Mikhail Gorbachev, Last Leader of the Soviet Union, Dies at 91

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, who ended the Cold War, passed away on Tuesday, 30 August, at the age of 91.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Frank Viacorka)

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, who ended the Cold War, passed away on Tuesday, 30 August, 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, Reuters reported, quoting the RIA Novosti news agency.

Gorbachev served as the last leader of the Soviet Union, between 1985 and 1991, and helped bring the US-Soviet relations out of the Cold War. He was also the last surviving Cold War leader.

After occupying the post of the Soviet Communist Party’s general secretary in 1985, he pushed to revitalise the system and introduced political and economic freedoms. Gorbachev also refrained from using force to control pro-democracy protests in the Soviet bloc nations in 1989.

Though in power for less than seven years, Gorbachev’s reforms, as a Soviet leader, not only led to the transformation of his country, but also ensured that Eastern Europe was able to free itself from the Soviet rule.

However, the series of changes brought by Gorbachev overtook him and resulted in the collapse of the authoritarian Soviet state itself.

Not just the Soviet state, but the leader also suffered a humiliating decline, with his power snapped by an attempted coup in August 1992. He spent his last few months in the office watching republics declare independence and resigned on 25 December 1991, a day before the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Speaking to the Associated Press, after his resignation, in 1992, Gorbachev had said, “I see myself as a man who started the reforms that were necessary for the country, and for Europe, and the world.”

“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 added.

Gorbachev had won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for his role in ending the Cold War. However, while he is lionised in the West, several Russians hold him responsible for the Soviet Union’s collapse and economic crises.

'One-Of-A-Kind Statesman': Guterres, Putin, Boris Johnson React

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his condolences and said that Gorbachev was a "one-of-a-kind statesman who changed the course of history."

"The world has lost a towering global leader, committed multilateralist, and tireless advocate for peace," Guterres wrote.

Russian president Vladimir Putin also expressed his deepest condolences on Gorbachev's death through his spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. Peskov added that a broader statement would be released soon.

Admiring Gorbachev's courage and integrity, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Gorbachev was an example to all.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also took to Twitter to pay her tribute to the leader, saying that his legacy will not be forgotten.

Adding to the list of the world leaders that reacted to Gorbachev's passing, US President Joe Biden, in a statement, called Gorbachev "a man of remarkable vision."

"These were the acts of a rare leader – one with the imagination to see that a different future was possible and the courage to risk his entire career to achieve it," Biden said.

Fred Ryan, the chairman of the board at the Reagan Foundation and Institute, in a statement, wrote about the relationship between former US president Ronald Reagan and Gorbachev.

Speaking to the BBC, former US Secretary of State and international relations expert Henry Kissinger said that "the people of Eastern Europe, and the German people, and in the end, the Russian people, owe him a great debt of gratitude for the inspiration, for the courage in coming forward with these ideas of freedom."

(With inputs from Reuters and AFP.)