Mikhail Gorbachev turned 90 on Tuesday, with several world leaders sending well-wishes to the former leader of the Soviet Union.
The former leader of the Soviet Union and secretary-general of the Communist Party is considered by some as one of the greatest reformers of the 20th century — but remains a controversial figure at home.
How did he celebrate his birthday?
Still active, Gorbachev heads a political foundation and co-owns the Kremlin-critical newspaper, Novaya Gazeta.
He celebrated his birthday while staying in a hospital as a precaution amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Gorbachev was scheduled to have video calls with his aides and associates who gathered at his foundation to congratulate him.
He also spoke with world leaders and read messages from admirers worldwide.
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Gorbi and the Germans: Mikhail Gorbachev at 90
Remembering the 'Fathers of Unity'
The first and only president of the former Soviet Union turns 90 on March 2. Since German reunification in 1990, Germans have lovingly referred to Mikhail Gorbachev simply as "Gorbi." The Berlin "Fathers of Unity" monument was unveiled to mark the 20th anniversary of German reunification. From left to right: former US President George H. W. Bush, Gorbachev and former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
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Gorbi and the Germans: Mikhail Gorbachev at 90
Beginning of a historic friendship
This is one of the first pictures ever taken of Gorbachev and Kohl. In March 1985, the German chancellor traveled to Moscow to attend the funeral of Konstantin Chernenko, the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, whom Gorbachev would soon replace. This is where the historic relationship between the two countries began, eventually shaping the future of Europe.
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Gorbi and the Germans: Mikhail Gorbachev at 90
Improving East-West relations
During his time as chancellor of West Germany from 1969 and 1974, Willy Brandt (left) was the architect of Germany's Ostpolitik, which called for a normalization of relations between the Soviet Union, East Germany and its Eastern Bloc neighbors. He received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in 1971. Gorbachev won the same award in 1990 for his role in shaping East-West relations.
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Gorbi and the Germans: Mikhail Gorbachev at 90
Surrounded by fans in Bonn
The Berlin Wall fell in November 1989. In June of that year, a few months prior to the historic event, the then leader of the Soviet Union found himself in Germany on an official state visit. The Gorbachevs were greeted with great enthusiasm, as seen here in central Bonn.
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Gorbi and the Germans: Mikhail Gorbachev at 90
'Life itself will punish us if we are late'
In October of that same year, Gorbachev visited East Berlin where he celebrated the 40th anniversary of the founding of the German Democratic Republic. Leader Erich Honecker greeted his guest with a socialist fraternal kiss. Gorbachev told Honecker about his perestroika policy of economic and governmental reform, and with a now-famous quote called for similar change in East Germany.
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Gorbi and the Germans: Mikhail Gorbachev at 90
Negotiating Germany's future
Talks on future German reunification took place in a relaxed setting in July 1990 in the northern Caucasus. The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, also known as the Two Plus Four Agreement, was later signed in Moscow on September 12 by both East and West Germany, along with the four victors of World War II: the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and France.
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Gorbi and the Germans: Mikhail Gorbachev at 90
Pledging to be good neighbors
Gorbachev was the first foreign leader to visit Germany after reunification. In November 1990, the two countries signed a treaty on good neighborliness, partnership and cooperation, the first international treaty signed by reunified Germany. Germany also agreed to tend to Soviet monuments on its territory as well as maintain cemeteries where Soviet soldiers were buried.
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Gorbi and the Germans: Mikhail Gorbachev at 90
From president to talk show guest
The Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991, and Gorbachev was no longer president. In 1992, he set up the Gorbachev Foundation which began looking into the lessons and failures of perestroika. Gorbachev was a frequent visitor to Germany during this new chapter in his life. In 1996, he and his wife were guests on the popular German television show "Wetten, dass…"
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Gorbi and the Germans: Mikhail Gorbachev at 90
Life in Germany
The Gorbachevs even called Germany home for a while after purchasing a villa on Bavaria's Tegernsee, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southeast of Munich. But on September 20,1999, Gorbachev's wife, Raisa, died of leukemia in a clinic in Münster. Here, Gorbachev said his last goodbye at Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery.
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Gorbi and the Germans: Mikhail Gorbachev at 90
Sought-after adviser
Gorbachev continued to be a welcome guest at commemorations marking the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification. He also took part in certain German-Russian government talks, such as this meeting in October 2007 between Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Wiesbaden, Germany.
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Gorbi and the Germans: Mikhail Gorbachev at 90
Revered in Germany
While Gorbachev continues to be viewed with skepticism in Russia over his role in German reunification, he's revered in Germany. This monument in his honor was erected in Dessau in Saxony-Anhalt and ceremoniously unveiled on October 3, 2020, on the 30th anniversary of German reunification.
