The life and work of Mikhail Gorbachev, father of Perestroika

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union, has died at the age of 91 after a long illness.

This has been confirmed by a brief statement from the Moscow Central Clinical Hospital, which was shared by Russian agencies such as Interfax and TASS.

His legacy as a great reformer, one who hastened the end of the Cold War, is secure.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his deepest condolences over Gorbachev's death, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Interfax agency.

In his prime, he was a public figure. However, he withdrew more and more from public life as he got older, with illness also affecting his later years.

Mikhail Gorbachev will be buried with honours at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, along with other distinguished Russian historical figures. He will lie next to his wife, Raisa, who predeceased him in 1999.

The former president of the Soviet Union played a key role in ending the Cold War between his country and the United States, averting a confrontation that would have cost the lives of tens of thousands of people.

In addition, he was the great architect of the reconstruction and modernization of the Soviet Union, reorganizing the economy and betting on liberalization and international openness.

In fact, he will go down in history as the father of Perestroika. His Nobel Peace Prize will also be part of his legacy. He won it in 1990, both for his work at the end of the Cold War and for his role in the reunification of Germany.

Mikhail Gorbachev signed agreements with the United States, both with Ronald Reagan and with George Bush, to control the use of nuclear weapons.

Even the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister between 1979 and 1990, praised the work of Mikhail Gorbachev. "I like Gorbachev. I think we can do business with him," she told the BBC at the time.

His reputation in his own country is somewhat chequered. Many blame him for the collapse of the Soviet Union, and by extension Russian prestige, and for the economic problems that followed.

In the photo, he is next to Boris Yeltsin.

This rejection was made clear to Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1996 presidential elections, where he received just 5% of the vote.

Despite the political blow, Mikhail Gorbachev continued to defend Perestroika until his last days. He saw it as his greatest political feat.

"I remain convinced that it was necessary and that we did the right thing. The Russian people gained freedom and a totalitarian system was put to an end," he told the TASS agency.

The Kremlin is yet to set a date for the funeral. Nor have they indicated how Gorbachev will be honoured.

In addition, the war with Ukraine and the current situation in Russia will significantly limit the presence of Western leaders at the funeral.