Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, died earlier this week at 91. His efforts to reform the Communist state and allow greater freedoms won him rockstar status in the West. But as WSJ’s Ann M. Simmons explains, Gorbachev’s legacy in Russia is much more mixed. Further Reading: - Mikhail Gorbachev, Reformer of Soviet Union and Its Last Leader, Dies at 91  - In Putin’s Russia, Last Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev Leaves Behind a Divisive Legacy  Further Listening: - Russians, and Putin, Face the Fallout of War  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices