Tributes for Mikhail Gorbachev pour in after death of former Soviet leader – as it happened
by Samantha Lock (now), and Nadeem Badshah (earlier) from World news | The Guardian on (#632X1)
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The former farm worker with the rolling south Russian accent and distinctive port-wine birthmark on his head gave notice of his bold ambition soon after winning a Kremlin power struggle in 1985, at the age of 54, Reuters reports.
Television broadcasts showed him besieged by workers in factories and farms, allowing them to vent their frustrations with Soviet life and making the case for radical change.
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