Werner Herzog’s quirky take on Mikhail Gorbachev promises to be one of the best documentaries at Cork Film Festival, writes Richard Fitzpatrick.

Withdrawal from 1987 pact with Russia would see a new generation of lethal weapons developed and deployed in Europe, says

IN his 1938 work Murphy, Samuel Beckett assured us that “the sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new”.

Mikhail Gorbachev’s latest book contains plenty of righteous anger at the state of modern Russia but is marred by being one-sided and presenting a lack of context for the general reader, writes Neil Robinson.

Hans-Dietrich Genscher, the long-serving German foreign minister who was one of the key architects of the country’s 1990 reunification, has died aged 89.

When incompetence in the Kremlin turns murderous, its incumbents can begin to tremble, says Nina L. Khrushcheva.

Vodka is a major cause of early death in Russia and has a direct impact on mortality rates in men, research has shown.

Charlie Sheen pretended he had married to give his ex-wife "a stroke".

The 12th of June will go down in history for many reasons.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will not attend Baroness Thatcher’s funeral due to health problems, his spokesman said today.

Whether they loved her or loathed her, virtually all the world leaders she ever met stood in awe of Margaret Thatcher.

Whether they loved her or loathed her, virtually all the world leaders she ever met stood in awe of Margaret Thatcher.

MARGARET Thatcher may have been dubbed the Iron Lady for her political style; but in matters sartorial her taste proved equally non-negotiable.

With angry protesters emboldened in the wake of recent disputed Russian election results, Robert Conquest ponders the future for a country riven by a history of misrule

Mikhail Gorbachev, who resigned as Soviet president 20 years ago, has urged Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin to follow his example and step down.

To mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the former Soviet Union, Geoffrey Roberts reflects on what led to the collapse of the institution instigated by the Bolsheviks in 1922

FORMER Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has called for Russia’s elections to be rerun due to fraud, as the opposition vowed new rallies contesting the results despite mass arrests.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, whose reforms helped lead to the fall of communism, threw his weight behind the pro-democracy protests in Egypt, saying they were “well-grounded and of vital importance”.

Virtual History: Alternatives and Counterfactuals, edited by Niall Ferguson. Penguin Books, £12.99.

FORMER Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has criticised the government for taking Russia backwards and said the nation needs free elections and fresh leadership.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has criticised the government for taking Russia backward and said the nation needs free elections and a fresh leadership.

The Anatomy of a Moment

SO Bono is up for another award. This time for changing the world.

RUSSIAN President Dmitry Medvedev decorated Mikhail Gorbachev with the highest state honour yesterday in a rare recognition for the last Soviet leader, who is often ignored at home.

FORMER Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev yesterday described Russia as an imitation of democracy and accused its rulers of conceit and contempt for voters, in his harshest criticism of the government yet.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has described Russia as an imitation of democracy and accused its rulers of conceit and contempt for voters, in his harshest criticism of the government yet.

Richard Fitzpatrick reads a fascinating account of tumultuous events in the early 1980s when the Cold War threatened to erupt into all-out confrontation.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev says Russia’s stability is threatened by anti-democratic trends.

GERMANY’S President celebrated the country’s new-found national pride but also stressed that more needs to be done to integrate Muslim and other immigrants as he marked the 20th anniversary of reunification yesterday.

Former Czech president Vaclav Havel opened the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Velvet Revolution with a concert attended by celebrities.

This week much of Europe has been celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In time it could well be considered as one of greatest seminal moments in world history, akin to the impact of the French Revolution, which began with the fall of the Bastille in 1789.

THE dominoes fell, one by one, all 1,000 of them, covering 1.5km along the path of the 43km fence that kept Berliners imprisoned for 28 years.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev today crossed a former fortified border to cheers as Germans recalled the night 20 years ago that the Berlin Wall gave way to their desire for freedom and unity.

Twenty years ago tomorrow, they danced on top of the Berlin Wall, feet thudding on the cold concrete, arms raised in victory, hands clasped in friendship and giddy hope.

Former president Mikhail Gorbachev has compared Vladimir Putin's United Russia party to the worst of the communists he once led, saying parliament and the judiciary were not fully free.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev backed US president-elect Barack Obama’s reforming stance, saying the world needed a strong America.

A Russian tycoon said today he and former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev will pair up to create a new political party.

WHEN Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich appeared in the literary magazine Novy Mir back in November 1962, taboos were shattered. Secrets were unearthed. And the Soviet Union was shaken to its foundations.

IF ALL goes according to script, and there is no reason to imagine it will not, Brian Cowen will be elected taoiseach this afternoon.

THE Taoiseach was afforded a magnificent stage to wind up his political career with an address to a joint session of the US Congress on Wednesday. He became only the 102nd foreigner to address the two houses together.

Director Ridley Scott is making a new movie about late US president Ronald Reagan's dealings with former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has criticised the US for its approach to the war on terror.

Mikhail Gorbachev is the new face of Louis Vuitton.

Russia bid a solemn farewell today to Boris Yeltsin, its first post-Soviet leader, in a funeral presided over by some two dozen white-robed priests and a crowd of dignitaries including President Vladimir Putin and two former US leaders.