Getty Images 7 months ago

Soviet President Mikhail Gorbatchev makes his first appearance since the military coup Monday, speaking to reporters at his country house on August 21, 1991 shortly before his return to Moscow after the coup failed. Behind Gorbatchev stands Russian vice-president Alexander Rutskoi (2nd R).

Getty Images 7 months ago

US President George Bush (2nd-L), his Soviet counterpart Mikhail Gorbachev (2nd-R), US First Lady Barbara Bush (R) and Raisa Gorbachev (L) laugh 30 July 1991 in Moscow in Kremlin St Katherine's Hal at the beginning of the two-day US-Soviet Summit dedicated to the disarmament. Nine years...

Reuters Pictures 2 months ago

Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer (L) smiles with former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev during the Franz Josef Strauss Prize ceremony by the Hans Seidl Foundation, in Munich, December 10, 2011.

AP Photo 2 months ago

In this March 30, 2011 file photo, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev attends a charity gala at a central London venue honoring his 80th birthday. Russian authorities should annul the results of the parliamentary vote and hold a new one, Gorbachev urged Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, as...

AP Photo 2 months ago

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 15, 2011 file photo, Mikhail Gorbachev speaks at a conference on "The Gorbachev Generation" in Moscow. Russian authorities should annul the results of the parliamentary vote and hold a new one, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev urged Wednesday Dec 7...

Getty Images 3 months ago

BERLIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 21: (R-L) Ksenia Gorbachev, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, Mikhail Gorbachev and Hans-Dietrich Genscher attend the Mikhail Gorbachev Award 2012 press conference at Hotel Adlon on November 21, 2011 in Berlin, Germany.

Getty Images 9 months ago

Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev (R) looks at Russian President Boris Yeltsin during the press conference following the signing ceremony 18 October 1991 in Moscow's Kremlin of the Union Treaty with the eight Soviet republics.

Getty Images 9 months ago

Russian President Boris Yeltsin addresses, 03 September 1991, the deputies at the People's Congress in Moscow, as Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev (L) listens in the background. Yeltsin criticized Gorbachev's actions before the coup and also announced that nearly all fifteen republics...

Getty Images 10 months ago

Russian President Boris Yeltsin (R) gestures towards Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow on August 23, 1991 while he enjoins him to read a paper during session of Russian Parlement. Gorbachev returned to Moscow 22 August 1991 after coup d'etat was failed.

Getty Images 10 months ago

A pro-democracy demonstrator fights with a Soviet soldier on top of a tank parked in front of the Russian Federation building 19 August 1991 after a coup toppled Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. The coup was headed 19 August by the members of the self-styled 'committee for the state...

Getty Images 10 months ago

A pro-democracy demonstrator argues with a Soviet soldier late 20 August 1991 as a tank block access to the center of Moscow after a coup toppled Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. The coup was headed 19 August by the members of the self-styled 'committee for the state of emergency'...

Getty Images 10 months ago

Photo dated 22 August 1991 shows supporters of Russian President Boris Yeltsin cheering as Yeltsin addresses a crowd of 100,000 people, one day after a failed coup attempt against last Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.

Getty Images 10 months ago

Russian President Boris Yeltsin shakes hands with an unidentified tank crew member holding a Russian flag, in front of the parliament 22 August 1991 in Moscow, as some 100 000 supporters turned out to celebrate the collapse of the three-day coup against Mikhail Gorbachev.

Getty Images 10 months ago

Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev (L) answers a journalist's question as British Prime Minister John Major looks on during a press conference at the Queen Elizabeth II conference Center in London during the G7 Summit on July 15, 1991. Seeking Western help to open up the Soviet economy,...

Getty Images 10 months ago

Former Polish President Lech Walesa arrives for a celebration of Mikhail Gorbachev's 80th birthday at the Royal Albert Hall in London, on March 30, 2011. A host of stars from the world of politics, music and film gathered to celebrate former Soviet leader Gorbachev's 80th birthday at a...

Reuters Pictures 10 months ago

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev sits with his daughter Irina during a concert in his honour, at the Royal Albert Hall in London March 30, 2011. Movie stars, singers and politicians turned out on Wednesday for a gala concert in London to honour former Soviet President...

AP Photo 10 months ago

The former Russia President Mikhail Gorbachev, second right, walks to get in his car as he leaves Downing Street after meeting Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron in London, Wednesday, March 30, 2011. Gorbachev is in London for his 80th birthday celebration event which will be held...

Getty Images 10 months ago

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - MARCH 30: British Prime Minister David Cameron speaks with former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (not in shot) at 10 Downing Street on March 30, 2011 in London, United Kingdom. A host of stars from the world of politics, music and cinema are to celebrate...

AP Photo 10 months ago

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Downing Street to meet Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron in London, Wednesday, March 30, 2011. Gorbachev is in London for his 80th birthday celebration event which will be held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, later on Wednesday.

Getty Images 10 months ago

British Prime Minister David Cameron (R) meets former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at 10 Downing Street, in central London, on March 30, 2011. A host of stars from the world of politics, music and cinema were to celebrate former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's 80th birthday at a...

Getty Images 11 months ago

Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev (L) and French President François Mitterrand shake hands during the London 17th G7 Summit on July 17, 1991. Seeking Western help to open up the Soviet economy, Gorbachev made an appeal to the G7 leaders gathering during the summit. Opposed to his plan...

Getty Images 11 months ago

Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev (L) and French President François Mitterrand are seen talking during their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris on July 4, 1989 during Gorbachev's first state visit in France.

Getty Images 11 months ago

Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev (L) and French President François Mitterrand are seen walking and chatting in the park of the Elysee Palace in Paris on July 4, 1989 during Gorbachev's first state visit in France.

Reuters Pictures 6 months ago

A man holds a book, displaying Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, during a rally in support of Gorbachev and against the State Committee on the State of Emergency in Leningrad in this August 20, 1991 file photo. Twenty years after a failed coup hastened the end of the Soviet Union,...

Reuters Pictures 6 months ago

People rally in support of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and against the State Committee on the State of Emergency in Leningrad in this August 20, 1991 file photo. Twenty years after a failed coup hastened the end of the Soviet Union, many Russians look back with regret and...