Mikhail Gorbachev, former Soviet leader who ended cold war, dies aged 91

Taoiseach Micheál Martin: 'There are very few figures who can be said to have truly changed the world. Mikhail Gorbachev was one'

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev unleashed a breathtaking series of changes, but they quickly overtook him and resulted in the collapse of the authoritarian Soviet state, the freeing of eastern European nations from Russian domination and the end of decades of East-West nuclear confrontation. Picture: AP Photo/Boris Yurchenko, File

Mikhail Gorbachev, who as the last leader of the Soviet Union waged a losing battle to salvage a crumbling empire but produced extraordinary reforms that led to the end of the Cold War, has died at 91, according to Russian media.

News organisations quoted a statement from the Central Clinical Hospital as saying he died after a long illness. No other details were given.