Arnold Schwarzenegger recalls meeting former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev

Gorbachev was one of the Hollywood actor's 'heroes', he said.

After learning of the demise of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger paid tribute to him through social media.

Taking to Instagram, Arnold wrote, "There's an old saying, 'Never meet your heroes.' I think that's some of the worst advice I've ever heard. Mikhail Gorbachev was one of my heroes, and it was an honour and a joy to meet him. I was unbelievably lucky to call him a friend. All of us can learn from his fantastic life."

Arnold stated that Mikhail Gorbachev "will be remembered for all time as a hero who dismantled the communist system despite what it meant for his own power."

"Imagine rising to the very top of any organization, and then having the wisdom AND the courage to look around and say, 'This doesn't work for the people, someone has to fix it. If not me, who? If not now, when?' Mikhail Gorbachev did exactly that in the old Soviet Union. He will be remembered for all time as a hero who dismantled the communist system despite what it meant for his own power. He belongs to history now, and I know he's overjoyed to be reunited with his dear Raisa, once again living one of the greatest love stories of all time," Arnold, the former Governor of California, posted.

He also dropped a picture from his meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev.