( CNN ) -- Eduard Shevardnadze , whose political career seesawed between two extremes , has died , Georgia 's GHN news agency reported Monday . He was 86 . Around the world , he was hailed as the man who helped end the Cold War . At home , he was the man whose resignation as president of Georgia was greeted by cheers and fireworks . Born in Georgia in 1928 , he worked his way up the Communist Party chain until he became the foreign minister for the Soviet Union under President Mikhail Gorbachev . It was then that Gorbachev announced his policy of `` perestroika , '' or change , in the Soviet Union . Shevardnadze was the international face of it . Perestroika led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War . Shevardnadze helped broker the deal that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall , and he normalized Moscow 's ties with Washington . The breakup of the Soviet empire gave birth to many independent republics ; Georgia was one of them . Shevardnadze went home to preside over the infant nation . When he replaced ousted President Zviad Gamsakhurdia in 1992 , Shevardnadze was expected to bring the country 's 4.5 million people a better life . Instead , according to the watchdog group Transparency International , corruption became endemic during his 11 years in charge . Georgia landed on a list of the 10 most corrupt countries in the world . `` In the West , we think of Shevardnadze as a man who helped to peacefully end the Soviet Union , but here he became a despised man , and people described him as a dictator whom they simply could not stand having in power anymore , '' CNN correspondent Jill Dougherty said at the time . Renewed hope for the future came with Shevardnadze 's promise of free and democratic elections . But the day after 2003 's parliamentary vote , hopes faded when the election commission 's first figures showed Shevardnadze 's party in the lead . The opposition cried fraud , and the protests began -- around the clock for more than a week . Bad news came again on November 6 when officials announced a two-week delay in releasing final results . Shevardnadze tried to work things out with the opposition , but the talks failed , and up to 20,000 protesters converged on the capital city to demand his resignation . But Shevardnadze refused to step down and convened the newly elected Parliament . To many Georgians , it reflected just one more broken promise . Tired of his presidency , Georgians ushered in the bloodless Rose Revolution . Amid huge pressure from tens of thousands of protesters , Shevardnadze stepped down . `` At the beginning , I had a different mood , but now I see that it is impossible to avoid bloodshed . I never betrayed my people , '' he said . `` Now , I say it 's much better to resign with no bloodshed , no victims . '' People we lost in 2014 .
As Russia 's foreign minister , he helped end the Cold War . As President of Russia , he was accused of massive corruption . His resignation was greeted with applause and fireworks .