Mikhail Gorbachev’s recent death sees the passing of one of the giants of the 20th century.

Unheralded when he became chair of the Supreme Soviet, he heralded the era of glasnost (openness) and perestroika.

Gorbachev had a keen interest in farming, having been governor of the Stavropol region, where agriculture was economically important.

I understand he befriended the late Professor Frank Aherne, who had left Ireland to become a leading agricultural academic in Canada.

The two shared a love of chess, and played against each other. A prize in innovation in the Canadian pig sector still bears Aherne’s name. Happier times for Russian relations.