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Mikhail Gorbachev (March 2 1931 – August 30 2022)
Last leader of the Soviet Union prior to its collapse in 1991

MIKHAIL GORBACHEV, who died on Tuesday aged 91, was the last leader of the Soviet Union and as such one of the most consequential political figures of the 20th century.

Elected as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1985 with a commitment to lead the renewal of socialism, he in fact presided over its collapse both in the USSR and across eastern Europe.

At one point Gorbachev achieved the feat of being regarded with enthusiasm by the broad mass of Soviet people, the international left and the leaders of the Western powers at the same time.

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