Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, who embarked on a path of radical reform that brought about the end of the Cold War, reversed the direction of the nuclear arms race and relaxed Communist Party controls in hopes of rescuing the faltering Soviet state but instead propelled it toward collapse, died Aug. 30 in Moscow. He was 91.
Mikhail Gorbachev, Last Leader of The Soviet Union, Dies At 91
Mikhail Gorbachev, who attempted bold reforms upon assuming leadership of the Soviet Union in 1985 and oversaw its dissolution in 1991, died at 91 on Tuesday, according to Russian state media • Full Story
“Thanks to Mr. Gorbachev, millions of Jews were able to emerge from hiding, openly reveal their Jewish identity and practice their Judaism with pride,” read a past statement of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the Former Soviet Union.
When Gorbachev first came to power, long before the fall of the Soviet Union, the Rebbe declared that this man would set Russian Jewry free, which is exactly what he did, according to Russian Israeli physicist and Jewish educator Herman Branover.
When Branover had occasion to ask Gorbachev himself if he knew when he came to power that he would let the Jews go, he answered, “No.”
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