The man who helped topple the ‘evil empire’

RONALD REAGAN stunned the Soviet Union with his tough rhetoric, calling it an “evil empire” whose leaders gave themselves the “right to commit any crime”.

His famed "Star Wars" programme drew the Soviets into a costly arms race they couldn't afford. His 1987 declaration to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at the Berlin Wall "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall" was the ultimate challenge of the Cold War.

Ronald Reagan's determination to destroy communism and the Soviet Union was a hallmark of his presidency, carried out through a harsh nuclear policy towards Moscow that softened slightly when Gorbachev came to office.