# Mikhail Gorbachev

Last leader of the Soviet Union whose policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) inadvertently unleashed forces that dissolved the USSR in 1991. Nobel Peace Prize 1990 for his role in ending the Cold War. In Russia he is viewed with ambivalence as the man who "lost" the empire; in the West he is celebrated as the reformer who ended decades of superpower confrontation.

## Quick Facts

- **Born:** March 2, 1931
- **Birthplace:** Privolnoye, Russia
- **Nationality:** Russian
- **Occupation:** Soviet General Secretary
- **Category:** Power & Politics
- **Also Known As:** Gorby, The Last Soviet Leader

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Source: https://peoplebio.info/p/mikhail-gorbachev