The Last Soviet Leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, Dies at 91
2022-08-31
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1The last Soviet President, Mikhail Gorbachev, died Tuesday at the age of 91.
2Russian news agencies reported the news based on information from Moscow's Central Clinic Hospital.
3Gorbachev's office had earlier said that he was undergoing treatment at the hospital.
4Gorbachev became the leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR, in March 1985.
5He was in power for just over six years.
6But Gorbachev brought changes that ended the nuclear confrontation of the Cold War with the United States and remade the map of Europe.
7As general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, he had set out to reform the system by introducing limited political and economic freedoms.
8But his reforms went out of control.
9His policy of "glasnost," or free speech, led to criticism of the party and the state.
10It also led to national movements in the Baltic republics of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and other places.
11Gorbachev and then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed a historic agreement in 1987 to reduce the number of nuclear weapons the two countries kept.
12He informed the world of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in what is now Ukraine.
13And he ordered the release of dissident Andrei Sakharov, a critic of the Soviet system.
14In 1989, Gorbachev chose not to use force to put down pro-democracy protests in Eastern European nations.
15Earlier Soviet leaders had sent tanks to crush uprisings in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968.
16In his last months in office, one Soviet republic after another declared independence.
17Gorbachev resigned on December 25, 1991.
18The Soviet Union ceased to exist a day later.
19Gorbachev told The Associated Press that he did not try to hold the Soviet Union together because he feared chaos in a nuclear country.
20"The country was loaded to the brim with weapons.
21And it would have immediately pushed the country into a civil war," he said.
22He told the AP in 1992 after leaving office: "I see myself as a man who started the reforms that were necessary for the country and for Europe and the world."
23"I am often asked, would I have started it all again if I had to repeat it? Yes, indeed," he said.
24Gorbachev won the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending the Cold War.
25He spent his later years receiving honors and awards around the world.
26But he was widely disliked at home.
27Russians blamed him for turning the Soviet Union, once a fearsome superpower along with the United States, into 15 smaller nations.
28And his critics blamed him for the country's troubles.
29After visiting Gorbachev in the hospital on June 30, liberal economist Ruslan Grinberg told the armed forces news outlet Zvezda: "He gave us all freedom - but we don't know what to do with it."
30The official state news agency Tass reported that Gorbachev will be buried at Moscow's Novodevichy cemetery next to his wife, Raisa.
31I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1The last Soviet President, Mikhail Gorbachev, died Tuesday at the age of 91. 2Russian news agencies reported the news based on information from Moscow's Central Clinic Hospital. Gorbachev's office had earlier said that he was undergoing treatment at the hospital. 3Gorbachev became the leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR, in March 1985. He was in power for just over six years. But Gorbachev brought changes that ended the nuclear confrontation of the Cold War with the United States and remade the map of Europe. 4As general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, he had set out to reform the system by introducing limited political and economic freedoms. But his reforms went out of control. 5His policy of "glasnost," or free speech, led to criticism of the party and the state. It also led to national movements in the Baltic republics of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and other places. 6Gorbachev and then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed a historic agreement in 1987 to reduce the number of nuclear weapons the two countries kept. He informed the world of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in what is now Ukraine. And he ordered the release of dissident Andrei Sakharov, a critic of the Soviet system. 7In 1989, Gorbachev chose not to use force to put down pro-democracy protests in Eastern European nations. Earlier Soviet leaders had sent tanks to crush uprisings in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968. 8In his last months in office, one Soviet republic after another declared independence. Gorbachev resigned on December 25, 1991. The Soviet Union ceased to exist a day later. 9Gorbachev told The Associated Press that he did not try to hold the Soviet Union together because he feared chaos in a nuclear country. "The country was loaded to the brim with weapons. And it would have immediately pushed the country into a civil war," he said. 10He told the AP in 1992 after leaving office: "I see myself as a man who started the reforms that were necessary for the country and for Europe and the world." 11"I am often asked, would I have started it all again if I had to repeat it? Yes, indeed," he said. 12Gorbachev won the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending the Cold War. He spent his later years receiving honors and awards around the world. But he was widely disliked at home. 13Russians blamed him for turning the Soviet Union, once a fearsome superpower along with the United States, into 15 smaller nations. And his critics blamed him for the country's troubles. 14After visiting Gorbachev in the hospital on June 30, liberal economist Ruslan Grinberg told the armed forces news outlet Zvezda: "He gave us all freedom - but we don't know what to do with it." 15The official state news agency Tass reported that Gorbachev will be buried at Moscow's Novodevichy cemetery next to his wife, Raisa. 16I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 17Hai Do wrote this story for VOA Learning English with additional materials from Associated Press and Reuters. 18____________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20confrontation -n. a situation in which two sides oppose each other intensely 21chaos -n. complete confusion and disorder 22brim -n. the top edge of a container or hat 23_____________________________________________________________________ 24What do you think of Mikhail Gorbachev? We want to hear from you. 25We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 26Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.