Gorbachev Arrives in Santa Barbara for U.S. Tour

Former Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev arrived in California just before sunset Saturday, embarking on his first tour of the United States since he left power in December.

As a crowd of about 650 cheered and snapped pictures, the world’s best-known former Communist stepped from a green and gold Boeing 727 jet called the Capitalist Tool, a plane provided for his two-week visit by Forbes Inc.

Gorbachev, accompanied by his wife, Raisa, and their daughter, Irina, waved and lifted his hands in a clenched grasp as he disembarked onto a blue carpet at Santa Barbara Municipal Airport. He wore a blue suit and looked tan, fit and cheerful.

He was embraced heartily by former President Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, who are scheduled to host the Gorbachevs at their mountain ranch outside Santa Barbara today.

After a brief pause for a photo opportunity, the Gorbachevs were whisked away in a blue limousine that was followed closely by a carload of Secret Service agents.

The May 2-15 visit is Gorbachev’s first to the United States since he resigned as president Dec. 25. The ex-Soviet leader was last in California in 1990, when he was received by enthusiastic Bay Area crowds and delivered a speech at Stanford University.

During his fund-raising and goodwill tour, Gorbachev will visit five universities, dine with President Bush at the White House, address a joint session of Congress and talk with ex-President Jimmy Carter.

Gorbachev also will visit such citadels of capitalism as the New York Stock Exchange, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Pepsico.

On Monday, Gorbachev will tour the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, where a jury last week returned not-guilty verdicts against four Los Angeles police officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney G. King. Organizers said there were no changes in Gorbachev’s schedule due to the violence in the Southland over the last few days.

Gorbachev also will be given the first Ronald Reagan Freedom Award and mingle with a crowd of blue-chip Republicans at a $5,000-a-plate luncheon.

Gorbachev’s flight arrived in Santa Barbara almost 90 minutes late. About 350 guests awaited his arrival at an invitation-only party inside a cavernous hangar. Lim Popo, a Russian rock ‘n’ roll band, provided entertainment.

“I think Gorbachev has done more than any other world leader to prevent a third world war,” said Dan Smith, dean of international studies and scholars at UC Santa Barbara, as he waited to get into the reception. “He opened a dialogue and got us all talking about issues other than when shall we fight.”

Outside, a crowd gathered behind a chain-link fence hoping to glimpse the former Soviet leader. One man held a sign that read, “Thanks Gorby” and had a peace symbol on the other side.

Gorbachev’s mission is to raise money for his Gorbachev Foundation, established to strengthen democracy in the former Soviet Union and “address the needs of the emerging world order.”