Author: Maksim Nelioubin
What did world leaders say?
World leaders including US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called to congratulate him.
"I take your day of honor as an opportunity to thank you once more for your personal commitment for the peaceful overcoming of the Cold War and the completion of German unity," Merkel wrote in a letter to the former leader.
"Your important contribution to a reunification in freedom remains as unforgotten in Germany as your constant personal engagement for friendly relations between our two countries," Merkel said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Gorbachev in a letter published by the Kremlin, hailing him as "one of the most outstanding statesmen of modern times who made a considerable impact on the history of our nation and the world.''
Putin also praised Gorbachev for continuing to work on international humanitarian projects.
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A special friendship: Gorbachev in Germany
History revisited
Not every politician is lucky enough to visit the historic site of a peaceful revolution 25 years on. Gorbachev came to mark the anniversary at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on November 9, 2014.
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A special friendship: Gorbachev in Germany
German favorite
June 13, 1989: Gorbachev visits West Germany's then capital, Bonn. The Berlin Wall still stands, and an end to Germany's division is not in sight. Yet Germans already hail the Soviet leader as a bringer of peace. Among Christian Democratic (CDU) voters, Gorbachev is much more popular than CDU Chancellor Helmut Kohl at the time.
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A special friendship: Gorbachev in Germany
Figurehead for Leipzig
Gorbachev's "perestroika" (restructuring) and "glasnost" (openness) served as a template for Leipzig's Monday demonstrations. East Germany's ruling SED party felt his new teachings were so dangerous that the Stasi secret police withdrew from circulation Soviet magazines with articles on Gorbachev.
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A special friendship: Gorbachev in Germany
Sweater summit
Working out the modalities of German unity: Outdoors and clad in thick sweaters, Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Mikhail Gorbachev spun the wheel of history on July 15, 1990. Moscow was not going to stand in the way of a united Germany.
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A special friendship: Gorbachev in Germany
Elder statesman and star
Two years later, Gorbachev was no longer Soviet leader, but he and his wife Raissa won people's hearts once again on a visit to Germany on March 6, 1992. Here, the popular couple lifted a stein at Munich's Hofbräuhaus.
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A special friendship: Gorbachev in Germany
Gorbi in Weimar
Thousands of Germans wrote letters to Gorbachev, and felt as if they were writing to a good friend. "[He] was alive compared to other Soviet officials who came across as stiff as mummies," wrote Michael from Lüneburg. On September 5, 1994, a pleased-looking Gorbachev visited Goethe's residence in Weimar.
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A special friendship: Gorbachev in Germany
Pop star meets superstar
Both German rock legend Udo Lindenberg (left) and Gorbachev were no longer at the height of their careers as the 10th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall rolled around in 1999. Yet the Russian leader with the human touch was still immensely popular in Germany.
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A special friendship: Gorbachev in Germany
No stranger to showbiz
Gorbachev made it to the cover of "Time" magazine 15 times — a feat Karl Lagerfeld could only dream about. Yet in Hamburg in 2003, Gorbachev was not above presenting the designer with the World Fashion Award.
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A special friendship: Gorbachev in Germany
It's only rock 'n' roll
What do 50 years of rock 'n' roll history have in common with the former Soviet leader? Admittedly, not much. Nonetheless, famed German TV host Thomas Gottschalk (right) invited Gorbachev to celebrate the genre's anniversary on April 17, 2004, in Hannover. The guest of honor rubbing shoulders with rock and TV icons proved not at all awkward.
Author: Iveta Ondruskova / Volker Wagener
How is he viewed in Russia?
Gorbachev is regarded internationally for his role in helping end the Cold War and launching reforms that ended the Communist monopoly on power.
Pro-democratic forces also see him as a symbol of freedom, as he has criticized repression under Russian President Vladimir Putin and warned against falling back into a dictatorship.
However, many Russians still hold him at least partially responsible for the collapse of the Soviet Union that led to a devastating economic meltdown and years of political turmoil.
How does Gorbachev view his own legacy?
Speaking in an interview with the state-run Tass news agency published Tuesday, Gorbachev reaffirmed that there was no alternative to ending the Cold War and launching domestic political reforms.
"The main domestic achievement was to give freedom to the people and put an end to the totalitarian system. And the most important things on the international stage were ending the Cold War and conducting radical nuclear weapons cuts,'' he continued.
Gorbachev continues to lament the August 1991 hardline coup staged by the Communist Party's old guard that briefly ousted him and precipitated the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Asked if it's still possible now to restore the Soviet Union, he answered that it's necessary to focus on normalizing ties with its ex-Soviet neighbors and developing regional alliances.
mb/rs (AP, dpa)
