Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, died at the age of 91 on Tuesday evening in Russia, Russian news agencies reported, citing the hospital where he was treated.
“Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev died this evening (Tuesday) after a long struggle with a serious illness,” the Central Clinical Hospital under the President of the Russian Federation said in a statement distributed by the Interfax, TASS and RIA Novosti agencies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences on the death of Mikhail Gorbachev.
“This morning (Wednesday) the President of Russia will send a telegram of condolences to the family and friends of Mikhail Gorbachev,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sputnik.
“President (Vladimir) Putin expresses his deepest condolences on the death of Mikhail Gorbachev,” he said.
US President Joe Biden expressed his condolences to the family and friends of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and said that Gorbachev was a man of great vision.
“Mikhail Gorbachev was a man of remarkable vision,” Biden said in a statement. “When he came to power, the Cold War lasted almost 40 years, and communism even longer with devastating consequences.”
The statement added: “Few high-ranking Soviet officials had the courage to admit that things needed to change. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I’ve seen him do this and more.”
Gorbachev, who came to power in 1985, launched a series of political and economic reforms aimed at modernizing the Soviet Union, which was going through severe crises.
Gorbachev was a supporter of rapprochement with the West and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
Gorbachev served as president of the Soviet Union between 1990 and 1991 before he was finally forced to resign on December 25, causing the bloc to collapse.
Gorbachev was the last surviving leader of the Cold War era.
Gorbachev has spent much of the past two decades on the fringes of Russian politics, occasionally urging the Kremlin and the White House to restore US-Russian relations after tensions between Washington and Moscow rose to Cold War levels. since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and then invaded Ukraine last February.
Gorbachev spent the last years of his life between hospital and home as his health deteriorated and he imposed preventive quarantine on himself during the Covid-19 pandemic.
– “Gorby” – Gorbachev was so highly valued in the West that he was affectionately called “Gorby”.
The deceased received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for negotiating with then US President Ronald Reagan on a historic nuclear arms limitation treaty, and his decision to prevent the Soviet military from intervening to prevent the fall of the Berlin Wall a year earlier was considered a key factor in keeping the peace.
Before his death, the deceased did not voice a public position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This conflict of unprecedented brutality in Europe after the end of World War II is seen in the West as a sign of the resurgence of Russian imperialism.
In recent weeks, Russian media have reported on the former leader’s recurring health problems.
Gorbachev, who was born in southwestern Russia in 1931, introduced important democratic reforms known as “perestroika” (restructuring) and glasnost (transparency) during his time in office, which brought him great popularity in the West.
But for many Russians, the deceased is ultimately responsible for the collapse of the Soviet Union, which followed the failed coup by Soviet conservatives who opposed Gorbachev’s reforms.
For Vladimir Putin, who came to the Kremlin in 2000 and considered the collapse of the Soviet Union “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe” of the 20th century, the solution to this problem is the return of Russian power to the international arena.
In turn, UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed “deep sorrow” in connection with the death of Gorbachev, noting that the deceased was “a unique statesman who changed the course of history”, and with his departure “the world has lost a great world leader dedicated to his cause to pluralism and tirelessly campaigned for peace.”
In Europe, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her condolences over Gorbachev’s departure, saying he was “a credible leader who paved the way for a free Europe.”
“He played a decisive role in ending the Cold War and bringing down the Iron Curtain. He paved the way for a free Europe. This is a legacy we will never forget. Rest in peace Mikhail Gorbachev,” von der Leyen wrote on Twitter.
In London, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted deploring Gorbachev’s departure, noting “the courage and integrity he showed to end the Cold War.”
Johnson said that while Russian President Vladimir “Putin continues his aggression against Ukraine, his (Gorbachev’s) relentless commitment to the openness of Soviet society remains an example for all of us.”
In turn, French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that the deceased “was a man of peace whose choice paved the way for freedom for Russians. His commitment to peace in Europe has changed our shared history.”
