The last man to rule the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Mikhail Gorbachev, died Tuesday at the age of 91 after battling a long illness.
"This evening, after a serious and prolonged illness, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev died," the Central Clinical Hospital reported, quoted by the Russian news agency. RIA Novosti.
Gorbachev was head of state of the Soviet Union from 1988 to 1991 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
During his tenure, the end of an era for the world was marked with the dissolution of the USSR.
As head of the Soviet Union, he marked the beginning of 'Perestroika' in the country, which, as a whole, was an economic proposal, aimed at expanding the development of cooperative companies, as well as forms of private property.
Among the measures, they highlighted the normalization of the consumer market, the decentralization of the system and the fight against corruption.
In 2021, Gorbachev insisted on his defense of Perestroika, the reformist policy that opened the doors of what is now Russia.
He considered this initiative, developed alongside Glasnost, his greatest political achievement and did not hide it.
"I am completely convinced that it was necessary and that we moved in the right direction," he said in an interview with TASS, as quoted by Europe Press.
Gorbachev will be buried next to his wife
Gorbachev, who was born on March 2, 1931, will be buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery, next to his wife.
According to a dispatch from RIA NOVOSTI, the date will be determined by the family.
For his part, Kremli spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin will send his condolences to the family.
Peskov asserted that Putin deeply regrets the death of Gorbachev.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because he "ended" socialism and ushered in the early years of the 20th century when the United States felt itself to be the chosen one in a unipolar world.
Most Russians and many former Soviets do not feel any sympathy or affection for him, due to his catastrophic internal politics and above all his contribution to the fall and disintegration of the USSR for the benefit of the US and its allies.