The Rise and Fall of Mikhail Gorbachev

Chernobyl
The early years of Gorbachev's tenure were marred by the devastating nuclear accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Though Gorbachev himself was not blamed for the disaster, the very fact that it occurred highlighted the miserable state of the Soviet Union's industrial infrastructure. In 1989, he and his wife Raisa personally visited the facility, above.

• Remembering the Fall of the Berlin Wall