Boris Johnson today hailed Mikhail Gorbachev as a man of “courage and integrity” who changed the world for the better, as he and other world leaders paid tribute to the former Soviet leader.
The Prime Minister said Mr Gorbachev, whose reforms paved the way for the end of the Cold War and the Soviet Union, as well as the freeing of eastern Europe from Communist rule, had shown a “tireless commitment to opening up Soviet society that remains an example to us all.”
He added: “Mikhail Gorbachev is one of those people who changed the world and unquestionably changed it for the better. When you look at what he did to make Europe whole, free, to give freedom to the countries of the former Soviet Union — it was quite an extraordinary thing.
“Maybe he paid his own political price for it but when history is written, he will be, I think, one of the authors of fantastic change for the better in the world.”
Mr Johnson said he was saddened by the news of Mr Gorbachev’s death at the age of 91, which was announced last night, and added: “I always admired the courage and integrity he showed in bringing the Cold War to a peaceful conclusion. In a time of Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, his tireless commitment to opening up Soviet society remains an example to us all.
“What I worry about today is that the current leadership in Moscow is intent on undoing the good of Mikhail Gorbachev, and is intent on a revanchist attempt, a revenge-driven attempt, to recreate that Soviet empire, and you’re seeing that in Ukraine — that’s the tragedy, something that Mikhail Gorbachev would have thought was absolutely unthinkable, unwarranted.”
US President Joe Biden said Gorbachev, who as Soviet leader brought in economic and political freedoms through his policies of perestroika and glasnost that transformed his country and its relations with the West, had been a “man of remarkable vision” and a “rare leader”. Mr Biden added that Mr Gorbachev had possessed “the imagination to see a different future was possible and the courage to risk his entire career to achieve it. The result was a safer world and greater freedom for millions.”
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, tweeted: “He played a crucial role to end the Cold War and bring down the Iron Curtain. It opened the way for a free Europe. This legacy is one we will not forget. RIP Mikhail Gorbachev.”
Mikhail Gorbachev was a trusted and respected leader. He played a crucial role to end the Cold War and bring down the Iron Curtain. It opened the way for a free Europe.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) August 30, 2022
This legacy is one we will not forget.
R.I.P Mikhail Gorbachev
Mr Gorbachev, whose death in a Moscow hospital followed a long illness, led the Communist Party and the Soviet Union between 1985 and 1991 before dissolving the Soviet Union and resigning amid chaotic instability. He refused to use force when the Berlin Wall came down to allow the reunification of Communist-controlled East Germany with West Germany in a decision he later claimed prevented a potential Third World War. Communist regimes in other eastern European countries fell in the months that followed, bringing new political freedoms to millions.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 as a result and remained lionised in the West after his fall from power.
But his reputation in Russia has been far less favourable, with Vladimir Putin lamenting the collapse of the Soviet Union as the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century”.
Mr Putin today sent a telegram to the last Soviet leader’s relatives with his “sincere words of sympathy”.
“Please accept my deep condolences on the death of Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev,” he said. “Mikhail Gorbachev was a politician and statesman who had a huge impact on the course of world history. He led our country during a period of complex, dramatic changes, large-scale foreign policy, economic, and social challenges.“
Other world leaders continued to shower praise on Mr Gorbachev. António Guterres, secretary general of the UN, described him as a “towering leader, committed multilateralist, and tireless advocate for peace”. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Mr Gorbachev “allowed Germany to unify and the Iron Curtain to disappear. “
He will be buried in Moscow’s Novodevichy cemetery, next to his wife Raisa who died of leukaemia in 1999.
