Gorbi and the Germans: Mikhail Gorbachev at 90

The first and only president of the former Soviet Union turns 90 on March 2. Since German reunification in 1990, Germans have lovingly referred to Mikhail Gorbachev simply as "Gorbi." The Berlin "Fathers of Unity" monument was unveiled to mark the 20th anniversary of German reunification. From left to right: former US President George H. W. Bush, Gorbachev and former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

This is one of the first pictures ever taken of Gorbachev and Kohl. In March 1985, the German chancellor traveled to Moscow to attend the funeral of Konstantin Chernenko, the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, whom Gorbachev would soon replace. This is where the historic relationship between the two countries began, eventually shaping the future of Europe.

During his time as chancellor of West Germany from 1969 and 1974, Willy Brandt (left) was the architect of Germany's Ostpolitik, which called for a normalization of relations between the Soviet Union, East Germany and its Eastern Bloc neighbors. He received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in 1971. Gorbachev won the same award in 1990 for his role in shaping East-West relations.

The Berlin Wall fell in November 1989. In June of that year, a few months prior to the historic event, the then leader of the Soviet Union found himself in Germany on an official state visit. The Gorbachevs were greeted with great enthusiasm, as seen here in central Bonn.

In October of that same year, Gorbachev visited East Berlin where he celebrated the 40th anniversary of the founding of the German Democratic Republic. Leader Erich Honecker greeted his guest with a socialist fraternal kiss. Gorbachev told Honecker about his perestroika policy of economic and governmental reform, and with a now-famous quote called for similar change in East Germany.

Talks on future German reunification took place in a relaxed setting in July 1990 in the northern Caucasus. The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, also known as the Two Plus Four Agreement, was later signed in Moscow on September 12 by both East and West Germany, along with the four victors of World War II: the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and France.

Gorbachev was the first foreign leader to visit Germany after reunification. In November 1990, the two countries signed a treaty on good neighborliness, partnership and cooperation, the first international treaty signed by reunified Germany. Germany also agreed to tend to Soviet monuments on its territory as well as maintain cemeteries where Soviet soldiers were buried.

The Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991, and Gorbachev was no longer president. In 1992, he set up the Gorbachev Foundation which began looking into the lessons and failures of perestroika. Gorbachev was a frequent visitor to Germany during this new chapter in his life. In 1996, he and his wife were guests on the popular German television show "Wetten, dass…"

The Gorbachevs even called Germany home for a while after purchasing a villa on Bavaria's Tegernsee, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southeast of Munich. But on September 20,1999, Gorbachev's wife, Raisa, died of leukemia in a clinic in Münster. Here, Gorbachev said his last goodbye at Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery.

Gorbachev continued to be a welcome guest at commemorations marking the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification. He also took part in certain German-Russian government talks, such as this meeting in October 2007 between Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Wiesbaden, Germany.

While Gorbachev continues to be viewed with skepticism in Russia over his role in German reunification, he's revered in Germany. This monument in his honor was erected in Dessau in Saxony-Anhalt and ceremoniously unveiled on October 3, 2020, on the 30th anniversary of German reunification.