Mikhail Gorbachev, Final Soviet Leader, Dies at Age 91

President Ronald Reagan (L) with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev during welcoming ceremonies at the White House on the first day of their disarmament summit, on Dec. 8, 1987. Jerome Delay/AFP/Getty Images

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the final president of the communist country, has died at age 91, according to a hospital in a statement Tuesday.

“Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev died this evening after a serious and long illness,” the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow confirmed, reported the Interfax, TASS, and RIA Novosti news agencies.