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Probably best that he not hang around for the next chapter in the Russian story.
Thomson Reuters ยท Posted: Aug 30, 2022 4:43 PM ET | Last Updated: 14 minutes ago
Mikhail Gorbachev, who ended the Cold War without bloodshed but failed to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union, has died at the age of 91, Russian news agencies cited hospital officials as saying on Tuesday.
Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, forged arms reduction deals with the United States and partnerships with Western powers to remove the Iron Curtain that had divided Europe since the Second World War and bring about the reunification of Germany.
"Mikhail Gorbachev passed away tonight after a serious and protracted disease," Interfax news agency cited Russia's Central Clinical Hospital as saying in a statement.
The Russian Embassy in Canada confirmed his death to CBC News in an email statement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed "his deepest condolences" on Gorbachev's death, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Interfax.
"Tomorrow he will send a telegram of condolences to his family and friends," he said.
Putin in 2005 called the collapse of the Soviet Union the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe" of the 20th century and in 2018 said he would reverse it if he could.
After decades of Cold War tension and confrontation, Gorbachev brought the Soviet Union closer to the West than at any point since the Second World War.
But he saw that work marred in the final months of his life, as Putin's invasion of Ukraine brought Western sanctions crashing down on Moscow, as politicians in both Russia and the West began to speak openly of a new Cold War.
"Gorbachev died in a symbolic way when his life's work, freedom, was effectively destroyed by Putin," said Andrei Kolesnikov, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Gorbachev won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
He will be buried in Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery next to his wife, Raisa, who died in 1999, said Tass news agency, citing the foundation that the former Soviet leader set up once he left office.
Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet leader who ended the Cold War, dead at 91
Forged partnerships with West to remove Iron Curtain but failed to prevent collapse of Soviet UnionThomson Reuters ยท Posted: Aug 30, 2022 4:43 PM ET | Last Updated: 14 minutes ago
Mikhail Gorbachev, who ended the Cold War without bloodshed but failed to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union, has died at the age of 91, Russian news agencies cited hospital officials as saying on Tuesday.
Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, forged arms reduction deals with the United States and partnerships with Western powers to remove the Iron Curtain that had divided Europe since the Second World War and bring about the reunification of Germany.
"Mikhail Gorbachev passed away tonight after a serious and protracted disease," Interfax news agency cited Russia's Central Clinical Hospital as saying in a statement.
The Russian Embassy in Canada confirmed his death to CBC News in an email statement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed "his deepest condolences" on Gorbachev's death, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Interfax.
"Tomorrow he will send a telegram of condolences to his family and friends," he said.
Putin in 2005 called the collapse of the Soviet Union the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe" of the 20th century and in 2018 said he would reverse it if he could.
After decades of Cold War tension and confrontation, Gorbachev brought the Soviet Union closer to the West than at any point since the Second World War.
But he saw that work marred in the final months of his life, as Putin's invasion of Ukraine brought Western sanctions crashing down on Moscow, as politicians in both Russia and the West began to speak openly of a new Cold War.
"Gorbachev died in a symbolic way when his life's work, freedom, was effectively destroyed by Putin," said Andrei Kolesnikov, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Gorbachev won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
He will be buried in Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery next to his wife, Raisa, who died in 1999, said Tass news agency, citing the foundation that the former Soviet leader set up once he left office.
