The Man who Ended Cold War Mikhail Gorbachev Dies at 91

Details sourced by this publication revealed that From 1985 until the Soviet Union's demise in 1991, Gorbachev served as its leader.

The conclusion of the Cold War and years of East-West conflict, as symbolized by Gorbachev's departure that year, resulted in the liberation of Eastern European countries from Soviet rule and the creation of the modern Russian state.

Gorbachev's Death comes barely Six months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, further escalating tensions between Moscow and the West.

“It’s hard to think of a single person who altered the course of history more in a positive direction” than Gorbachev, Michael McFaul, a political analyst and former US ambassador in Moscow, wrote on Twitter. “Gorbachev was an idealist who believed in the power of ideas and individuals. We should learn from his legacy.”

US President Joe Biden praised Gorbachev as a "guy of great vision," noting that after years of conflict, he had the "courage" to "admit that things needed to change." Biden served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when Gorbachev was in office.

                Late Mikhail Gorbachev. PHOTO FILE

“As a leader of the USSR, he worked with President Reagan to reduce our two countries’ nuclear arsenals,” Biden said in a statement. “After decades of brutal political repression, he embraced democratic reforms. He believed in glasnost and perestroika – openness and restructuring – not as mere slogans, but as the path forward for the people of the Soviet Union after so many years of isolation and deprivation.”

Despite the fact that Gorbachev received the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize for his part in bringing an end to the Cold War, many Russians blame him for the fall of the Soviet Union and the social and economic difficulties that gripped the nation in the early 1990s.

However, Gorbachev will now be laid to rest in Moscow’s Novodevichy Cemetery next to his wife Raisa, who died in 1999.