Putin highlights Gorbachev's "great influence" on history and his role in a "dramatic" period in Russia

MADRID, 31 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, expressed his condolences on Wednesday for the death of the last leader of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, whom he recognized for his "great influence on the course of world history" at a time when the The country was facing "complex, dramatic and large-scale" changes.

"Receive deep condolences on the death of Mikhail Gorbachev," Putin said in what is the second show of condolences after Tuesday's brief statement in the voice of Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov.

"He was a politician and a leader of state who had a great influence on the course of world history. He led our country through a period of complex, dramatic, large-scale foreign policy changes in the economic, social and ", has recognized the Russian president.

Putin has emphasized that Gorbachev understood the needs of the moment in which he lived at the head of the Soviet Union and tried to offer reforms and solutions to the problems of that time. In turn, he has also highlighted the charitable and educational activities that he carried out in his later years.

Gorbachev died on Tuesday in a Moscow hospital at the age of 91 after a long illness. Architect of the first steps in today's Russia, his figure is associated with Perestroika, a set of political reforms within the Communist Party of the USSR, which won him more admirers outside than inside.

His name is associated with the end of the Cold War, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize in October 1991, just two months before his short-lived mandate at the head of the once powerful USSR ended due to his fall. In a year at the helm, the always turbulent relations with the West turned into dialogue and collaboration after the signing of several agreements of understanding with the United States.

The Kremlin must now decide what kind of tributes it offers to a leader who continues to generate certain misgivings in the most conservative sectors within Russia, since they see in him the symbol of the end of a period of greatness.

In that sense, the spokesman for the Kremlin, Dimitri Peskov, has announced that it will be throughout this Wednesday when it is decided whether Gorbachev will receive a state funeral. "We still don't know how everything will be. The procedure will depend on the wishes of family and friends. There is no information yet", he has settled.