Mikhail Gorbachev – the last leader of the former Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991 – has died at the age of 91. Gorbachev died after a long illness, Russian state news agencies reported.

Mikhail Gorbachev, who led the Soviet Union in the late 1980s until its downfall in 1991, has died at the age of 91, Russian news agencies reported Tuesday.

Mikhail Gorbachev, whose attempt to modernize communist control of the Soviet Union unleashed forces that brought down the superpower, has died, Russian news agencies reported Tuesday.

Mikhail Gorbachev has died at 91. AP. He refrained from using force to crush pro-democracy protests in the Soviet bloc nations in Eastern Europe two years prior to the Soviet Union’s fall.

Mikhail Gorbachev’s tragedy is that he outlived the thaw in the Cold War between Moscow and the US, after doing more than anyone to engineer it.

Mikhail Gorbachev was a one-of-a kind statesman who changed the course of history. The world has lost a towering global leader, committed multilateralist, and tireless advocate for peace.

In hindsight, President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, the last ruler of the Soviet Union, were the two most unexpected people of the 1980s.Gorbachev’s passing Tuesday at age 91 represents ...

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan face each other at the end of their 1987 summit meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland, Oct. 12, 1986. Wally McNamee/Corbis via Getty Images ...

News of Mikhail Gorbachev's death resurfaced old Pizza Hut and Louis Vuitton ads in which the Soviet Union's final leader starred, and have since become viral memes.

Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow, Nov. 13, 2012 (Evgeny Eremeev/Shutterstock) Sign up to receive our latest updates! Register. Hot Off The Press Debt Crisis. Republicans Control It All ...