Košice grants Honorary Citizenship to Mikhail Gorbachev

Košice city council has decided to grant honorary citizenship to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on the initiative of former Slovak president and former mayor of Kosice Rudolf Schuster. The honorary citizenship was bestowed upon Gorbachev for "promoting the ideas of freedom and democracy, for reform decisions that led to political and societal changes and for a message of peace that represents the fundamental principle guiding the lives of Europeans, including the people of Košice". Gorbachev, who celebrated his 85th birthday this month, stood at the helm of the Soviet Communist Party between 1985-1991 and also served as the first and only president of the Soviet Union. He initiated a political movement for reform within the Communist Party and a policy of openness, at the same time contributing towards detente and the subsequent end of the Cold War. In 1990, Gorbachev received the Nobel Peace Prize.