Joe Biden believes that Mikhail Gorbachev risked his career for a "different future"

- After decades of brutal political repression, he adopted democratic reforms. He believed in glasnost and perestroika - openness and perestroika - not just as slogans, but as a way forward for the people of the Soviet Union after so many years of isolation and deprivation, the American leader said.

He added that not all Soviet officials had the courage to recognize the necessary changes in the country. He called the steps taken by Gorbachev "The actions of a great leader", a man who had the imagination to see a different future.

Biden recalled meeting with Gorbachev in 2009. Then the first president of the Soviet Union arrived at the White House. Politicians talked about reducing nuclear stockpiles (let us recall that Gorbachev was the first to take steps towards nuclear disarmament of the state). Biden believes it's easy to understand why so many people around the world "treated him with such respect."

Recall that Mikhail Gorbachev died on August 30 at the age of 92. At present, the date of the funeral is not known, but it is known that he will be buried at the Novodevichy cemetery next to the grave of his wife.

Gorbachev died after a long illness.

In connection with the death of the politician, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that Gorbachev did the most for a peaceful end to the Cold War.