Former Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev Dies August 30, 2022
Mikhail Gorbachev, remembered for ending the Cold War, died on August 30, 2022. He was 91.
Gorbachev was the last president of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 to 1991. He initiated a policy of ‘glasnost,’ or free speech, which spurred activists to publicly campaign for independence. Gorbachev said, “I began these reforms and my guiding stars were freedom and democracy, without bloodshed. So the people would cease to be a herd led by a shepherd. They would become citizens.”
During his term he negotiated with Western leaders, without violence, to bring down the Berlin Wall in Germany and slow the arms race. The wall came down in 1989, and by 1991 the Soviet Union had collapsed.
In his farewell address, which aired on December 25, 1991, Gorbachev said, “I understood that initiating reforms on such a large scale in a society like ours was a most difficult and risky undertaking. But even now, I am convinced that the democratic reforms started in the spring of 1985 were historically justified.”
Gorbachev’s policies brought freedom to many, and he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. He was popular in the West, participating in the political lecture circuit.
However, the Russian economy suffered following his reforms, making him less popular at home. Gorbachev failed in his bid to become president of Russia in 1996, receiving less than 1% of the vote.
Mikhail Gorbachev died in a Moscow hospital after a long illness. He is survived by his daughter, Irina.
Learn more about him in his own words.
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SOURCES
Bloomberg News. “Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet Leader Who Ended Cold War, Dies at 91.” Bloomberg, August 30, 2022, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-30/mikhail-gorbachev-soviet-leader-who-ended-cold-war-dies-at-91.
Cullinane, Susannah and Smith-Spark, Laura. “Mikhail Gorbachev, former Soviet president who took down the Iron Curtain, dies.” CNN, August 30, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/30/europe/mikhail-gorbachev-dies-intl/index.html.
Reuters. “Mikhail Gorbachev, who ended the Cold War, dies aged 91 -agencies.” Reuters, August 30, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/mikhail-gorbachev-who-ended-cold-war-dies-aged-92-agencies-2022-08-30/.
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