Former Soviet Union leader Mikahil Gorbachev has died aged 91, Russian news agencies are reporting tonight.
Mr Gorbachev was undergoing treatment at Central Clinical Hospital for what has been described as a ‘long and serious illness’.
Agencies including Tass, RIA Novosti and Interfax reported he had died.
Mr Gorbachev was hailed as one of the most influential politicians of the 20th century after ending the Cold War without bloodshed, earning him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
He is credited for bringing down the so-called ‘Iron Curtain’, which had divided Europe since World War Two, by making partnerships with Western leaders.
However, many in Russia hold him responsible for the downfall of the authoritarian Soviet Union in 1991, after he became general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party in 1985.
He hoped to revive his country’s economy and renew its political system by unveiling a series of reforms.
But he spent his final months in power helplessly watching republic after republic declare independence as eastern European nations were freed from Russia domination.
He resigned on Christmas Day, 1991 after his former allies deserted him, before the Russian government seized control the following day.
Some 25 years later in 2016, Mr Gorbachev insisted he had not considered using widespread force to keep the USSR – which once comprised of 15 different nations – together amid fears of chaos.
‘The country was loaded to the brim with weapons. And it would have immediately pushed the country into a civil war,’ he told the Associated Press.
Shortly before his departure from office, he said: ‘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 added.
Broadcaster and author John Simpson, who interviewed Mr Gorbachev, described him as ‘decent’, ‘well-intentioned’ and ‘principled’.
‘In private he was charming and surprisingly amusing. It wasn’t his fault things went so wrong’, he added.
Mr Gorbachev will be buried next to his wife at Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow, according to reports.
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