Mikhail Gorbachev & the Fall of the Soviet Union

Following the recent death of Mikhail Gorbachev at the age of 91, we've decided to take a look into the beginnings, career and legacy of the last ever leader of the Soviet Union.There was a mix of sadness in the West as well as sorrow, silence and indifference in Russia at the news of Gorbachev's passing on August 30, no surprise given how extraordinary his relatively short time in power would prove.In this episode James is joined by Dr Susan Colbourn to explore Gorbachev's contested legacy, focusing in on one of his most controversial achievements - his Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty, which eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons for the first time ever.Susan's new book Euromissiles: The Nuclear Weapons That Nearly Destroyed NATO is available to pre-order here.For more Warfare content, subscribe to our Warfare Wednesday newsletter here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - enter promo code WARFARE for two weeks free + 50% off your first three months' subscription. To download, go to Android or Apple store.