Mikhail Gorbachev’s “courage and honesty” in ending the Cold War are praised by Boris Johnson.

91-year-old former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev received homage from international leaders, headed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Despite his futile attempts to save a collapsing empire, Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, is credited by many for implementing astonishing changes that helped bring an end to the Cold War.

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher famously said that Gorbachev was a person she “could do business with” after their first encounter.

The former premier passed away following a protracted illness, according to a statement from the Central Clinical Hospital that was cited by news outlets. Other information was withheld.

The tweet from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed his sadness at learning of Gorbachev’s passing. I have always appreciated the bravery and honesty he shown in ending the Cold War peacefully.

The Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader who was once Ronald Reagan’s political foe but later became a friend, was lost, according to the Ronald Reagan Foundation and Institute. We send our condolences to the Gorbachev family and the Russian people.

“His persistent devotion to opening up Soviet society remains an inspiration to us all at a time of Putin’s aggressiveness in Ukraine.”

“One of the great characters of the 20th Century, Mikhail Gorbachev’s drive of reform paved a route for negotiation over violence,” stated Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. He will always be regarded as the last Soviet leader to have the guts and conviction to put an end to the Cold War.

According to Ursula Von Der Leyen, President of the EU Commission, Mikhail Gorbachev was a dependable and well-liked leader. He was a key player in the Cold War’s conclusion and the fall of the Iron Curtain. A free Europe was made possible as a result. This legacy will live on in our memory. In memoriam Mikhail Gorbachev

Condoleeza Rice, a former US secretary of state, wrote: “I am heartbroken to learn of Mikhail Gorbachev’s demise. He was a guy who made an effort to provide his people a better life.

His death was significant because the Cold War could not have been ended peacefully without him and his fortitude.

His life was significant because, without him and his fortitude, it would not have been able to finish the Cold War amicably, according to former US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.

The Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader who was once Ronald Reagan’s political foe but later became a friend, was lost, according to the Ronald Reagan Foundation and Institute.

We send our condolences to the Gorbachev family and the Russian people.

Gorbachev launched a series of significant reforms while having been in office for less than seven years. But they swiftly overtook him, bringing about the fall of the totalitarian Soviet Union, the liberation of the countries of Eastern Europe from Russian rule, and the end of decades of nuclear hostilities between the East and the West.

His deterioration was rapid. An attempted coup against him in August 1991 weakened his position, and in the months leading up to his resignation on December 25, 1991, he watched as republic after republic declared their independence.

A day later, the Soviet Union wrote itself out of existence.

Gorbachev told The Associated Press a quarter-century after the collapse that he had not thought of using extensive force to attempt to maintain the USSR’s unity because he dreaded anarchy in a nuclear nation.

“The country was loaded to the brim with weapons. And it would have immediately pushed the country into a civil war,” he said.

Many of the changes, including the Soviet breakup, bore no resemblance to the transformation that Gorbachev had envisioned when he became the Soviet leader in March 1985.

By the end of his rule he was powerless to halt the whirlwind he had sown. Yet Gorbachev may have had a greater impact on the second half of the 20th century than any other political figure.

“I see myself as a man who started the reforms that were necessary for the country and for Europe and the world,” Gorbachev told The AP in a 1992 interview shortly after he left office.

“I am often asked, would I have started it all again if I had to repeat it? Yes, indeed. And with more persistence and determination,” he said.

Gorbachev won the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending the Cold War and spent his later years collecting accolades and awards from all corners of the world. Yet he was widely despised at home.

Russians blamed him for the 1991 implosion of the Soviet Union – a once-fearsome superpower whose territory fractured into 15 separate nations. His former allies deserted him and made him a scapegoat for the country’s troubles.

The official news agency Tass reported that Gorbachev will be buried at Moscow’s Novodevichy cemetery next to his wife.