Mikhail Gorbachev, the last general secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and the only president of the USSR, died at the age of 92.
“Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev died this evening after a severe and prolonged illness,” the Central Clinical Hospital said.
TASS, citing a source, writes that he will be buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, in a family funeral next to his wife.
Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov, said that Vladimir Putin expressed his deep condolences for Gorbachev’s death and will send a telegram to his family and friends in the morning. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, also expressed her condolences.
“Mikhail Gorbachev was an authoritative and respected leader. It played a decisive role in ending the Cold War and bringing down the Iron Curtain. The EC president paved the way for a free Europe,” he said.
socialbites.ca collected five vivid statements of the politician:
About the conflict with the West:
“Now they are again talking about a conflict between East and West, the Cold War, an arms race. And he will have to start all over again. I believe that Russia is for dialogue. And I know that many in the West also believe that the current situation cannot be extended for a few years or more. Political will will be required to maintain normal interaction, but there is no other way but dialogue,” Gorbachev said in an interview with RIA Novosti on January 11, 2021.
On the collapse of the Soviet Union:
“What the world would look like if unity was preserved, history does not know the subjective mood. But I think the world would be a better place. It would be more stable, safer, fairer,” he says in an interview with British newspaper The Times in 2020.
On the future of Russia:
Regarding the 30th anniversary of the August 1991 coup, Gorbachev said on August 18, 2021, “I believe that the democratic path of development of Russia is the only right path, only on this path our country can develop and solve any problem.” .
About nuclear weapons:
“Supporters of nuclear deterrence claim that it is the guarantor of peace and security, I answer: nuclear weapons saved the world – this is a dangerous myth in a dangerous world,” Gorbachev said in an interview with TASS.
About myself:
“I don’t feel alone or forgotten. Alone in only one way – no Raisa [Горбачевой]”, the politician shared in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda in 2019.
long-term illness
In mid-June, TASS, citing a source close to the politician, reported that the former head of the USSR was under constant medical supervision.
Telegram channel Mash claimed that Gorbachev’s condition had “deteriorated periodically, the former secretary general was recently taken to a Moscow hospital for kidney dialysis, his blood cleared from time to time”.
“He was taken to the hospital [в 2020 году]initially [пандемии] covid was the requirement of the doctors of the Central Clinical Hospital. As a former president, there is an opportunity to do that. And the doctors we spoke to said he was 88 years old. [лет]- that it’s better for him to be on the regimen [медицинского наблюдения]under protection,” said the TASS interlocutor.
At the same time, he argued that the former Secretary-General’s condition had not worsened.
Gorbachev suffered from kidney disease. This information was confirmed by the Gorbachev Foundation at the beginning of the summer, specifically reporting that the politician has been on hemodialysis for the past few years.
“Generally [дела у него] More or less. Of course, some age-related diseases torment. Unfortunately, diseases never go away,” the foundation’s spokesman, Vladimir Polyakov, said in June.
Life path and career
Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931 in the village of Privolnoye in a peasant family. His father was a machine operator at a machine and tractor station, and his mother worked on a collective farm all her life. Gorbachev worked as an assistant combine operator at the age of 15. For his hard work in grain harvesting, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, in 1949, this award allowed him to enter Moscow State University without examinations a year later. He graduated from the Gorbachev Law School in 1955.
In 1971 he became a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU, and in 1978 Gorbachev was elected Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, in charge of agriculture.
Gorbachev assumed the highest state post in 1985 and almost immediately declared a new political path, after which he headed the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, proposing the establishment of the post of president and the repeal of the constitution’s article on the role of the Communist as a leader. Party. At that time, the Russian words “perestroika” and “glasnost” entered many languages of the world.
In 1990, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “in recognition of his leading role in the peace process that characterizes an important part of the life of the international community”.
Gorbachev resigned as president of the USSR on December 25, 1991. The next day the Soviet Union ceased to exist. In the workbook kept in the “Gorbachev Foundation” there is still no record of Gorbachev resigning from the post of head of state.
After leaving the presidency of the USSR, Gorbachev was engaged in social and literary activities. He has published dozens of books in ten languages since 1992 and has also appeared in the filming of Wim Wenders’ Sky Over Berlin 2 starring him.