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Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, remembered

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev attends celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate on Nov. 9, 2014 in Berlin, Germany. (Adam Berry/Getty Images)
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev attends celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate on Nov. 9, 2014 in Berlin, Germany. (Adam Berry/Getty Images)

Mikhail Gorbachev — the last leader of the Soviet Union and Nobel Peace Prize winner who helped bring an end to the Cold War — has died at age 91. The Russia where he died is a very different place from the Soviet Union where Gorbachev grew up and became president.

William Taubman is a biographer, professor emeritus at Amherst College and author of “Gorbachev: His Life and Times.” He talks with Here & Now‘s Lisa Mullins.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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