Mikhail Gorbachev, a former Soviet leader, passed away at age 91.
Mikhail Gorbachev, a former Soviet leader who was instrumental in bringing an end to the Cold War, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 91.
Without providing any other details, Russian media reported his passing and quoted the hospital that was attending to him as stating he passed away due to a "severe and protracted disease."
In the late 1980s, Gorbachev's signature glasnost and perestroika initiatives helped the Soviet Union confront its past, liberalise society, open up its economy, and engage with Western leaders on arms control.
Along with addressing Chernobyl, he coordinated the USSR's withdrawal of soldiers from an approximately ten-year combat effort in Afghanistan.
Given the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990, he was seen as a visionary by many people abroad, including President Ronald Reagan.
His legacy is more problematic at home, where many people believed he was responsible for the fall of the Soviet Union.
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