Czech politicians react to death of Mikhail Gorbachev

Several Czech politicians have paid tribute to Mikhail Gorbachev, the former leader of the Soviet Union, since Russian news agencies reported on Tuesday that that he had died.

Speaking on Tuesday, shortly after the news was announced, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that Mikhail Gorbachev was an important figure in the history of the second half of the 20th century, adding that Gorbachev’s policies had helped topple communism and break up the Soviet Union.

Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said that Gorbachev had been inspired by the Prague Spring movement in 1968 and gave the people of the Soviet Union hope for freedom, human rights and a better future for Russia.

Defence Minister Jana Černochová said that Gorbachev was an active participant in bringing about the end of the Cold War and will always remain one of the great figures of the 20th century.

Mikhail Gorbachev became general secretary of the Soviet Union’s Communist Party in March 1985 and later served as the country’s president before the dissolution of the USSR. He was known for his policies of glasnost and perestroika. Gorbachev died at the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow on 30 August 2022, at the age of 91, Russian official sources say.