Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader who redirected the course of the 20th century, died at the age of 91.
“Gorbachev died this evening after a serious and long illness,” the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow said late on Tuesday, as reported by the Russian news agencies Interfax, TASS, and RIA Novosti.
As per the reports, the last soviet leader died after an unspecified “long and grave illness.”
Russian President Putin expresses deep condolences over the death of Mikhail Gorbachev, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying.
Gorbachev was one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. He came into power in 1985 and was recognized for opening up the USSR and for his rapprochement with the West.
Under his rule in 1991, the Soviet bloc dissolved, marked by Gorbachev’s resignation that year, which eventually ended the Cold War and years of confrontation between East and West. Soviet domination over the Eastern European nations terminated and the modern Russian state was established.
“I see myself as a man who started the reforms that were necessary for the country and for Europe and the world,” Gorbachev told the press during an interview in 1992, shortly after he left office.
“I am often asked, would I have started it all again if I had to repeat it? Yes, indeed. And with more persistence and determination,” he said.
Joe Biden calls Gorbachev a “man of remarkable vision”
US President, Joe Biden, who was a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when Gorbachev was in office, described the Soviet leader as a “man of remarkable vision”. He had the “courage” to “admit that things needed to change” after years of confrontation, added the US President.
“As leader of the USSR, he worked with President Reagan to reduce our two countries’ nuclear arsenals,” Biden said in a statement. “After decades of brutal political repression, he embraced democratic reforms. He believed in glasnost and perestroika – openness and restructuring – not as mere slogans, but as the path forward for the people of the Soviet Union after so many years of isolation and deprivation.”
Michael McFaul, a political analyst and former US ambassador in Moscow also paid tribute to Gorbachev saying, it is “hard to think of a single person who altered the course of history more in a positive direction” than Gorbachev.
“Gorbachev was an idealist who believed in the power of ideas and individuals. We should learn from his legacy.”