Mikhail Gorbachev has been described as “one of the greatest figures of the 20th century” in a flood of tributes from across the world to the man universally credited with ending the cold war.
There was gushing praise for the former Soviet president from past and present western leaders, political commentators, academics, historians and celebrities after his death in Russia on Tuesday night aged 91.
President Joe Biden led the tributes from the Soviet Union’s old cold war adversary by saying he was a man of “remarkable vision”, and that he was held in high esteem for leading his country on the path to reform.
Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan at a summit in Reykjavik in 1986.
Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan at a summit in Reykjavik in 1986. Photograph: Sovfoto/UIG/Getty Images
“These were the acts of a rare leader – one with the imagination to see that a different future was possible and the courage to risk his entire career to achieve it,” Biden said in a statement. “The result was a safer world and greater freedom for millions of people.”
António Guterres, general secretary of the United Nations, said 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. I’m deeply saddened by his passing,” he tweeted.
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