Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader who brought the Cold War to a peaceful end, has passed away at age of 91. 

Mikhail Gorbachev died on 30 August 2022, aged 91|© Getty images


Mr Gorbachev, who took charge in 1985, opened up the then-USSR to the world and introduced a collection of reforms.

But he was not able to stop the slow collapse of the Soviet Union, from which today's Russia surfaced.

Tributes have been paid across the globe, with UN chief Antonio Guterres saying he "changed the course of history".

"Mikhail Gorbachev was a one-of-a kind statesman," UN Secretary General Mr Guterres wrote in a Tweet. "The world has lost a global leader, devoted multilateralist, and tireless ambassador of peace."

The hospital in Moscow where he died stated that he had been suffering from a long and serious illness.

In past years his health has been in decline and he had been in and out of hospital. In June, Media outlets reported that he had been admitted after suffering from a kidney problem, though his cause of death has not been disclosed yet.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered his deepest condolences following Mr Gorbachev's death, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told news agency, according to Reuters.

US President Joe Biden called him a "rare leader" and praised Mr Gorbachev as a extraordinary politician who had the "sight to see that a different future was possible" amid the tensions of the Cold War.

EU President Ursula von der Leyen paid tribute to him as a "trusted and respected leader" who "opened the way for a free Europe".

"His regime is one we will not forget," she added.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he admired Mr Gorbachev's bravery and integrity, adding: "In a time of Putin's aggression in Ukraine, his tireless commitment to opening up Soviet society remains an example to us all."

Mr Gorbachev became general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, and President of the country, in 1985.

At the time, he was 54 - the youngish member of the ruling council known as the Politburo, and was seen as a breath of fresh air after several ageing leaders. His predecessor, Konstantin Chernenko, had died aged 73 after just over a year in office.

Few leaders have had such a profound effect on the global order, but Mr Gorbachev didn't come to power seeking to end the Soviet grip over eastern Europe. Rather, he hoped to revitalise its society.

The Soviet economy had been struggling for years to keep up with the US and his policy of Perestroika sought to introduce some realistic reforms to the state system.

Internationally he made arms control deals with the US, refused to interfere when eastern European nations rose up against their Communist rulers and ended the Soviet war in Afghanistan that had raged since December 1979.

Meanwhile, his policy of glasnost, or openness, allowed people to criticise and oppose the government in a way which had been previously unthinkable.

But it also fueled nationalist sentiments in many regions of the country which slowly undermined the stability of the country and led to its collapse.

In 1991, after an organised coup by communist hardcore failed, Mr Gorbachev agreed to dissolve the Soviet Union and resigned from position.
He is seen in the West as an 'architect of reform' who created the environment for the end of the Cold War in 1991 - an era of deep tensions between the Soviet Union and Western countries, including the US and Britain.

He was given the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 "for the leading role he played in the radical changes in East-West relations".

But in the modern Russia that emerged after 1991 he has been on the fringes of politics, focusing on educational and humanitarian projects in the country.

Mr Gorbachev made one weak attempt to return to political life in 1996, receiving merely 0.5% of the vote in presidential elections.

His Legendary personality is reflected in the tributes that followed his death.

Henry Kissinger, who served as US Secretary of State, told the BBC's Newsnight programme that Mr Gorbachev will be "remembered in history as a man who started historic transformations that were to the benefit of humanity and to the Russian people".

But a portion of Russians never forgave him for the turmoil that followed the dissolution of the USSR.

Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-appointed official in Ukraine, said Mr Gorbachev had "willingly led the (Soviet) Union to its demise" and called him an abettor.

He will be buried in Moscow, next to his wife Raisa who died of leukaemia in 1999, a press agency reported.