Russian news agencies have announced the death of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, citing a statement from Moscow’s Central Clinical Hospital, where he was undergoing treatment.

Agencies reported his death on 30 August following a “serious and long illness”. He was 91.

Gorbachev – a towering figure in 20th century history whose rise to power transformed the map of Europe and steered the Cold War to its end – was the last president before the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, as he foreged relationships with the United States to lift the Iron Curtion and unite Germany in the long shadow of World War II.

Read more on this developing story: https://www.independent.co.uk/world/mikhail-gorbachev-death-soviet-today-news-b2156140.html

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