Gorbachev, 91, died following a long illness, according to a statement from the Central Clinical Hospital. More information about his death was not immediately available.
Gorbachev served as the last leader of the Soviet Union. Under his rule, the Soviet Union saw a series of reforms that ultimately ended in the country’s collapse in 1991.
Six years later in 1997, Gorbachev filmed a Pizza Hut commercial that was broadcast internationally—but not in Russia, where he remained unpopular for years after the Soviet Union’s collapse.
The commercial was posted to Twitter Tuesday afternoon by author and professor Justin Hendrix.
In the commercial, which takes place in Moscow’s Red Square, Gorbachev is seen entering a Pizza Hut restaurant, and other diners quickly take note of the former leader’s arrival.
Two diners debate over whether or not his tenure left the Soviet Union better off—one argues he gave them “opportunity” and “freedom,” while the other says he gave them “economic confusion” and “political instability.”
Another diner, however, interrupts to say that “because of him, we have many things—like Pizza Hut.” Her remarks, in the advertisement, allowed the diners to find common praise for Gorbachev, as they all agree by exclaiming, “Hail to Gorbachev!”
Gorbachev’s policies essentially helped open the door for Western restaurants, such as Pizza Hut, to open in Russia. The first Pizza Hut opened in Moscow in 1990. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however, Pizza Hut has joined many other Western companies in suspending operations in the country. Gorbachev privately felt the war undid his life’s work, a close friend said in July.
Gorbachev led the Soviet Union as the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party from March 1985 to August 1991, and served as its only president from March 1990 until December 1991.
In addition to his political and economic reforms, Gorbachev also oversaw increased diplomatic relations with the West. He has been credited with helping to end the Cold War, the decadeslong period of tension between the Soviet Union and the West.
Many others also tweeted about the Pizza Hut commercial, a sign of the advertisement’s lasting impact on Western consumers—though it is only a minor slice of his overall legacy.
“My generation knew Communism was dead when we saw Gorbachev in a Pizza Hut commercial. Last few decades must have been awfully lonely and strange for Gorbachev,” tweeted political commentator Sunanda Vashisht.
“This advertisement for Pizza Hut (of all things) highlights how one generation of Russians blamed Gorbachev for their country’s instability while another hailed him for newfound freedoms & opportunities,” wrote journalist Rezaul Hasan Laskar
