Subhechcha Ganguly 
According to Russian officials, Mikhail Gorbachev passed away at the age of 91 after leading a long and eventful life. According to reports, after receiving treatment for a serious and protracted illness, he died at Russia’s Central Clinical Hospital.Leaders from all over the world, including Joe Biden, Boris Johnson, and Emmanuel Macron, began sending condolence messages shortly after his passing, joining current Russian President Vladimir Putin in doing so.
While some saw Gorbachev as a weak leader who ran afoul of Soviet ideology, others admired him for his generosity. The cold war was declared over and a new route to Europe was made possible thanks to the kind-hearted man who presided over the country from 1985 to 1991. In 1990, he was also given the Nobel Peace Prize, but his Soviet Union fell apart shortly after. There were ups and downs in Gorbachev’s life, and he had just as many detractors as supporters. To the delight of westerners, he assisted in easing US-USSR relations during his presidency by brokering arms reduction agreements.
One of the most important events in post-World War II modern history, thanks to his iconic presence and his contribution to the reunification of Germany, is unquestionably this. But because of his soft-pedaling reforms to appease the west and internal strife within the Soviet Union’s think tank, the USSR was overthrown, losing its position as a superpower and passing it solely to the USA. Vladimir Putin, the current leader of Russia, has previously described the collapse of the USSR as the greatest geopolitical catastrophe; however, in the eyes of the west, he is regarded as the liberator of millions of people who brought an end to the cold war without any casualties.Many people were shocked by the fall of the USSR, which brought years of poverty and a decline in Russia’s standing in the world. Gorbachev was excluded from mainstream politics following its collapse, and even though he ran for president in 1996, he received only 0.5 percent of the vote, reflecting the resentment of ordinary Russians towards him. Even though he spent the latter years of his life primarily working on charitable and educational initiatives, he did voice his opposition to Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine.
