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14 incredible photographs that tell the Gorbachev story

The most photographed leader of the USSR - and the man who saw its final demise - in 14 extraordinary images

Gorbachev and Reagan - two political giants who ended the Cold War

He bestrode the 20th Century like a colossus, even if the prime qualities that made him different from all the previous leaders of the Soviet empire were a deep sense of humanity, pragmatism and compassion.

Mikhail Gorbachev, who has died aged 91, was also the most travelled and photographed leader in Soviet history. Here, captured in 14 extraordinary images, is a life that would change the lives of, literally, billions.

Geneva, 1985. Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan greet each other for a summit that would change the world and end the Cold War that had plagued Europe since the 1950s. Difficult to imagine two leaders from such different backgrounds, but together they changed the course of humanity.

The future General Secretary of the Communist Party (circled, back row) as a young law student in the 1940s, surrounded by his classmates.

1981, and Gorbachev (second from left, partially hidden) is present at the 75th birthday celebrations of Leonid Brezhnev. By now Gorbachev is enjoying career success and has been in charge of the important Stavropol region of the Soviet Union since 1970. He represents the new wave of potential Soviet leaders.

A Muscovite couple celebrate New Year’s Eve 1990 watching Gorbachev’s televised speech to the nation. Gorbachev had been elected President of the Soviet Union that March, despite a furious backlash from the old guard at his market liberalisation policies as the Soviet Union teetered on the edge of collapse.

Tired and anxious after a day of house arrest, Gorbachev returns to Moscow from his holiday dacha following the attempted putsch against his leadership in August 1991. The Soviet Union was collapsing and Gorbachev was facing the darkest and most dangerous hours of his leadership.

The state newspaper Pravda reports on the end of the putsch and Gorbachev’s return to Moscow. It was a pivotal moment in the history of Europe.

With Boris Yeltsin, in the aftermath of the coup. Yeltsin’s influence over the Red Army in Moscow had been central to the failure of the coup. He would lead the Russian Federation after the dissolution of the USSR.

“I like Mr Gorbachev” … Margaret Thatcher said he was a man she could do business with. This candid image reveals the warmth between the two leaders during his state visit to the UK in December 1984

With Deng Xiaoping, leader of China, in 1989. Progressive and liberalising Gorbachev couldn’t have been more at odds with the authoritarian Deng. As they ate the banquet, students were massing in Tiananmen Square. Weeks later, Deng would preside over their massacre.

Beside his relationship with Thatcher, Gorbachev’s willingness to engage with US President Ronald Reagan and his then VP George Bush was pivotal to the end of the Cold War. The three men are photographed together in New York Harbour in 1985.

In the Oval Office, 1987. Reagan and Gorbachev deep in discussions over ending the nuclear arms race that had shrouded the world in fear.

Old pals. 1992 and Gorbachev, Reagan, Nancy and Raisa get together at Reagan’s Santa Barbara ranch.

Raisa Gorbachev: “Youth is, after all, just a moment, but it is the moment, the spark that you always carry in your heart.” The woman who had stood by him throughout everything died in 1999 of leukemia, aged 67

In Red Square, 2019, to witness the Victory Day Parade. Under President Putin, the spirit of political openness that characterised the Gorbachev had been crushed. Gorbachev’s legacy within Russia is mixed. But to the outside world, he remained a giant of the 20th Century, and a force, ultimately, for good.

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