(UFU - 2022)He was regarded as one of the most sig

(UFU - 2022)

 

He was regarded as one of the most significant statesmen of the 20th century. Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, died last night aged 91. Lauded in the West as the man who helped bring down the Berlin Wall and end the Cold War without bloodshed, he was widely despised at home as the gravedigger of the communist Soviet Union. He set out to revitalise the sclerotic Communist system through democratic and economic reform, but unleashed forces beyond his control and found himself occupying a shrinking middle ground. The last leader of the Soviet Union will reportedly not be given a state funeral, according to Russian state-linked media. He oversaw the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, an event that Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, has previously described as a "catastrophe". Putin took half a day to issue a personal statement on Gorbachev's death, with a backhanded half compliment on his place in history.

Disponível em: . Acesso em: 15 set. 2022. (Adaptado).

 

According to the text, how could Gorbachev probably be referred to by Russia’s president?