Mikhail Gorbachev - Dead at 91

Mikhail Gorbachev — the last president of the Soviet Union — dies after prolonged illness

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union before its dissolution, has died in Moscow at the age of 91, according to official statements.

Gorbachev, whose tumultuous rule was associated with the terms of perestroika and glasnost — reform and openness — died after a long illness, according to official Russian news agencies.

Like him or hate him, Gorbachev was part and parcel in the breakup of the Soviet Union and the tearing down of the Berlin wall. He also worked with Ronald Reagan, the US President to lower the stockpile of nuclear weapons the two countries had.