Mikhail Gorbachev Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research

Updated 1423 GMT (2223 HKT) February 18, 2021

Mikhail Gorbachev at a conference in Moscow in 2001. Gorbachev led the Soviet Union from 1985 until its fall in 1991. He changed the world's expectations of the Soviet Union by striving to make a more efficient and democratic state that participated in global politics.
Photos: Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader
Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader – Mikhail Gorbachev at a conference in Moscow in 2001. Gorbachev led the Soviet Union from 1985 until its fall in 1991. He changed the world's expectations of the Soviet Union by striving to make a more efficient and democratic state that participated in global politics.
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A 4-year-old Gorbachev in Privolnoe, Ukraine, circa 1935.
Photos: Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader
Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader – A 4-year-old Gorbachev in Privolnoe, Ukraine, circa 1935.
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Gorbachev attends a celebration of the anniversary of the October Revolution in Moscow in 1984.
Photos: Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader
Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader – Gorbachev attends a celebration of the anniversary of the October Revolution in Moscow in 1984.
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Gorbachev and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in England in 1984.
Photos: Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader
Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader – Gorbachev and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in England in 1984.
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French President Francois Mitterrand with Gorbachev in Moscow in 1985.
Photos: Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader
Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader – French President Francois Mitterrand with Gorbachev in Moscow in 1985.
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President Ronald Reagan talks with Gorbachev during a two-day summit between the United States and the Soviet Union in Geneva in 1985.
Photos: Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader
Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader – President Ronald Reagan talks with Gorbachev during a two-day summit between the United States and the Soviet Union in Geneva in 1985.
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Gorbachev at a news conference in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1986.
Photos: Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader
Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader – Gorbachev at a news conference in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1986.
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Gorbachev greets well-wishers during a visit to Prague in 1987.
Photos: Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader
Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader – Gorbachev greets well-wishers during a visit to Prague in 1987.
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Gorbachev meets employees of a meat-packing plant outside Moscow in 1987.
Photos: Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader
Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader – Gorbachev meets employees of a meat-packing plant outside Moscow in 1987.
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Gorbachev meets crew members of a nuclear submarine during a visit to Severomorsk, Soviet Union, in 1987.
Photos: Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader
Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader – Gorbachev meets crew members of a nuclear submarine during a visit to Severomorsk, Soviet Union, in 1987.
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Gorbachev and Reagan sign a treaty eliminating U.S. and Soviet intermediate-range and shorter-range nuclear missiles in Washington in 1987.
Photos: Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader
Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader – Gorbachev and Reagan sign a treaty eliminating U.S. and Soviet intermediate-range and shorter-range nuclear missiles in Washington in 1987.
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Reagan and Gorbachev visit Governors Island in New York in 1988.
Photos: Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader
Gorbachev: The USSR's final leader – Reagan and Gorbachev visit Governors Island in New York in 1988.
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