Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and open up his nation.

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was a Soviet and Russian politician who was the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 until the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Communist Party from 1985, and additionally as head of state from 1988. Ideologically, he initially adhered to Marxism–Leninism, but moved towards social democracy by the early 1990s.

RIAN archive 850809 General Secretary of the CPSU CC M. Gorbachev (crop)
RIAN archive 850809 General Secretary of the CPSU CC M. Gorbachev (crop) (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Миша Горбачёв с дедом Пантелеем и бабушкой Василисой
Миша Горбачёв с дедом Пантелеем и бабушкой Василисой (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Mikhail Gorbachev, Reykjavík summit, 1986 (3x4 cropped)
Mikhail Gorbachev, Reykjavík summit, 1986 (3x4 cropped) (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Gorbachev and classmates Moscow 1952
Gorbachev and classmates Moscow 1952 (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Watch: Gorbachev's USSR: The Events That Led To The Collapse Of The Soviet Union | M.A.D World | Timeline

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Sources and further reading: Wikipedia — Mikhail Gorbachev, Nobel Peace Prize (CC BY-SA). Images: Wikimedia Commons.