and hopes to see his two granddaughters live in freedom.
"I want my grandchildren to live in a democratic country -- in a peaceful world," he said. "But it's hard to imagine because there are so many answers we still need to find."
