Mikhail Gorbachev who changed course of history Dies At 91
The first president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, was a statesman who changed the course of history and did more than anyone else to bring a peaceful end to the Cold War.
“I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Mikhail Gorbachev, a one-of-a kind statesman who changed the course of history. He did more than any other individual to bring about the peaceful end of the Cold War,” the UN Secretary-General said, “On behalf of the United Nations, I extend my heartfelt condolences to Mikhail Gorbachev’s family and to the people and government of the Russian Federation.”
“Receiving the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize, he observed that ‘peace is not unity in similarity but unity in diversity’. He put this vital insight into practice by pursuing the path of negotiation, reform, transparency and disarmament,” the statement said.
Guterres pointed out that Gorbachev recently has taken on a new challenge necessary for the well-being of humanity: creating a sustainable future by cultivating harmonious relationships between humans and the environment. “It was in this spirit that he founded Green Cross International.The world has lost a towering global leader, committed multilateralist, and tireless advocate for peace,” Guterres said.
Mikhail Gorbachev died at the Central Clinical Hospital on August 30 at the age of 91.
However the former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, who ended the Cold War had failed to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union. Sputnik News Agency citing the hospital stated that he died after a serious and long illness.
Mikhail Gorbachev was the last leader of the United Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). He was a young and dynamic soviet leader who wanted to reform the communist regime along the lines of democratic principles by giving some freedom to citizens.
When pro-democracy protests swept across the Soviet Union of communist Eastern Europe in 1989, Gorbachev refrained from using force.
He recognized the policy of Glasnost or freedom of speech which was severely curtailed during earlier regime. Gorbachev also began a program of economic reform called Perestroika or Restructuring which was necessary as the Soviet economy was suffering from both hidden inflation and supply shortages. Cultural freedoms were granted to the press and the artistic community during his time.
He launched radical reforms meant to reduce party control of the government apparatus. Notably, thousands of political prisoners and their dissidents were released during his rule.
He is accredited with the success of the nuclear disarmament agreement with the United States of America which won him Nobel Peace Prize.
Gorbachev’s first five years in power were marked by significant accomplishments, as per The New York Times. He presided over an arms agreement with the United States that eliminated for the first time an entire class of nuclear weapons, and began the withdrawal of most Soviet tactical nuclear weapons from Eastern Europe.
He withdrew Soviet forces from Afghanistan, a tacit admission that the invasion in 1979 and the nine-year occupation had been a failure, as per the US media outlet.
