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Gorbachev, Mikhail /
(b.1931), Soviet statesman, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR 1985â€"91 and President 1988â€"91; full name Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev. His foreign policy brought about an end to the Cold War, while within the USSR he introduced major reforms known as glasnost and perestroika. Opposition to his policies led to an attempted coup in 1991, after which he resigned. Nobel Peace Prize (1990).