Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union before its dissolution, has died in Moscow at the age of 91, according to official statements.
Gorbachev, whose tumultuous rule was associated with the terms perestroika and glasnost (reform and openness) died after a long illness, Russian state news agencies reported.
“Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev died this evening after a severe and prolonged illness,” the Central Clinical Hospital said, according to RIA / Novosti Tuesday.
He survived an attempted Coup by Senior Soviet Military Officers which eventually led to the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of Former Russian President, Boris Yeltsin.
He is widely remembered as the man who withdrew the Iron Curtain across Europe.
