In the final months of 1991, the Soviet Union rapidly unraveled as republics declared independence. On December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned as president, formally ending the existence of the Soviet Union. The following day, the USSR was officially dissolved, and its territories became independent states. After leaving office, Gorbachev remained active in public life. He established the Gorbachev Foundation, engaged in global discussions on democracy and environmental issues, and occasionally commented on Russian and international politics.
Although his legacy remains debated, his role in ending decades of Cold War hostility and opening up Soviet society continues to shape how he is viewed around the world. Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, died on August 30 at the age of 92. After the 1979 revolution, Gorbachev was the only Soviet figurehead to establish relations with the Islamic Republic. During his leadership in 1989, in an unprecedented gesture, Gorbachev received Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani – then the speaker of the parliament – and treated him as if he were the president of , selling him a cache of weapons in what is today still considered the biggest arms sale to post-Islamic Revolution.
