Gorbachev's office said earlier that he was undergoing treatment at Moscow's Central Clinical Hospital. No other information about his death was immediately provided.

Gorbachev was the last leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the communist state formed in 1922 that controlled much of Eurasia. His seven-year tenure as Soviet president ended in humiliation and chaos but resulted in remarkable reforms that ended the Cold War in the early 90s.

After taking power in 1985, Gorbachev's introduction of limited economic and political freedoms – including his  "glasnost" policy of free speech – ultimately led to the USSR's demise.