BBCNEWS Newsday July 7, 2024
dominating the argument. welcome to bbc news. mikhail gorbachev, the last leader of the soviet union, has died at the age of 91. he oversaw economic reforms known as perestroika, and political ones known as glasnost or openness, which led to the break—up of the soviet union in 1991, and the end of the cold war. russian president vladimir putin has expressed "deep sympathies". our russia editor steve rosenberg looks back at a historic life. he was the kind of russian leader the world had never seen. mikhail gorbachev smiled, he was relaxed. in the west, he acquired almost pop—star...