Mikhail Gorbachev, who changed the course of history by bringing about the fall of the Soviet Union and was one of the great figures of the 20th century, died on Tuesday at the age of 91 in Moscow.
The architect of perestroika died at the Moscow Central Clinical Hospital after a long and difficult illness.
(You can read: Mikhail Gorbachev: a bittersweet goodbye to the man who changed the world)
According to initial information, Gorbachev will be buried in the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow, where the remains of prominent figures in the history of this country lie, as well as the tomb of his wife, Raísa.
This is how the political world says goodbye:
Joe Biden
US President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the last leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Mikhail Gorbachev, was a man with “extraordinary vision.”
In a statement, Biden said that Gorbachev was a rare leader, with the imagination to see that a different future was possible and the courage to risk his entire career to achieve it. “The result was a safer world and more freedom for millions of people,” said the president.
Biden recalled his talk with the former Soviet president during his visit to the White House in 2009, when he was vice president, in which they discussed US and Russian efforts to reduce their nuclear stockpiles.
Vladimir Putin
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his “deep sorrow” over the death of the last leader of the USSR, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov.
“Putin expresses his deep sorrow over the death of Gorbachev, in the morning he will send a telegram of condolences to his relatives and friends,” Peskov was quoted as saying by the Interfax agency.
Gorbachev was undoubtedly the most brilliant politician of his time.
At the time, several Russian deputies expressed their condolences for the death of Mikhail Gorbachev, whom they described as a brilliant politician and contradictory personality.
(Also: The reactions to the death of Gorbachev, the last president of the USSR)
“Gorbachev was undoubtedly the most brilliant politician of his time. But for all those born in the Soviet Union he remains a complex and controversial historical figure,” Liberal Democratic Party leader Leonid Slutski said on his Telegram account.
Slutski lamented the death of Gorbachev, but stressed that he also regrets that the processes of disintegration of the Soviet empire began precisely with perestroika, promoted by the last leader of the USSR.
“That played into the hands of those who wanted to erase the USSR from the political map of the world,” he said.
European Union
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted Mikhail Gorbachev’s legacy of opening “the path to a free Europe.”
“Mikhail Gorbachev was a trusted and respected leader. He played a crucial role in ending the Cold War and bringing down the Iron Curtain. He paved the way for a free Europe,” Von der Layen stressed on his official Twitter account.
Mikhail Gorbachev was a trusted and respected leader. I have played a crucial role to end the Cold War and bring down the Iron Curtain. It opened the way for a free Europe.
This legacy is one we will not forget.
RIP Mikhail Gorbachev
– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) August 30, 2022
The head of the Community Executive assured that it is “a legacy that we will not forget”. The German politician concluded her farewell message with a “RIP Mikhail Gorbachev”.
For his part, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, expressed his condolences for the death on Tuesday of Mikhail Gorbachev, whom he said “changed our common history.”
“My condolences on the death of Mikhail Gorbachev, a man of peace whose elections opened a path to freedom for Russians. His commitment to peace in Europe changed our common history,” Macron wrote on his Twitter account.
(You may be interested in: Mikhail Gorbachev died: leader trapped between heroism and tragedy)
My condolences for the disappearance of Mikhaïl Gorbatchev, homme de paix dont les choix ont ouvert un chemin de liberté aux Russes. They are his commitment to pour la paix en Europe a change notre histoire commune.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 30, 2022
UN
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday he felt “deeply saddened” upon learning of the death of Mikhail Gorbachev, whom he defined as “a unique man who changed the course of history.”
“He did more than any other individual to put a peaceful end to the Cold War,” Guterres recalled, before expressing his condolences to his family and “to the people and Government of the Russian Federation.”
His motto that peace is unity in diversity “he put into practice always following the path of negotiation, reform, transparency and disarmament,” recalled Guterres, who also underlined Gorbachev’s commitment in his last years to environmental cause.
“The world has lost an imposing global leader, a convinced multilateralist and a tireless advocate for peace,” he concluded.
Mikhail Gorbachev was a one-of-a kind statesman who changed the course of history.
The world has lost a towering global leader, committed multilateralist, and tireless advocate for peace.
I’m deeply saddened by his passing. pic.twitter.com/giu2RHSjrQ
— Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) August 30, 2022
(In other news: Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, died in Moscow)
UK and Ireland
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised “the courage and integrity” of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, who died on Tuesday at the age of 91.
“I am saddened to hear of Gorbachev’s death. I have always admired the courage and integrity he showed in bringing the Cold War to a peaceful end,” Johnson wrote on Twitter.
“At a time of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s aggression against Ukraine, his unremitting commitment to opening up Soviet society remains an example to all of us,” he added, referring to the Russian invasion.
I’m saddened to hear of the death of Gorbachev.
I always admired the courage & integrity he showed in bringing the Cold War to a peaceful conclusion.
In a time of Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, his tireless commitment to opening up Soviet society remains an example to us all.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) August 30, 2022
The Irish Prime Minister, Micheál Martin, for his part, said on Tuesday that the last president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, who died in Moscow, helped “change” the world and considered him one of the most significant political figures of the late of the 20th century.
“At a time when the threat to the world of nuclear destruction was very real, he saw the urgent need for rapprochement with the West and for further openness and reform – glasnost and perestroika – in the then Soviet Union,” Martin added. the media.
His leadership helped end the arms race between East and West, ended the Cold War and brought down the Iron Curtain that had divided Europe since World War II.
Foundations in the US
The foundations of the former presidents of the United States Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush – both already deceased – lamented on Tuesday the death of Gorbachev, whom the Reagan Foundation described as a “friend”.
“Gorbachev was a man who began as a political adversary of Ronald Reagan and who ended up being a friend. We pray for his family and for the people of Russia,” they indicated from the Reagan Foundation and Institute, dedicated to managing the legacy of the former president of USA between 1981 and 1989.
Reagan, who died in 2004, is the US president most directly associated with the figure of Gorbachev, and the meetings between the two leaders marked an era in the 1980s.
His successor as head of the White House, George HW Bush, followed in Reagan’s footsteps and also maintained a very cordial relationship with Gorbachev.
(Further: ‘Perestroika began as a deluded hope’)
The Reagan Foundation and Institute mourns the loss of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, a man who once was a political adversary of Ronald Reagan’s who ended up becoming a friend. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Gorbachev family and the people of Russia. pic.twitter.com/j8EQ8JZqrq
— The Reagan Foundation and Institute (@RonaldReagan) August 30, 2022
“At the end of the cold war, Presidents Bush and Gorbachev worked together to ensure that the end of the Soviet era was peaceful and brought freedom to millions of people in Eastern Europe,” said the George and Barbara Bush Foundation.
“President Bush used to say that President Gorbachev took a firm step at a critical moment in history to guarantee world peace,” they added from the Foundation.
Also the actor and former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Twitter that Gorbachev was one of his heroes and friends, and shared a photo taken with him.
*With information from AFP and EFE
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