The last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, died Tuesday at the age of 91 in Russia, said a hospital quoted by Russian news agencies.
“Today evening (Tuesday), following a long serious illness, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev died,” said the Central Clinical Hospital (TSKB) according to the Russian presidency.
Coming to power in 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev launched a wave of political and economic reforms aimed at modernizing and democratizing the Soviet Union, which was facing serious crises.
Supporter of a policy of rapprochement with the West, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
Between 1990 and 1991, he served as President of the Soviet Union, before finally having to resign on December 25, 1991, which led to the end of the USSR.
