Mikhail Gorbachev

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Pictured: a large birthmark with attached Russian politician

Mikhail Sergeievich "Gorby" Gorbachev (b.1930) was the last ruler of the Soviet Union, famous for his liberal reforms, for which he took inspiration from a surprising source: Lenin. His introduction of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) allowed Soviet citizens to speak their minds and pursue economic opportunities without state oversight. He was also the first leader of a superpower to sign (along with Ronald Reagan) a treaty reducing the number of nuclear missiles.

Naturally a man who achieved so much in a short time made enemies, and after an attempted coup in August 1991 his position was weakened, and he could not stop Boris Yeltsin breaking up the USSR into squabbling factions ruled over mainly by corrupt opportunists.

Famously featured in a cheesy [sic] Pizza Hut commercial to raise money for the Gorbachev Foundation in San Francisco,[1] he currently works with social democratic movements ostensibly to try and oust Mr. Putin.

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