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Mikhail Gorbachev: Former Soviet leader dies at 91 ‘after a long illness’ | World News


Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has died aged 91 – with President Biden paying tribute and calling him a “remarkable visionary” who helped avert the prospect of nuclear war.

One of the most important figures of the 20th century, Mr. Gorbachev known for ending the Cold War without bloodshed, but failing to prevent the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Mr. Gorbachev’s office earlier said he was being treated at the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow.

He died after a long illness, the hospital was reported by news agencies.

Tribute to the man who believed in ‘a better world’ – live updates

President of Russia Vladimir Putin The Kremlin spokesman said he expressed his deepest condolences and said an official telegram would be sent to the family.

US President Joe Biden praised Mr. Gorbachev’s achievements in believing “in a better world” and significantly reducing the possibility of a third world war.

“As leader of the Soviet Union, he worked with President Reagan to reduce the nuclear arsenals of our two countries, to provide relief to those around the world who are praying for an end to the runaway. nuclear arms race,” Biden said in a statement statement.

“These are rare acts of a leader,” the US president added.

“One has the imagination to see that another future is possible and the courage to risk one’s entire career to achieve it. The result is a safer and freer world for millions. People.”

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, left, and US President Ronald Reagan talk during their meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, October 11, 1986. Photo: AP
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Mikhail Gorbachev with former US president Ronald Reagan at a meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland, in October 1986. Photo: AP

Mr. Gorbachev forged arms reduction agreements with the US and partnerships with Western powers to remove the Iron Curtain that has divided Europe since World War II.

It led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany. His efforts earned him the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize.

When Mr. Gorbachev became general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985, he began to revive the communist system and forge a new alliance based on a more equal partnership among the 15 republics of the Soviet Union. Shove.

But over a period of six years, both communism and the Union fell apart.

He attempted economic and political reform at the same time on an overly ambitious scale, unleashing forces over which he could not control.

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev addresses the audience after the premiere of the documentary in Russia "Meet Gorbachev" in Moscow, Russia November 8, 2018. REUTERS / Tatyana Makeyeva / File Photo
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Mikhail Gorbachev at the premiere of the documentary ‘Meet Gorbachev’ in November 2018

When pro-democracy protests swept through communist Eastern Europe in 1989, he limited the use of force – unlike his predecessors who deployed tanks to quell uprisings in Hungary in 1989. 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968.

However, the protests fueled aspirations for self-rule in the republics, and the eventual leader of the Soviet Union failed to anticipate the strength of the nationalist feeling.

‘Glasnost’ cheers on nationalists

Mr Gorbachev’s ‘glasnost’ – free speech policy allowed previously unthinkable criticism of the party and state, but also encouraged nationalists to start pushing for independence in the Baltics and then elsewhere.

His series of extraordinary reforms quickly overtook him and led to the downfall of the authoritarian state.

Read more:
A village boy whose democratic instincts and aversion to nuclear weapons changed the 20th century
How Mikhail Gorbachev became friends with UK leaders

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Mikhail Gorbachev met Margaret Thatcher in 1987

His power was taken away by a coup against him in August 1991, and he spent his final months in office overseeing the republic after the republic declared its independence until He resigned on Christmas Day of the same year.

The next day, the Soviet Union was officially dissolved.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “deeply saddened to learn of Gorbachev’s death”.

He tweeted that he “always admired the courage and integrity he showed in bringing the Cold War to a peaceful end”.

“During a period of Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, his tireless commitment to opening up Soviet society remains an example for all of us.”

Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev bows to the Congress of People's Deputies shortly after Foreign Minister Edvard Shevardnadze announced his plans to resign in Moscow, December 20, 1990. In his pre-session address, Gorbachev condemns Shevardnadze for giving up perestroika at a crucial moment.  (AP Photo / Boris Yurchenko) PIC: AP
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Photo: AP

But many Russians never forgave Mr. Gorbachev for the turmoil his reforms had caused, as they felt their subsequent drop in living standards was too high a price to pay for democracy.

He later said that he had not considered the widespread use of force to try to hold the Soviet Union together because he feared chaos in a nuclear state.

“The country is already fully armed. And it will immediately plunge the country into a civil war,” he said.

“He did not believe that the Soviet Union was really an empire of countries that did not want to be shackled,” said Jonathan Eyal, a researcher at the Royal British Service Institute.

“Like all Soviet leaders, and dare I say like today’s Russian leaders, he considered the Soviet Union synonymous with Russia and he simply could not understand why other countries want to be independent.”



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