Mikhail Gorbachev

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Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev comments before the Congress of People's Deputies during debate on his proposal to transform the Soviet Union into a confederation of sovereign states in Moscow on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 1991. Officials also said that Gorbachev has agreed to independence for the Baltic republics and will issue a formal decree making them the first republics to win such recognition from the Soviet Union. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

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Former Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev stands in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014. Gorbachev attends the symposium "New Policy Forum" against the cold war, which was organized on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. (AP Photo/dpa, Jens Kalaene)

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President of the Russian Republic Boris Yeltsin delivers a damning indictment of Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow, Friday, March 29, 1991 at the second day of the extraordinary session of Russian federation congress at the Kremlin on Friday. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

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FILE - In this Monday, Feb. 24, 2014 file photo former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, 82, gives an interview to The Associated Press at the International Government Communication Forum, in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Gorbachev said in remarks carried Tuesday, March 18, 2014, by online newspaper Slon.ru that the vote offered the Crimean residents the freedom of choice and justly reflected their will. Gorbachev hailed Crimea’s referendum that backed joining Russia as a “happy event.” (AP Photo/Al Moutasim Al Maskery, file)

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HBO is moving forward with plans to produce a dramatic movie based on the life of Mikhail Gorbachev, with the former Soviet Union president collaborating as a consultant.

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U.S. President George Bush shakes hands with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev at the conclusion of their joint news conference ending the one day summit, Sunday, Sept. 9, 1990 in Helsinki. (AP Photo/Liu Heung Shin)

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President Mikhail Gorbachev meets the world media group in St. Catherine Hall in Kremlin in Moscow on April 11, 1990. On the first right is Rev. Sun Myung Moon who leads the group that included many former state leaders gathered to hear Gorbachev assessment of the progress of Ã¬perestroikaÃ® policy. (AP Photo/Liu Heung Shing)