Mikhail Gorbachev dies at 91

[CPL593H]

He was the hope of new things for many of my generation.

Seems like a different world when we had that hope

I know. I think he had sound ideas, not least that the Soviet system needed to be slowly and carefully replaced lest bad things rush to fill the void. A great shame that it was his work that was dismantled.

Bloody hell, that just about sums it all up really. The end of an era.

He achieved so much.

Agree about the hope

Oh no. He was my Heto. How did I miss this? We went to see him speak in London in the early 90's when we were Russian students.

And yes I appreciate he was 91 and not bumped off by Putin. But it is a poignant symbolism. I hope it means something to Russia.

I was working in the Middle East and watched the Berlin Wall coming down concert on the TV in a crappy bar surrounded by UN peace-keepers. It was incredible.

Very sad that he’s witnessed all his hard work being thrown away. He was a very brave man.

Things were a lot more straight forward with the old USSR, he achieved nothing.

Oh, I thought he had already died ages ago

He was kind of one of those public figures of my childhood because he was always on the telly I guess.

When I was in Moscow, friends of mine took me on holiday to their normal holiday place Sevastopol. Great place.

Shame it's not putin.

Gorbachev was a truly great and inspirational man. I grew up in the 1980s, and the ever present threat of the Cold War overshadowed my generation’s childhoods. A divided Germany, and a divided Europe was all we knew. His pragmatism, vision & leadership changed all that and led to the removal of the threat of nuclear war, the demolition of the Iron Curtain & the Berlin Wall, followed by the reunification of Germany and Europe. I remember my first trip to Berlin with my student friends in 1992. It’s hard to describe the overwhelming feeling of optimism about the future. We grew up being told that Russians wanted to kill us, and now we wanted friendship with them.

It is a tragedy that he could not fulfil his vision of leading Russia to become a normal, peaceful, prosperous European country. Instead the Soviet Union collapsed in chaos, Putin became a dictator and today’s catastrophe in Ukraine is a result of that.

Goodby, Mikhaïl, and thank you for everything you did. RIP.

Gorbachev's peace was consumed by 'ethnic conflicts' says the BBC.

Very sad news and a life well lived. Listening to the BBC news apparently he's the least popular leader in USSR history for breaking it up. From the outside he seemed like a great leader and how things have gone backward

He was a good man, a very good man.

Extraordinarily brave man. I still can't believe what he managed to achieve. The Soviet Union seemed impenetrable but he opened the doors to political change.

It is equally unimaginable what has happened more recently. What a tragedy for Gorbachev to witness.

Very smart man, and his kindness shone through

I see so little kindness in leaders today - it's the most underestimated quality as it's seen as weak

The most important quality in a partner is also the most important in a leader

A shame. I always liked and trusted him. R.I.P/

Totally agree. It wasn't just the fact he talked to the West, there was a decency about him that makes me believe he loved and wanted the best for his country. One of the best leaders in Russia's long and difficult history.

A true great. 91 is a good age but still sad. He was the hope that there could be peace in the world some day.

An old man dies is no tragedy, but we can still feel sadness at his passing, and bear witness to his open heart and courageous nature during his time in office. Seems an augury, his passing, doesn't it?