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Former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev has died aged 91, according to reports.

The eighth and final leader of the Soviet Union, he was General Secretary of the Communist Party from 1985 until 1991.

Gorbachev is considered one of the most significant figures of the 20th century for his role in ending the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

In 1990 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.

His death was first reported in Russian media, where Moscow's Central Clinical Hospital was cited.

It is not clear why he was in hospital, but he was known to be suffering from failing age-related health issues in recent years.

MP Tom Tugendhat, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee tweeted: "Mikhail Gorbachev’s reported death, according to Moscow’s Central Clinical Hospital, is a reminder of how far Russia has fallen.

"From a powerful, if tyrannical state to now the playpen of gangsters and war criminals."

And Soviet expert John Sweeney called the Soviet Union's last ever leader a "flawed but fundamentally decent man".

He added: "He was better than Yeltsin and so much better than Putin."

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