Gorbachev undergoes surgery
Foreign Desk Report

MOSCOW—Mikhail Gorbachev, last leader of the Soviet Union, has undergone an operation on a neck artery in a hospital in Germany, his spokesman told newsmen.
The operation was carried out in Munich on Tuesday “to treat the right carotid artery” and was a success, said Vladimir Polyakov o Wednesday. The 75-year-old booked into the clinic at Munich University on Sunday, the Internet site of the Gorbachev Foundation said. An official at the clinic said that Gorbachev was in a “good” state following the operation, but declined to say how long he would remain hospitalised. What was described as a “routine” medical examination prevented the former Soviet leader from attending a gathering of Nobel peace prize laureates organised by the Gorbachev Foundation on Friday in Italy. Gorbachev, who resigned as Soviet leader on December 25, 1991, is known to have suffered health problems in recent months, although he has continued to attend events and make known his thoughts on Russian political life.