The familar face of Mikhail Gorbachev looks out from the front pages as many of Wednesday’s papers marked his death by heaping praise on the man who helped bring about the end of the cold war.
The Guardian has a large picture of the former Soviet leader and the headline “Mikhail Gorbachev 1931-2022: Soviet leader who ended the cold war dies aged 91”.
The front page report says Gorbachev would always be associated with his attempts to reform the old USSR “a process that he ultimately lost control of, leading to the country’s collapse”.
The Times has very similar treatment with a large photograph of Gorbachev in his heyday and a report head “Gorbachev, USSR’s last leader, dies at 91”.
It notes that he won the Nobel peace prize in 1990 for his efforts to end the arms race with the United States, but was “widely hated” by Russians who resented their loss of superpower status and a collapse in living standards.
Times: App will let patients avoid long NHS waits #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/20xVNJ2PAX
— George Mann 🫧⚒️🫧 (@sgfmann) August 30, 2022
The Telegraph says “Gorbachev dies at 91” and its page one report says he was a “charming and modernising” figure hailed in the west while his reforms ended “sparking a sharp economic decline that set off nationalism in across the region and allowed the oligarchs” to gain control of state-owned assets.
The Metro is the only UK paper to lead on the news in the early editions and has the headline “World mourns a true man of peace”.
Tomorrow's Paper Today 📰
— Metro (@MetroUK) August 30, 2022
WORLD MOURNS A TRUE MAN OF PEACE
🔴Mikhail Gorbachev 1931-2022#tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/Wiioux8RBH
The German paper Frankfurter Allgemeine has the front page headline “Michail Gorbatschow gestorben” (“Mikhail Gorbachev has died”) and describes him in glowing terms for his role in the fall of the Berlin Wall paving the way for German reunification.
“The world-renowned politician was considered one of the fathers of German unity and a pioneer for the end of the Cold War,” it reports. “East Germans in particular still revere ‘Gorbi’, as they call him, as a statesman who brought them freedom more than three decades ago.”
In Spain, El Mundo has the story on its front page with the headline “Gorbachov, el líder que abrió Rusia al mundo” (“Gorbachov, the leader who opened Russia to the world, dies”.
📰 Portada de EL MUNDO del miércoles 31 de agosto.
— EL MUNDO (@elmundoes) August 30, 2022
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The Sun makes room for a small story on its front page and describes the late Soviet president as “peacemaker” who helped end the cold war. “Gorby dies at 91”, says the headline.
On tomorrow's front page: Nelson Mandela’s grandson slams Meghan Markle for comparing herself to South African freedom fighterhttps://t.co/o8akIO3yBa pic.twitter.com/rqFRF8A1CN
— The Sun (@TheSun) August 30, 2022
The Express also has a small spot on the front with the headline “Gorbachev, who end the Cold War, dies”.
Tomorrow's front page: Farewell... I'm proud of the things we did #TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/xVJUR0AAeW pic.twitter.com/CHH0NuseCc
— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) August 30, 2022
