Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has died aged 91.
Gorbachev, who took over in 1985, is best known for opening up the USSR and for his rapprochement with the West, but he was unable to prevent his country collapsing in 1991.
The hospital where he died said he had been suffering from a long and serious illness.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his deepest condolences on Gorbachev’s death, his Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agency Interfax.
