Last Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev dies aged 91
Gorbachev was USSR’s president at the time of its fall, also credited for ending the cold war. His life was filled with ups and downs and with as many critics as admirers.
Having lived a long and eventful life, curtains finally drew on Mikhail Gorbhachev’s life at the age of 91 years as reported by Russian officials. As per reports, he perished at Russia’s Central Clinical Hospital after being treated for a serious and prolonged illness.
Soon after his death other than the current Russian President Vladimir Putin who expressed his deepest condolences, leaders from across the world including Joe Biden, Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron started pouring in sympathetic messages.
While some thought of Gorbachev as a weak leader much opposite to the Soviet ideology, others found him as a very generous man. The warm-hearted man who held the supreme position from 1985 to 1991 is credited for ending the cold war and opening a new freeway to Europe. He was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 but soon after that his Soviet Union collapsed.
Gorbhachev’s life was filled with ups and downs and with as many critics as admirers.
During his tenure as the president, he helped in easing the relations between US and USSR through arms reduction deals much to the delight of westerners. His iconic presence and his role in the reunification of Germany are arguably one of the most significant moments in modern-day history post World War II.
However, his reforms of pleasing the west and internal rifts amongst the think tank of the Soviet Union due to his soft tactics brought about the downfall of the USSR while also losing the crown of being a superpower and handing it over exclusively to the USA.
The current Russian supremo Vladimir Putin, in the past has called the falling of the USSR as the greatest geopolitical catastrophe, but the west regard him as the liberator of millions of people who ended the cold war without any bloodshed.
The fall of the USSR was a shock for many and with it came years of poverty and Russia’s falling stature at a global level. After its collapse Gorbachev was sidelined from mainstream politics and even though he ran for president in 1996, he could only obtain 0.5 percent of the votes depicting the anger of everyday Russians towards him. The later part of his life was mainly devoted to educational and humanitarian projects, never the less he did express his displeasure on Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine.
