Russian leader Vladimir Putin has come up with a few words after the death of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union before its dissolution.
Putin said: “Mikhail Gorbachev was a politician and statesman who had a great impact on the course of world history.”
“He led our country through a period of complex, dramatic, large-scale foreign policy change, economic and social challenges.” “He deeply understood that reforms were necessary, he tried to offer his own solutions to urgent problems.”
“I would especially point out the great humanitarian, charitable, educational activities that Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev has carried out in recent years.” The two Russian leaders had always had a complicated relationship.
Gorbachev – who had brought democratic rule to Russia – had been critical of Putin’s decision to run for a third presidency.
Meanwhile, Putin had referred to the end of the Soviet Union under Gorbachev as “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century”.
Gorbachev had also been very critical of the war in Ukraine, trying to bring the two countries closer together during his presidency.