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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Lowenna Waters

What was the Soviet Union? USSR and Gorbachev’s role explained, and why it collapsed

Mikhail Gorbachev Soviet Union USSR Joseph Stalin Boris Johnson Konstantin Chernenko Leonid Brezhnev Nikita Khrushchev Russia Cold War

Boris Johnson has warned that the Kremlin is ‘intent on undoing the good’ of Mikhail Gorbachev, as he paid tribute to the legacy of the former Soviet leader

(Picture: Getty Images)

Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev has died aged 91.

Mr Gorbachev is best known for opening up the USSR, and for bringing the Cold War to a peaceful end, but he was unable to prevent his country from collapsing in 1991.

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