TheCable

Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader who helped to end the Cold War, has died at the age of 91.

According to Russian news agencies, Gorbachev died at the Central Clinical Hospital on Tuesday.

The late Soviet leader is renowned for bringing the Cold War to an end without bloodshed.

The Cold War, which lasted from 1947 to 1991, was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies.

For his role in ending the conflict, Gorbachev was awarded the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize.

Gorbachev, who became the Soviet leader in March 1985, survived a coup in 1991 but was unable to stop the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

The coup was carried out by the Communist Party, KGB, and military officials opposed to his leadership style.

He was the eighth and final leader of the Soviet Union and was also the general secretary of the Communist Party until 1991.

Despite his role in helping to end the Cold War and averting a potential nuclear war, Gorbachev was not widely revered in Russia.

Tass, the Russian news agency, said he will be buried beside his wife at Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.