Former leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev will speak at UNLV March 22 as part of the Barrick Lecture Series.

His presentation is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the Cox Pavilion. The event is free, but tickets are required. Tickets will be available at the Performing Arts Center box office and the Thomas and Mack Center box office beginning March 6. Tickets are limited to two per person.

Gorbachev served as leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 until its dissolution in 1991 and is credited with helping to end the Cold War. During his leadership, he ushered in the Soviet political eras known as "glasnost" (political openness) and "perestroika" (government reform) and signed two landmark disarmament pacts that significantly improved relations with the West. He is also widely admired for streamlining and decentralizing the oppressive political system he inherited and for ending communist rule in Eastern Europe. As a result of his achievements, Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.

Since leaving office, Gorbachev has continued his efforts toward global peace and environmental stewardship. In 1992, he became president of the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Studies, a non-profit, non-partisan educational foundation that addresses the challenges of the post-Cold War world. A year later, he founded Green Cross International, a non-governmental environmental organization whose mission it is to clean up military toxins, assist in the creation of global ecological law, and foster a value shift on the environment.

The Barrick Lecture Series, funded through a grant from philanthropist Marjorie Barrick, presents nationally and internationally known speakers from a variety of fields each year at UNLV. The presentations are free and open to the public.

For more information, call 895-2787.