Person

Mikhail Gorbachev

Last leader of the Soviet Union, associated with perestroika, glasnost, and the final dissolution of the Soviet state.

Status: draft
Entity Type: person
Start Date: 2 Mar 1931
End Date: 30 Aug 2022

Summary

Mikhail Gorbachev was the last leader of the Soviet Union.

Historical role

He matters here because his reforms reshaped Soviet politics, altered the Cold War balance, and opened the path to the USSR's dissolution.

Connections

Useful for linking perestroika, glasnost, late Cold War transformation, and the end of the Soviet state, especially the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991.