Gorbachev Resigns

In this photograph, from December 25, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev signs his resignation as president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) just moments before announcing his resignation in a televised address. In the aftermath of an attempted seizure of power by Communist hardliners in August, Gorbachev lost both power and credibility as leader, yielding to the more radically-minded Boris Yeltsin. With Gorbachev's departure, the USSR ceased to exist.

Gannady Galparin/Reuters/Landov

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Haemangioma; Communism, Collapse of; Birthmark; Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeyevich

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