He Suffered Severe Illness…Now He’s DEAD

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union, has died at the age of 91 according to Russian state news agencies.

“Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev died this evening after a severe and prolonged illness,” the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow announced on Aug. 30.

Gorbachev assisted with the end of the Cold War which led to the reunification of Germany. In 1990 he won a Nobel Peace prize for his actions.

The avowed communist Gorbachev became the general secretary of the Soviet Communist in 1958. His regime was marked by several major reforms from previous leadership as well as an attempted coup. He resigned from his position on Dec. 25, 1991.

“His policy of ‘glasnost’ — free speech — allowed previously unthinkable criticism of the party and the state, but also emboldened nationalists who began to press for independence in the Baltic republics of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and elsewhere,” CNBC reported.

Gorbachev notably refrained from using force to suppress pro-democracy protests. The Soviet Union split into 15 countries after his resignation. According to Russian KHOU11 Gorbachev became immensely unpopular among Russians after his resignation.

Gorbachev said in a 1992 interview, “I see myself as a man who started the reforms that were necessary for the country and for Europe and the world.”

“I am often asked, would I have started it all again if I had to repeat it? Yes, indeed. And with more persistence and determination,” he said.

The Russian news agency TASS has reported the influential leader will be buried at the Novodevich cemetery in Moscow. He is to be buried beside his late wife, Raisa Maximovna Gorbacheva. Raisa died in September of 1999. He is survived by his daughter, Irina, and two granddaughters.

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