Mikhail Gorbachev | Mimi Bebe

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, fundamentally reshaped global politics through his policies of Perestroika (economic restructuring) and Glasnost (openness). Ascending to power in 1985, he inherited a stagnating Soviet system and sought to revitalize it, inadvertently triggering forces that led to its dissolution in 1991. His willingness to engage with the West, sign arms control treaties, and allow Eastern European nations to determine their own futures earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 but also made him a controversial figure within Russia. Gorbachev's legacy remains a subject of intense debate, balancing his role as a peacemaker against the collapse of a superpower.