In Pics | The era of Mikhail Gorbachev, a Soviet reformist who put an end to Cold War
Mikhail Gorbachev's political career started declining before the Soviet Union fell apart partly because the low oil prices were worsened by the already weak centrally planned economy that affected the population of the country
The leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, has passed away at the age of 91. He attempted to turn around the political and economic system of his country. This led to the collapse of the communist superpower, and finally ended the Cold War. The Interfax and state-run Tass news services cited the Moscow hospital where Gorbachev passed away. The Central Clinical Hospital said his death followed “a severe and prolonged illness", according to Tass. (Bloomberg)
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After becoming the leader of the Communist Party Leader in 1985 at the age of 54, he brought about a series of reforms called perestroika along with his policy of openness or glasnost which threw open a political avalanche that brought down the Berlin Wall, finally ending the Soviet Union in 1991.
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Gorbachev's career thus fell apart and he became a bystander in the ongoing political and economic revolution of Russia. On 25 December 1991, a day when the Soviet Union and his presidency were officially dissolved, he delivered the farewell address on national television. During this, he said he had no regrets.
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“I understood that initiating reforms on such a large scale in a society like ours was a most difficult and risky undertaking,” he said. “But even now, I am convinced that the democratic reforms started in the spring of 1985 were historically justified.” (Bloomberg).
Gorbachev's career started declining before the Soviet Union fell apart partly because the low oil prices were worsened by the already weak centrally planned economy that affected the population of the country. The years that followed were particularly difficult, shrinking Russia by almost 40 percent economically between the years 1990 and 1997, almost on par with the US Depression of the 1930s.
