Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the Soviet leader whose vision of humane communism liberated millions, bridled the global arms race and knocked down the walls dividing East and West, has died, according to Russian news agencies.
Gorbachev, who had been in declining health, suffering from acute diabetes, was 91 and had been undergoing treatment at a hospital, according the news agencies.
One of the most influential politicians of the 20th century, Gorbachev used his six years as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to systematically dismantle the machinery of repression.
