MOSCOW. Sept 26 (Interfax) - Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev has expressed surprise at the sudden fall of Mikhail Fradkov's government.

"Somebody should have said what was happening. The only explanation was given by the president: the government faltered, lost efficiency. I do not think that is the whole story. Again, we can be left outside the loop," Gorbachev said, speaking at a roundtable event attended by members of public organizations, political parties and scientists.

"Now, I see how the government was formed, with surprises popping up. I am not happy about that," Gorbachev said.

Russia must stick to democratic ways and remember the lessons of Stalin's repressions, he said.

"We must remember the people who suffered (from repressions), because for all of us it is a lesson, but it turns out that many have yet to learn it," the former president said.

"I think all of us must follow democratic ways and respect freedom of the press," he added.

"Now we have a sovereign democracy: one, then another, a third one, and a fourth one," Gorbachev said, commenting on the development of democracy in Russia. "I think, so far only president Putin has been able to fully grasp these things. But I think he had to do a lot of thinking before he reached that understanding," Gorbachev said.